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PhD/PsyD Externship Interview Questions and Thoughts (NYC)
- Thread starter indecisivepsych
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Why do you want to work with this population?
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Talk about a case (so have 2-3 compelling, discussion-worthy cases prepared).
What are some areas that you would like to focus on (i.e. research interests, psychodiagnostic grousp, developmental levels)?
What is your clinical experience prior to this interview?
Remember this is a opportunity to develop your training trajectory. If you are not yet set on a path (like exclusively working with children), be honest about wanting to be exposed to varied training experiences that will inform your future specialization, but also reiterate why you choose that site in particular. Each of my NYC externships (4 different sites) were each very different than the other, but all tied in nicely to my global/research interests in trauma (some of my NYC friends focused on substance abuse, or child-assessment, or neuropsych). So, hopefully, you're comfortable talking about how you're emerging as clinican with a cogent plan in place (...or at the very least, an idea of that plan).
And follow-up with nice, professional thank yous after interviews. (For internship interviews, I was informed not to send thank yous, and it didn't feel right...so I will send them after match day!) 🙂
Also, search past SDN threads...I know externship prep/questions has been discussed in years prior...and doesn't necessarily need to be NYC-site specific b/c it's all pertinent info.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Talk about a case (so have 2-3 compelling, discussion-worthy cases prepared).
What are some areas that you would like to focus on (i.e. research interests, psychodiagnostic grousp, developmental levels)?
What is your clinical experience prior to this interview?
Remember this is a opportunity to develop your training trajectory. If you are not yet set on a path (like exclusively working with children), be honest about wanting to be exposed to varied training experiences that will inform your future specialization, but also reiterate why you choose that site in particular. Each of my NYC externships (4 different sites) were each very different than the other, but all tied in nicely to my global/research interests in trauma (some of my NYC friends focused on substance abuse, or child-assessment, or neuropsych). So, hopefully, you're comfortable talking about how you're emerging as clinican with a cogent plan in place (...or at the very least, an idea of that plan).
And follow-up with nice, professional thank yous after interviews. (For internship interviews, I was informed not to send thank yous, and it didn't feel right...so I will send them after match day!) 🙂
Also, search past SDN threads...I know externship prep/questions has been discussed in years prior...and doesn't necessarily need to be NYC-site specific b/c it's all pertinent info.
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Thinking back to my interviews last year what stands out is how different each one was in terms of how many interviewers, where they took place, how long they lasted and the types of questions asked.
Typical questions included:
1. Tell us about a difficult/challenging case, what made it difficult and how you would have handled it differently
2. Why do you want to come here? What attracts you to our site?
3. Tell us about an ethical dilemma you have faced and how you resolved it (this was only asked at one site)
4. What do you want from supervision? (This one seems to come up at sites that really care about training and take it seriously.)
5. Tell us about a case with a client who was different from you (ethnically, racially or any other significant cultural attribute) and how you dealt with this difference, how it affected you, what you learned, etc.
6. Conceptualize a case from a specific theoretical perspective.
7. Tell us about your experiences with diverse clients (this one is asked in several different ways)
8. At a college counseling center: what do you anticipate our clients would be like, what would be their presenting problems?
These are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. I will post more as I remember.
Oh, and definitely do NOT send thank you letters, notes, e-mails ... The guidelines now specifically ask that applicants not send thank yous to the sites.
Typical questions included:
1. Tell us about a difficult/challenging case, what made it difficult and how you would have handled it differently
2. Why do you want to come here? What attracts you to our site?
3. Tell us about an ethical dilemma you have faced and how you resolved it (this was only asked at one site)
4. What do you want from supervision? (This one seems to come up at sites that really care about training and take it seriously.)
5. Tell us about a case with a client who was different from you (ethnically, racially or any other significant cultural attribute) and how you dealt with this difference, how it affected you, what you learned, etc.
6. Conceptualize a case from a specific theoretical perspective.
7. Tell us about your experiences with diverse clients (this one is asked in several different ways)
8. At a college counseling center: what do you anticipate our clients would be like, what would be their presenting problems?
These are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. I will post more as I remember.
Oh, and definitely do NOT send thank you letters, notes, e-mails ... The guidelines now specifically ask that applicants not send thank yous to the sites.
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Ok...my bad on the thank yous...I know NYC Training and Site Directors are in kahootz and are all agreeing on certain guidelines... No thank yous, but do take time out to show appreciation (which I'm sure you will). 😉
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Those are extremely helpful - thank you both!
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Also, be prepared for various configurations. My first interview was in an office with practically the entire staff of the center, like 8-9 therapists! The second interview there was just one psychologist but 3 other applicants. The third interview was me with 4 staff members. The fourth was me and two staff members, etc ... Sometimes you get to meet with a student too, although that's rare. Sometimes it's very informal, you just meet with the person who would be supervising you and it's a brief interview, other times it's several separate interviews.
