Evaluating Internship Sites

[KillerDiller]

I will be starting the internship application process over the summer (unless something drastic comes along to derail my plans) and I have some questions about evaluating potential sites. I know what kind of sites I would like to apply to, but I've seen people post about wanting to go to "top" sites. What makes for a "top" site? (I'm assuming equivalent APA accreditation status, as I will not be applying to any unaccredited sites). Do people simply mean the more research-focused internships and the placements at academic hospitals? Is there a way to rank, for example, college counseling centers? In the latter case, should I be paying attention to anything more than orientation and fit?

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[nononora]

I'm applying out-of-state and am having trouble evaluating sites that I've never heard of either. What criteria do applicants typically use? I know the reputation of sites within the state I'm in (NY) but am a little lost when looking elsewhere.

KD - I've typically been reading their websites and trying to determine orientation and fit too while taking salary/benefits and applicant/interview/accepted ratio into account to determine competitiveness. I would imagine that a simple, though perhaps inaccurate, measure of a "top" site is one that gets 300+ applicants for a handful of spots. Bellevue comes to mind

 

[KillerDiller]

KD - I've typically been reading their websites and trying to determine orientation and fit too while taking salary/benefits and applicant/interview/accepted ratio into account to determine competitiveness. I would imagine that a simple, though perhaps inaccurate, measure of a "top" site is one that gets 300+ applicants for a handful of spots. Bellevue comes to mind

Yeah, I've definitely been keeping that in mind too. The point where the algorithm breaks down is in areas where everyone wants to relocate. Either California has really good training sitesor...hmm .

Still, regardless of objective quality, sites that have the luxury of being really selective likely offer certain advantages.

 

[robinsena]

I will be starting the internship application process over the summer (unless something drastic comes along to derail my plans) and I have some questions about evaluating potential sites. I know what kind of sites I would like to apply to, but I've seen people post about wanting to go to "top" sites. What makes for a "top" site? (I'm assuming equivalent APA accreditation status, as I will not be applying to any unaccredited sites). Do people simply mean the more research-focused internships and the placements at academic hospitals? Is there a way to rank, for example, college counseling centers? In the latter case, should I be paying attention to anything more than orientation and fit?

"Top" sites vary by what you mean by top. For my program top means research, academic programs. For me, top is definitely NOT that.

Orientation and fit would be the most important factors IMHO to consider. Other than that, I found it really helpful to ask my faculty and practicum supervisors which sites they have heard of and which ones they would recommend. Also helpful to get from you dept a list of previous students in the program and where they were matched for internship. That list gave me a 'flavor' of which programs were a good match with students in the past.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

A few things that I considered, in order of importance:

1. Acred (APA only)
2. "Fit" (Do they have what I want?)
3. Quality supervision (training had to be prominant)
4. Typical placements after internship (solid fellowship placement was a must)

5. Affliations (clinical/research/medical)
6. Prestige / Reputation (It had to have a good/great reputation for producing balanced interns)
7. Research options (protected time wasn't req., but access to research was needed)
8. Stipend (Anything <$20k wasn't considered, even in middle of nowhere, USA)
9. Location (Only very rural and very expensive places were axed)
10. Competitiveness (a necessary evil. I tried to balance the super-competitive places with more moderately competitive places)

The first 4 items were non-negotiable for me, and if a site did not meet my requirements for them, it was cut from my list. The last 6 were more guidelines. Interestingly enough my view of Prestige changed at a number of places after my interviews. A couple of places jumped up on my list based on the type of candidates that placed at them and also where their people went afterwards.

As for counseling sites.....I'd want to know where their people go, the expected # of face to face hours, the average # of hours per week you will be "on-site" and on-call, and the amount of didactic and supervision. I have seen some very good counseling sites require a lot of hours of their interns, and that can be tough for some people. I also know some other sites where training obviously came first, and the work load was much more moderate.

Feel free to PM me if you want some recommendations.

 

[Sendtrees]

To begin with, I found a list of sites that were recommended by the APA division that interests me. I'm sure most divisions put out something similar.

I tried to mix up sites from great cities (which were usually more competitive) with places that might be underrated (Montana, Wyoming: blue skies and mountains). I looked at ratios of application to interviews to offers and made sure I applied to a few places who interviewed at least a quarter of their applicants.

Once I had some idea of geographic locations, I looked at websites carefully. A couple of random sites in the middle of nowhere offered intriguing twists on the standard "college counseling center" or "hospital clinic." I applied to those, even if the geographic location was only so-so.

 

[KillerDiller]

To begin with, I found a list of sites that were recommended by the APA division that interests me. I'm sure most divisions put out something similar.

Great idea that I never would have thought of, thanks!

I'll also keep my eye out for those twists on the standard training. I'm willing to move almost anywhere. I've lived in 3 different time zones already, maybe I'll even make it to a 4th.