Importance of Diversity in Externship Experience in Grad School?

[Meteora]

Hi all, I'm currently a 3rd yr graduate student and am trying to make the right decisions to help me reach my career goals. I am interested in primarily a clinical career that would involve seeing clients, conducting assessments, and supervising. I see myself working in an outpatient clinic type of setting, rather than hospitals. I know that VAs are a major source of jobs but as I have not worked at one, I am unsure about that.

So my question is, how important is it to have a variety of clinical experience at different settings when applying to internship? So far through my program, I've worked at a private outpatient clinic, a counseling center, and at an anxiety clinic doing group therapy. I am considering working at a different outpatient clinic next year as I enjoy that setting and have heard the supervision is good, but I am wondering if it would be better to work at a local hospital or VA if I have the opportunity.

I realize that the answer to my question may ultimately be "it depends," but I'm still eager to hear your suggestions as I don't know much about the post-grad school process of internship + postdocs. Thanks for reading!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[summerbabe]

So my question is, how important is it to have a variety of clinical experience at different settings when applying to internship?

Since fit is important for internship, I'd make sure my clinical experiences are congruent with the type of sites you may apply to, rather than adding variety for its own sake. Hopefully your practicum experiences can hit both elements.

I did a VA internship but did not have any previous VA experience. However, my program and my practicum sites emphasized evidence-based practices and other things generally emphasized by VAs so I was seen as a good potential fit.

I am considering working at a different outpatient clinic next year as I enjoy that setting and have heard the supervision is good, but I am wondering if it would be better to work at a local hospital or VA if I have the opportunity.

A benefit to working at a hospital or VA setting at some point would be exposure to the practice of psychology in larger, multidisciplinary settings. Getting direct experience (if you don't have it yet) can help you to be more confident in looking for employment in other settings or surprise yourself if you enjoy it more than you expect.

 

[wtfook]

Do you have a specific population you most gravitate toward? Such as only adults, only children, trauma specific, anxiety specific, veterans etc...? If you truly want to practice as a general psychologist (treating across the age span and across presentations), then I would say you'd mostly want to cultivate experiences that show your ability as a generalist trainee. I've just completed internship interviews, and interviewed at a few places that focus on a generalist training. Those places want to see that you've hit the major points as a trainee. Do you have solid assessment experience. Can you create a good case formulation. Have you done groups and individual therapy. Do you have skills that are transferable to that setting. Etc... There are many hospital based internships that actually provide very solid generalist training. There are also community mental health sites that do as well.

I actually applied to different types of settings because I wanted further training in working with children and families who have experienced trauma and to get training on trauma-specific treatment modalities. Those places then want to see that your research and work with clients reflects that focus. So far, none seemed to have too many issue with the fact that I had done pracs in schools, counseling centers, and community mental health. They seemed most concerned about whether I had the competency to do assessments with kids, do a good intake and evaluation, treatment plan for my individual and group clients, and work with the specific population they service. Accumulate prac experiences that give you those skills rather than focusing on the setting. For example, I was very lacking in assessment experience so I chose a prac that would provide me that training in preparation for internship. Last year, I picked a site with more group experience and experience with adolescents because I felt I was missing that piece in my training. Now, if you goal, for example, is to work with those experiencing chronic health or to work with those in integrated health, then of course the setting is important. You should focus on hospitals and health care settings since those would most likely provide you with that prac training to prepare you for internship. It all just depends on what you want to do as a psychologist, what sort of internship will help you with that, and what prac experiences you need to cultivate to make yourself competitive for those internships. Hope that helps!

 

[Cam_Chai19]

I would echo what's been said so far in that the setting is less important than the quality of training you'll receive at a given site. However, I do think diversifying the settings you've worked in could only help. Especially since you see yourself in an outpatient setting long term, it could be good to know if you would be open to VAs for internship and your career since they are a huge employer for psychologists and they offer many outpatient opportunities even though they are housed within a hospital system. And if you end up not liking it, that could provide some clarity for your ideal career direction and help you better verbalize your fit with other outpatient settings in internship interviews.