2013-2014 APPIC (internship) Phase II

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
songthatneverends said:
These two things were my exact same concerns. I applied within my region and I have difficulty "selling" myself, even though I know I do great work. Sadly (or not) I finished my dissertation this year in preparation for leaving for internship, so I am finished with all of my requirements for my program except internship. I am feeling rather stuck having not matched, but I have to believe that it will work out for the best.
Click to expand...
This is also the position that I'm in - had to do an extra year because of a comps issue, and used that time to finish my dissertation. I don't really know what I'll do now.
 
anxietyisfun said:
Is anyone else dreading the idea of asking for your letters of rec in order to do this whole 'post match vacancy' stuff? It's embarrassing.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this scenario can and does happen to applicants; it happened to me. I was one of the top students in my cohort and I still got squeezed in the end. I felt embarrassed (among a range of other emotions), but it eventually worked out. Six years later and it doesn't matter one iota, though at the time it stung quite a bit.
 
psychrat said:
I do not think that it is an unfair qu at all. My program requires an apa internship so unfortunately I will probably be unable to apply for any in the clearing house/ post match.



I am also a fifth year student and did an extra year of practicum for hours. I guess we will be seventh year interns.
Click to expand...
+1 on both accounts.

beebom said:
So they have to have already established their accreditation before you even apply? That seems unfair.
Click to expand...
I'm not 100% sure about this but I thought this was relatively common in university-based PhDs at least. My program has the same policy and it has never been a problem for them. Only a handful of people have not matched since its existence but it seems more and more difficult these days. Perhaps their policy will be revisited if current trends continue.
 
aly cat said:
+1 on both accounts.


I'm not 100% sure about this but I thought this was relatively common in university-based PhDs at least. My program has the same policy and it has never been a problem for them. Only a handful of people have not matched since its existence but it seems more and more difficult these days. Perhaps their policy will be revisited if current trends continue.
Click to expand...

Same. My program usually does very well; I was the only one who did not match this year (which hurts and makes me feel like there is something wrong with me).
 
psychrat said:
Same. My program usually does very well; I was the only one who did not match this year (which hurts and makes me feel like there is something wrong with me).
Click to expand...
Me, too. And everyone else got their first choice to boot.
 
psychrat said:
Same. My program usually does very well; I was the only one who did not match this year (which hurts and makes me feel like there is something wrong with me).
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with you!!!! These are character building moments and eventually we will be able to look back and see how things worked out despite disappointments. I really truly believe that.
 
aly cat said:
Me, too. And everyone else got their first choice to boot.
Click to expand...

Same. Everyone got their number 1. They were all very supportive of me and hoping for me in phase ii, so I do not even want to tell them that I did not match again. I am staying on the down-low today.
 
Aussiejd said:
There is nothing wrong with you!!!! These are character building moments and eventually we will be able to look back and see how things worked out despite disappointments. I really truly believe that.
Click to expand...

I know that things always work out in the end, but it is tough seeing my entire cohort move on when my life is at a stand-still. I am going to try to get this dissertation done and hopefully walk with them at graduation next May. It is probably going to be tough financially this year, as I already had my fellowship for three years and my school does not fund sixth years. I could hope to get online teaching, which they sometimes offer older students, but there is no guarantee. I guess I will be living off my savings. I feel like I am either over-qualified or under-qualified for most jobs at this point.
 
Wading through the grief and anger and getting the dissertation done, if it isn't, are the main tasks at this stage. And I have observed, over many years now, that interesting places, including APA positions, do happen in the post-vacancy stage--usually because of new funding or accreditation being granted. So cope in some way that keeps despair at a distance and stay open to possibilities that can't be seen yet.
 
Hi all,

Can someone please tell me where the post-match vacancies will be posted?

NatMatch, APPIC, a different site?
 
psychrat said:
I know that things always work out in the end, but it is tough seeing my entire cohort move on when my life is at a stand-still. I am going to try to get this dissertation done and hopefully walk with them at graduation next May. It is probably going to be tough financially this year, as I already had my fellowship for three years and my school does not fund sixth years. I could hope to get online teaching, which they sometimes offer older students, but there is no guarantee. I guess I will be living off my savings. I feel like I am either over-qualified or under-qualified for most jobs at this point.
Click to expand...
the under/over-qualified situation seems so common. I was having this exact conversation with one of my classmates last week. He's actually a licensed MFT and didn't match (which got us wondering about ageism). It feels to me like clinical places want 5 years of experience but how do you get that when you're a student and new to the field? I respect that they want folks who have some experience because they are concerned about their clients but it just feels like it can be hard to break into the field AND support yourself. It's that very reason that had me doing sales for a few years in between an MA and a PsyD program... I needed to support myself.
 
psychrat said:
I know that things always work out in the end, but it is tough seeing my entire cohort move on when my life is at a stand-still. I am going to try to get this dissertation done and hopefully walk with them at graduation next May. It is probably going to be tough financially this year, as I already had my fellowship for three years and my school does not fund sixth years. I could hope to get online teaching, which they sometimes offer older students, but there is no guarantee. I guess I will be living off my savings. I feel like I am either over-qualified or under-qualified for most jobs at this point.
Click to expand...
This is exactly how I feel. I am in complete stand still mood. People in the psychology field are supportive, what is more difficult is explaining to friends and family not involved in psychology as most think you can go get any old internship.
 
well, there are only three sites, none of which are APA-acc in the post-match vacancy...sad
 
psychtalk1274 said:
This is exactly how I feel. I am in complete stand still mood. People in the psychology field are supportive, what is more difficult is explaining to friends and family not involved in psychology as most think you can go get any old internship.
Click to expand...

I know. My mom is very sweet and supportive, but was like, "maybe you will get multiple offers." I explained to her many times that that is not how it works, but she doesn't get it.
 
Ahhhh! I was expecting a list of unfilled spots like we had in phase II, but it looks like the sites actually have to go in and add their spot manually, and so far only three have done so.

The dangling carrot is only 10% visible. Maybe I am kidding myself that there is a chance left at this stage.
 
psychrat said:
I know. My mom is very sweet and supportive, but was like, "maybe you will get multiple offers." I explained to her many times that that is not how it works, but she doesn't get it.
Click to expand...
i had the same exact conversation with my mom 🙂
 
beebom said:
i had the same exact conversation with my mom 🙂
Click to expand...
lol me too. My dad kept calling me to ask if there was "any news" all week despite me telling him multiple times I would not hear a peep until today.
 
songthatneverends said:
Where are the 5 unfilled APA positions? How strange. This process makes no sense.
Click to expand...

Maybe they are under the category "did no submit rank-order." So frustrating to think that APA allows them to do that with the shortage.
 
Aussiejd said:
Ahhhh! I was expecting a list of unfilled spots like we had in phase II, but it looks like the sites actually have to go in and add their spot manually, and so far only three have done so.

The dangling carrot is only 10% visible. Maybe I am kidding myself that there is a chance left at this stage.
Click to expand...
Hah. I know, I clicked on the page and I was like, well that's underwhelming.

I was also surprised that there were sites that didn't submit rankings. I mean, they really couldn't find anyone that interested them?
 
aly cat said:
lol me too. My dad kept calling me to ask if there was "any news" all week despite me telling him multiple times I would not hear a peep until today.
Click to expand...
haha, my mom kept saying that this process is ridiculous and unfair and that they should just call people if they're interested. it's funny how even as I'm an adult working towards a doctorate she still feels this indignation towards people who don't think i'm the most amazing person they've ever met.
 
Sometimes I get mad at the APA for having a strangle hold on the profession. I mean, seriously, no matter how good of training I get and how hard I work in the future...if I don't go to an APA accredited internship I could be handicapped for my entire career. But then, as I look at brochures for unaccredited sites I think, "Why the hell have you not applied for accreditation!?". Some of these sites look like they've been around for awhile, but out of shear laziness or...whatever...they haven't taken that extra step to legitimize their program.
 
ShakeyD said:
Sometimes I get mad at the APA for having a strangle hold on the profession. I mean, seriously, no matter how good of training I get and how hard I work in the future...if I don't go to an APA accredited internship I could be handicapped for my entire career. But then, as I look at brochures for unaccredited sites I think, "Why the hell have you not applied for accreditation!?". Some of these sites look like they've been around for awhile, but out of shear laziness or...whatever...they haven't taken that extra step to legitimize their program.
Click to expand...

Its probably out of lack of money and time. Time spent prepping for APA accred isnt billable.
 
Last edited:
erg923 said:
Its probably out of lack of money and time. Time spent prepping for APA accred isnt billable.
Click to expand...
It wasn't really a question, although I phrased it as one. More of a complaint. But thanks for trying to help. The bottom line is that their interns are the ones who pay.
 
ShakeyD said:
Sometimes I get mad at the APA for having a strangle hold on the profession. I mean, seriously, no matter how good of training I get and how hard I work in the future...if I don't go to an APA accredited internship I could be handicapped for my entire career. But then, as I look at brochures for unaccredited sites I think, "Why the hell have you not applied for accreditation!?". Some of these sites look like they've been around for awhile, but out of shear laziness or...whatever...they haven't taken that extra step to legitimize their program.
Click to expand...
i think of it like the mob 🙂
 
erg923 said:
Its probably out of lack of money and time. Time spent prepping for APA accred isnt billable.
Click to expand...
I agree. I did a practicum rotation at a site that used to be an APA/APPIC site. I was frustrated that they no longer participate, given that two of their psychologists on staff completed their internships at the site. Their response was that they do not have the time or money to participate. Getting accreditation takes far too much time and they are all way too strapped as it is. It is unfortunate, but it seems that our profession often struggles due to lack of significant funding for both training and for the clients/patients whom we serve. It is frustrating to be a casualty of this process.
 
And yes, I realize that having even less sites would be worse (so much worse it might actually help fix the most supply problem after a few years), but a legitimate healthcare profession should not even be offering internships that are not "accredited" by a peer reviewing body. Its embarrassing.
 
erg923 said:
Its probably out of lack of money and time. Time spent prepping for APA accred isnt billable.
Click to expand...
I think APA needs to allow conditional accreditation for new sites. I think that would fix a lot of problems. It seems like a lot of sites are brand new and do intend to on becoming accredited, but their first internship classes fall through the cracks, or are stuck hoping the site visit gets scheduled before they finish.
 
erg923 said:
Tresure coast...sounds fancey!
Click to expand...
it looks like there's an annual 4th of july parade there in indiantown... pretty fancy! not sure what other "treasures" there are there. i guess we'll find out! 🙂
 
anyone have some wonderful insight as to next steps? Obviously, there's the post-vacancy--but since that will only serve a few of us.....how many will continue on to do another practicum/externship rotation that's unpaid? Will any try to seek a master's level job instead to accrue hours? I'm left feeling confused--we need to keep padding the resume, but I'm not sure another unpaid practicum is doable for me at this point. We are so far in that stopping before finishing the degree seems short-sighted. Still, thinking about applying to the match again next year seems like a nightmare.
 
So half of the phase II candidates in my program did not match and I know those individuals were devastated:-(. Even though I matched to an APA approved VA, I was deeply saddened by the results my peers received this morning because we're a close cohort and I know all too well how stressful this process is. I agree, the system is broken!
 
Last edited:
kkangarooj said:
anyone have some wonderful insight as to next steps? Obviously, there's the post-vacancy--but since that will only serve a few of us.....how many will continue on to do another practicum/externship rotation that's unpaid? Will any try to seek a master's level job instead to accrue hours? I'm left feeling confused--we need to keep padding the resume, but I'm not sure another unpaid practicum is doable for me at this point. We are so far in that stopping before finishing the degree seems short-sighted. Still, thinking about applying to the match again next year seems like a nightmare.
Click to expand...
I am applying for a couple of externships that I think will really help me next year. Once I am done with those, I will look into paid master's level positions to fill out my time. Right now, I am thinking my next year will look something like: afternoon/evening teaching community college classes two days a week, two days a week unpaid externship, and then as much time as I can bear working retail/waiting tables/landscaping. I used to caddy in highschool, perhaps I can pick up a couple rounds on the weekend too 😵
 
I definitely feel for all who didn't match. This process is exhausting, time consuming, outrageously expensive, and completely broken. I wish you all a wonderful year and hope you are able ultimately accept that it is not a problem with you but a problem with the system!

I did match, but at an APPIC not APA site. I have come to terms with the ways this may cause difficulty for me in the future. My goals are to be in private practice but I am not completely set on remaining in the state I currently live in so licensure portability may be difficult. However, I am ready to be done and start my (second) career.

Best wishes to all and thank you to a wonderful group of peers for all of the support and encouragement given to everyone throughout this process .
 
ShakeyD said:
I am applying for a couple of externships that I think will really help me next year. Once I am done with those, I will look into paid master's level positions to fill out my time. Right now, I am thinking my next year will look something like: afternoon/evening teaching community college classes two days a week, two days a week unpaid externship, and then as much time as I can bear working retail/waiting tables/landscaping. I used to caddy in highschool, perhaps I can pick up a couple rounds on the weekend too 😵
Click to expand...

Once upon a time, the predoctoral internship was seen as a training year. Interns were expected to have basic skills and exposure from there respective training programs and be ready to learn a whole new set of skills out in the real world. What happened?

This whole idea that you need to have given X number of WAISs (or whatever instrument) or have done long-term psychotherapy with a half Chinese half Russian homosexual ice dancer suffering from OCD in order to "hang" with a site is completely bogus and misplaced...
 
Last edited:
kkangarooj said:
anyone have some wonderful insight as to next steps? Obviously, there's the post-vacancy--but since that will only serve a few of us.....how many will continue on to do another practicum/externship rotation that's unpaid? Will any try to seek a master's level job instead to accrue hours? I'm left feeling confused--we need to keep padding the resume, but I'm not sure another unpaid practicum is doable for me at this point. We are so far in that stopping before finishing the degree seems short-sighted. Still, thinking about applying to the match again next year seems like a nightmare.
Click to expand...
I feel like this is where I'm stuck. At my school, it's not just an unpaid externship - I am literally paying the school to do an externship, because we cannot participate in an externship without a practicum seminar and participating in one of our departmental clinic teams. And let's be honest, no one needs a fifth practicum site. I'm leaning towards a master's level job and absolutely dreading the process of starting all of this over again.
 
I hope it's ok to post here, as it's my husband who is the PhD student (Clinical psych) and not me. This is our 2nd year of trying, and no match in Phase II. He's ... processing right now.

I need some inside insight here, and I can't extract it from the bleeding wreckage that is my spouse right now, like some sort of vampiric info spider.

Admittedly, he has a black mark against him from his Quals which cost him a year, so he was a year behind applying for internships. When we struck out last year, he went all out in improving his CV: got his dissertation done, got published, expanded his experience, etc. His advisors and the medical staff he works with are baffled as to why he hasn't matched, because he's one of their best in terms of practice.

I'd think it was his interview skills but he had great spontaneous feedback from his interviewers, so that doesn't make sense either.

I assume the black mark is what is screwing him over. Is there anything we can do, or are we pretty much doomed? This was his 7th year, will it just be even worse if we try for a 3rd year? Is there anything that can be done to 'look good' in the meantime?
 
Is anyone actually working today? A fellow student is teaching my class for me today and I purposely didn't schedule clients or meetings. I wish this was Friday. I need time to process and in a way grieve.
 
How do the sites know that he failed his quals the first time? Is that a question on the APPI or something? And what the hell would it matter now? If he passed them now, then he obvioulsy rectified the knowledge/skills gap. I really doubt that has anything to do with it.
 
SmithPsy24 said:
I feel like this is where I'm stuck. At my school, it's not just an unpaid externship - I am literally paying the school to do an externship, because we cannot participate in an externship without a practicum seminar and participating in one of our departmental clinic teams. And let's be honest, no one needs a fifth practicum site. I'm leaning towards a master's level job and absolutely dreading the process of starting all of this over again.
Click to expand...

The thing about getting a job would be asking for all of that time off when interview season begins again. Also, I do not have a license at the MA level. I could probably ask the hospital where I used to work as a BA level psych tech to hire me for the year, but I would be getting paid what a person with a BA gets paid and would not be able to count those hours because all of the supervisors are LCSW's.

I feel like it would be worth getting some inpatient experience (which I do not have), even if it is unpaid and completing my dissertation. I never worked in retail, but could perhaps look for a part-time job.
 
erg923 said:
How do the sites know that he failed his quals the first time? Is that a question on the APPI or something? And what the hell would it matter now? If he passed them now, then he obvioulsy rectified the knowledge/skills gap. I really doubt that has anything to do with it.
Click to expand...

School put him on an AP until he resubmitted. His then-advisor was sort of MIA at the time, so there were some technical issues that the reviewing panel (or whatever they are called) pointed out for him, he fixed them immediately, resubmitted, and passed "with flying colors" according to his peers, but the AP is still a black mark that you have to declare on your application.
 
Psychspouse said:
I hope it's ok to post here, as it's my husband who is the PhD student (Clinical psych) and not me. This is our 2nd year of trying, and no match in Phase II. He's ... processing right now.

I need some inside insight here, and I can't extract it from the bleeding wreckage that is my spouse right now, like some sort of vampiric info spider.

Admittedly, he has a black mark against him from his Quals which cost him a year, so he was a year behind applying for internships. When we struck out last year, he went all out in improving his CV: got his dissertation done, got published, expanded his experience, etc. His advisors and the medical staff he works with are baffled as to why he hasn't matched, because he's one of their best in terms of practice.

I'd think it was his interview skills but he had great spontaneous feedback from his interviewers, so that doesn't make sense either.

I assume the black mark is what is screwing him over. Is there anything we can do, or are we pretty much doomed? This was his 7th year, will it just be even worse if we try for a 3rd year? Is there anything that can be done to 'look good' in the meantime?
Click to expand...

Is he applying broadly across the US? I feel like this is what hurt me.
 
psychrat said:
Is he applying broadly across the US? I feel like this is what hurt me.
Click to expand...

Yes, he has applied to sites in any state and in Phase II, applied to both APA sites and sites that are pending where he'd be grandfathered in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

abouttobeadoctor
APPIC Internship Phase II Interview & Support Thread (2024)
Replies
7
Views
4K
theSteppenwolf
theSteppenwolf
D
APPIC internship applications
Replies
5
Views
3K
R. Matey
R. Matey
U
New APPIC Notification Sheet
Replies
0
Views
3K
ultra-rare-furby
U
M
Anyone Matched at APPIC Internship Site with Criminal History?
Replies
9
Views
2K
tn15an
T
D
APPIC INTERNSHIP ESSAYS - Autobiography (SEND HELP)
Replies
8
Views
3K
doctormancan
D
Top