Externship site impact given VA experience

[leylablue]

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Hi everyone,

I’m a fourth year clinical psychology PhD student starting to think more seriously about internship preparation and long-term training goals, and I’d really value your perspective.

I currently have solid VA-based clinical experience (one year of assessment and therapy with adults), and I’m considering whether adding a private practice (PP) externship during my fifth and final year, which is when I will also be applying for internship, would be a good complement to that background. I’m weighing factors like quality of supervision, depth/breadth of training, and how PP experience is viewed for competitive internships, particularly VA sites.

For those of you who have trained in or supervised students from private practice settings:
• Do you generally see PP experience as helpful, neutral, or potentially limiting given strong VA experience?
• Are there specific types of PP experiences that tend to be viewed more favorably (e.g., structured supervision, assessment-heavy, specialty populations)?

I know this can vary a lot by site and supervisor, but I’d really appreciate any insight you’re willing to share as I think through my options. I definitely do not want to ruin my match odds by taking on a private practice for externship next year.

Thank you so much for your time.

 

[WisNeuro]

Unless it's with a person well known in their practice area for which a letter would be very valuable, or it's an experience that is deficient in your current CV, it's almost always better to do a prac through a formal institution.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Unless it's with a person well known in their practice area for which a letter would be very valuable, or it's an experience that is deficient in your current CV, it's almost always better to do a prac through a formal institution.

Seconding this--private practice supervision and training experiences can be extremely variable and often have very minimal oversight. It can okay for postdoc hours, but I won't recommend them for pre-doc training,

 

[leylablue]

Thank you both very much for your input. By the time I apply to VA internships, I will have completed a full year at the VA, as well as three years of therapy and assessment experience at a university outpatient clinic serving the community. I do not have many practicum options in the area that provide in-depth exposure to evidence-based practice and assessment. This private practice is EBP-focused and would also allow me to gain assessment experience. Would pursuing a hospital setting, where I would primarily work in health psychology, be a better option? Thank you again!

 

[futureapppsy2]

Thank you both very much for your input. By the time I apply to VA internships, I will have completed a full year at the VA, as well as three years of therapy and assessment experience at a university outpatient clinic serving the community. I do not have many practicum options in the area that provide in-depth exposure to evidence-based practice and assessment. This private practice is EBP-focused and would also allow me to gain assessment experience. Would pursuing a hospital setting, where I would primarily work in health psychology, be a better option? Thank you again!

How are your assessment numbers?

 

[leylablue]

Thank you both very much for your input. By the time I apply to VA internships, I will have completed a full year at the VA, as well as three years of therapy and assessment experience at a university outpatient clinic serving the community. I do not have many practicum options in the area that provide in-depth exposure to evidence-based practice and assessment. This private practice is EBP-focused and would also allow me to gain assessment experience. Would pursuing a hospital setting, where I would primarily work in health psychology, be a better option? Thank you again!

13 integrated reports. 170 assessment hours since I was involved in some research that resulted in assessment hours as well. I plan on doing least a couple more assessments before I leave the VA. I also plan on finishing up fourth year with about 520 intervention. VA population can be a bit tricky with the no shows. Choosing a fifth year site seems so complicated. Especially because the hours really only count until October when I apply for internship and I would start my fifth year site in June-July. So any input would be helpful at this point! Thank you!!

 

[NHPsy97]

170 assessment hours and ~ 520 intervention at the end of fourth year (with a whole training year to go) will make you competitive for most training sites. I would prioritize quality of training/supervision and alignment of your externship site with potential future internship sites over the number of hours, personally. While you may get more clinical hours at (some) private practices compared to a VA or AMC, this often comes at the expense of quality supervision. Since it's consistently been shown that internship training directors prioritize fit above all else, you may be able to un-complicate site selection by focusing on externship sites that align with your clinical interests, and the types of sites you're considering for internship. Your hours will be fine!

 

[leylablue]

170 assessment hours and ~ 520 intervention at the end of fourth year (with a whole training year to go) will make you competitive for most training sites. I would prioritize quality of training/supervision and alignment of your externship site with potential future internship sites over the number of hours, personally. While you may get more clinical hours at (some) private practices compared to a VA or AMC, this often comes at the expense of quality supervision. Since it's consistently been shown that internship training directors prioritize fit above all else, you may be able to un-complicate site selection by focusing on externship sites that align with your clinical interests, and the types of sites you're considering for internship. Your hours will be fine!

Thank you! So my main concern is really whether or not a private practice will take me out of the running for VA internships. I have a whole VA externship year already, and the private practice I am interested in is an EBP focused one where I can do therapy and assessment, unlike many other sites around me that only allow for therapy. It offers both individual and group supervision, and seems to align with the outpatient therapy type of setting that the VA is. Do you think a private practice just looks bad visually on a CV though?

 

[RxPsych]

Thank you! So my main concern is really whether or not a private practice will take me out of the running for VA internships. I have a whole VA externship year already, and the private practice I am interested in is an EBP focused one where I can do therapy and assessment, unlike many other sites around me that only allow for therapy. It offers both individual and group supervision, and seems to align with the outpatient therapy type of setting that the VA is. Do you think a private practice just looks bad visually on a CV though?

When we reviewed intern applications at my current VA internship site, if someone had any VA experience we gave them an extra point on our initial screening of the applications. That is an n=1 but I've heard similar at other VAs. Anecdotally, many VAs I interviewed at specifically asked if I had any VA experience. A private practice will not look "bad" at face value. It depends on the quality of training and who you are training with. For example, I did one of my externship sites at a private practice but the person running the practice was ABPP-CN and is fairly well known (at least enough to where a handful of internship sites brought up their name during my interview) so it worked out well.

Since it sounds like you want a VA for internship, I would worry less about what a site looks like visually on your application and go where you want that does the training you want to get to best prepare you for internship.

 

[NHPsy97]

Thank you! So my main concern is really whether or not a private practice will take me out of the running for VA internships. I have a whole VA externship year already, and the private practice I am interested in is an EBP focused one where I can do therapy and assessment, unlike many other sites around me that only allow for therapy. It offers both individual and group supervision, and seems to align with the outpatient therapy type of setting that the VA is. Do you think a private practice just looks bad visually on a CV though?

I've known many students who trained at private practices for one or multiple externships and matched at VAs or AMCs for internship. Personally, I've never trained at a VA, and I was still invited to interview for every VA internship slot I applied to (I matched with my first choice, an AMC). I think you'll be in decent shape for VA sites with your prior experience and hours, assuming the rest of your application is solid (essays, GPA, research, etc...).

 

[Justanothergrad]

Unless it's with a person well known in their practice area for which a letter would be very valuable, or it's an experience that is deficient in your current CV, it's almost always better to do a prac through a formal institution.

This

 

[cara susanna]

I've known many students who trained at private practices for one or multiple externships and matched at VAs or AMCs for internship. Personally, I've never trained at a VA, and I was still invited to interview for every VA internship slot I applied to (I matched with my first choice, an AMC). I think you'll be in decent shape for VA sites with your prior experience and hours, assuming the rest of your application is solid (essays, GPA, research, etc...).

As someone who has reviewed applications at a few VA sites, I can say that VA experience is preferred, I also got interviews at some VAs without any VA experience and ultimately matched to one. But, if you're competing against people who have it, you will be at a disadvantage.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

As someone who has reviewed applications at a few VA sites, I can say that VA experience is preferred, I also got interviews at some VAs without any VA experience and ultimately matched to one. But, if you're competing against people who have it, you will be at a disadvantage.

Agreed, although I've seen committees sometimes make exceptions if they happened to know the applicant trained in an area where VA experience was unavailable (or if that came out during interview).