intersnhip application q

[Phipps]

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Hi all,

Can anybody tell me whether it would be of any disadvantage for internship applications (clinical psych) to be supervied by an MD/psychiatrist for the externship as opposed to being supervied by a psychologist? I am really concerned about it, i.e., I am afraid that it may be of any disadvantage not to have a Ph.D. level person for supervision during my externship.

I would appreciate any thoughts and advice.

Thanks!!

 

[Ollie123]

Is this in isolation? I assume you will be doing other externships...

As long as you are getting a fair amount of other clinical experience that included training by psychologists, I'd actually think that would look good (diverse training, working in a team-based setting). Only issue would be counting hours - I don't exactly know how it would work since I've never had cause to look into it.

 

[IT514]

I would also be concerned about being able to count the hours on your APPI if you wont be working under a clinical psychologist. I did a few rotations where I worked directly with a neurologist and geriatrician, but ultimately reported to a neuropsychologist for supervision in regard to conceptualization and treatment planning. I would ask your DCT about being sure you can count those hours.

In terms of how it looks for internship, its all about how you frame it. In interviews, as long as you are prepared to compare and contrast your work with those in other fields(what you bring to the table, how your perspective broadened, what you learned, etc) , you'll be just fine.

 

[Phipps]

Thanks! I should check on APPIC issues, re: counting hours

 

[PsyDLICSW]

Hi all,

Can anybody tell me whether it would be of any disadvantage for internship applications (clinical psych) to be supervied by an MD/psychiatrist for the externship as opposed to being supervied by a psychologist? I am really concerned about it, i.e., I am afraid that it may be of any disadvantage not to have a Ph.D. level person for supervision during my externship.

I would appreciate any thoughts and advice.

Thanks!!

I have a preceptor at my practicum who is a pediatrician. I am supervised by a licensed psychologist, but the pediatrician is at the practicum site full-time. I am using her as a fourth letter of recommendation with the other three being from licensed psychologists. I would not use a non PhD/PsyD psychologist as a recommendation writer unless it is in addition to the three that most internship sites require. Hope this helps.

 

[serendipity2]

Hello Phipps-

Like others have shared, I believe that the only real "issue" is being able to count those hours. I would not disregard the opportunity strictly because you cannot count hours though. You need to look at your application as a whole. Will you otherwise have another hours? Remember, hours are but one small piece and most sites will tell you that once you hit their minimum required that more is not necessarily better. Also, you can always highlight these type of additional experiences that fall out of the range of training the application directly asks about in your cover letters.

Best of luck.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hello Phipps-

Like others have shared, I believe that the only real "issue" is being able to count those hours. I would not disregard the opportunity strictly because you cannot count hours though. You need to look at your application as a whole. Will you otherwise have another hours? Remember, hours are but one small piece and most sites will tell you that once you hit their minimum required that more is not necessarily better. Also, you can always highlight these type of additional experiences that fall out of the range of training the application directly asks about in your cover letters.

Best of luck.

👍

If you're unsure whether or not you'll be able to meet minimum hour requirements at the sites to which you're hoping to apply, then definitely look into obtaining supervision from a psychologist. However, if you already have plenty of hours, then being supervised by a physician could be worked to your advantage via cover letters and personal statements (e.g., experience with a different supervisory relationship and style, additional experience communicating with medical professionals, demonstrated ability to work as a part of an interdisciplinary team, etc.).

 

[Hope4Grad]

Hi everyone,

To riff on this topic further: what about being supervised by an LPC?

And, OP, what did you decide to do?

Hope4Grad

 

[Pragma]

Hi everyone,

To riff on this topic further: what about being supervised by an LPC?

And, OP, what did you decide to do?

Hope4Grad

Same issues here. If I recall correctly, hours for APPIC must be supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist, and I THINK that it also is involved with APA accreditation for practica you get credit for. If these are extra hours, probably not a big deal.

 

[paramour]

Same issues here. If I recall correctly, hours for APPIC must be supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist, and I THINK that it also is involved with APA accreditation for practica you get credit for. If these are extra hours, probably not a big deal.

This has always been my understanding. To be approved, hours must be (a) "sanctioned by the program," and (b) supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist. I suspect that if you don't have (a) then this leaves out (b), so you shouldn't be counting them anyway (and I should hope folks know if their programs are "counting" their hours by now?!). And it's always my understanding that if you don't have (b), then you shouldn't technically have (a) either (or at least so it goes here).

 

[Pragma]

This has always been my understanding. To be approved, hours must be (a) "sanctioned by the program," and (b) supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist. I suspect that if you don't have (a) then this leaves out (b), so you shouldn't be counting them anyway (and I should hope folks know if their programs are "counting" their hours by now?!). And it's always my understanding that if you don't have (b), then you shouldn't technically have (a) either (or at least so it goes here).

I know of some people (not in my doctoral program, but other neuropsych externs I had met) that worked as techs for money on top of their regular practicum experiences. I recall one person specifically who told me that there was a way they were able to count those hours on their AAPI. Not sure if it was program-sanctioned or not, but they were supervised by licensed clinical psychologists.

 

[paramour]

I know of some people (not in my doctoral program, but other neuropsych externs I had met) that worked as techs for money on top of their regular practicum experiences. I recall one person specifically who told me that there was a way they were able to count those hours on their AAPI. Not sure if it was program-sanctioned or not, but they were supervised by licensed clinical psychologists.

We've had folks in our program who worked outside of our "regular" practicum experiences as well (myself included). The program still had to "approve" those hours or we can't count them for APPIC. So, I have one non-practicum experience that they counted for ~1+ years (approved by the dept under the aforementioned supervision requirements), whereas the last ~1+ year they refused (and I don't get to "count" those hours). I have another experience that I just started a few months ago that will also count, but only because it's supervised by the required professional and because the dept approved it. The dept doesn't have to "offer" the practicum experience to you, but they do have to stamp off on it or you're not going very far around here...

 

[LETSGONYR]

Hi everyone,

To riff on this topic further: what about being supervised by an LPC?

And, OP, what did you decide to do?

Hope4Grad

According to my DCT (Of an APA-accredited PhD program), there are ways to accept this type of supervision, if the department makes accommodations. My understanding was that there must be someone with a license (any license, psychology, LPC, LCSW, etc.) on site when you're meeting with clients for insurance purposes... someone who is liable in case an emergency happens. My DCT said that if there were no licensed psychologists at the site, the department could find a way to provide supervision (as the faculty in my department are licensed psychologists), in addition to any supervision you'd receive on-site, to ensure that you are receiving adequate supervision from a psychological perspective.

However, he also made it clear that this is only done in extremely rare, desperate situations, and that it is absolutely not preferable and sites with licensed psychologist supervisors are strongly desired. That being said... even if it's theoretically possible, I don't know how an internship site would interpret that experience. (I had asked my DCT specifically about this because of a job opportunity, although I wound up turning that job down to avoid these types of issues.)

 

[paramour]

According to my DCT (Of an APA-accredited PhD program), there are ways to accept this type of supervision, if the department makes accommodations. My understanding was that there must be someone with a license (any license, psychology, LPC, LCSW, etc.) on site when you're meeting with clients for insurance purposes... someone who is liable in case an emergency happens. My DCT said that if there were no licensed psychologists at the site, the department could find a way to provide supervision (as the faculty in my department are licensed psychologists), in addition to any supervision you'd receive on-site, to ensure that you are receiving adequate supervision from a psychological perspective.

However, he also made it clear that this is only done in extremely rare, desperate situations, and that it is absolutely not preferable and sites with licensed psychologist supervisors are strongly desired. That being said... even if it's theoretically possible, I don't know how an internship site would interpret that experience. (I had asked my DCT specifically about this because of a job opportunity, although I wound up turning that job down to avoid these types of issues.)

Yep. Our dept does this for a select few of our practicum sites where the faculty supervisors have an interest and connection. But they're only going to do this for externships/practicum that they've established within the dept, not opportunities that students have located for themselves "voluntarily" and "hey, look-y, there's a licensed [fill in the blank non-psychologist here]." Does not compute. 👎

Yes, there needs to be someone competent, licensed, so on & so forth, but if they're not a PhD, you're flat out of luck. Licensed or not. Social workers, professional counselors, etc. may be the greatest thing since sliced bread (and I've met some wonderful qualified mental health professionals). Our dept is still not going to accept their "supervision" for students (in our program).

If anyone has questions about what does or does not count, then you really need to be asking your dept/DCT as obviously there are some significant differences about what programs consider acceptable supervision... Again, they're the ones who have to certify your hours in the end.