Thoughts about programs mandating APA internship?

[smalltownpsych]

Just came to my attention from another thread that Palo Alto U is requiring all students apply to APA internships only. This has resulted in a 100% match rate for them. I think my school would increase their own match rate if they put this in place as it would lead students to look outside of California for internships. If other more solid PsyD programs were to put this in place, that might really make it crystal clear which programs are which. If more states tie APA accreditated internships to licensure, that could be a good thing.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[docma]

Just came to my attention from another thread that Palo Alto U is requiring all students apply to APA internships only. This has resulted in a 100% match rate for them. I think my school would increase their own match rate if they put this in place as it would lead students to look outside of California for internships. If other more solid PsyD programs were to put this in place, that might really make it crystal clear which programs are which. If more states tie APA accreditated internships to licensure, that could be a good thing.

I think it would be better to tie it first only to school/program accreditation, as it places pressure on schools to decrease class size and to develop local accredited sites so that geographically-bound students have local options. Professional schools like PAU and DU have done this. Until we have a national licensure process, tying to licensure creates all kinds of nightmares and mobility problems for folks currently in the training process and 50 different legislatures are involved.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I'm fine with it, as I feel APA accreditation should be the minimum training standard at graduate and internship levels. Given that I don't see any sort of national licensure process being implemented anytime soon (if it were highly plausible, medicine would've probably already done it), I think the only truly realistic way to be sure that APA accreditation becomes a necessary minimum standard is to tie grad program accreditation status to ensuring that all students obtain accredited internships. This would mesh well into the existing licensing framework, where APA-accredited graduate program training is either outright or practically required in most states (that I've seen, anyway).

 

[Ollie123]

Honestly, its an implicit if not explicit requirement at most of the legit programs already. We had to request special permission (and justify it) to even apply to non-APA internships. Most of my colleagues at other schools had similar requirements. My only problem with it is that we even need to say it in the first place. It should be a given that APA accredited programs send people to APA accredited internships.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

During the internship process we had to submit a form requesting permission to apply to a non-APA acred. internship site. It would be reviewed by the DCT and if the site was approved then student(s) could apply to it. This was now a number of years ago so I'm not sure if this became more common (or not). I only would consider APA-acred. sites, but I had a friend who was dead set on staying local, so she applied to all of the surrounding sites (within the region). I think the sites were already known to the program because they had practica connections. I guess having some sort of review process was better quality control than letting students apply wherever, but I believe that training should be restricted to only APA-acred. sites…so it obviously didn't meet that bar.

 

[WisNeuro]

I'm ok with it, it was a requirement in my program. This very low bar should be the bare minimum. I also think the requirements for accreditation should be made more stringent, but streamline and subsidize it for some sites.

 

[docma]

I'm ok with it, it was a requirement in my program. This very low bar should be the bare minimum. I also think the requirements for accreditation should be made more stringent, but streamline and subsidize it for some sites.

Subsidies and streamlining are needed. There are some excellent training settings that simply cannot afford the stipend minimums and administrative costs of making across the threshold to accreditation on their own. Schools and APA need to step into the gap and facilitate getting such sites accredited. There are places where this is happening, but not often or quickly enough yet.

 

[PsychScience]

I think it would be better to tie it first only to school/program accreditation, as it places pressure on schools to decrease class size and to develop local accredited sites so that geographically-bound students have local options. Professional schools like PAU and DU have done this. Until we have a national licensure process, tying to licensure creates all kinds of nightmares and mobility problems for folks currently in the training process and 50 different legislatures are involved.

Agreed, this is a good first step. If tied first to accreditation, this requires some response by programs that consistently fail to match students to APA accredited sites. If tied first to licensure rather than program accredition, it would still permit the most egregious programs to wipe their hands of students who do not match to APA sites, since licensure is not actually a part of program requirements (hence why programs with a 40-50% EPPP pass rate continue to exist, not change their behavior, and make massive profits off their students).

 

[cara susanna]

Requiring APA internships doesn't necessarily increase the match rate, though. My school requires it for the first round (and you need approval the second round) and we still don't have a 100% match rate.