PhD/PsyD Neuropsychology Letters of Rec Distribution

[nervenotpluck]

Hello all,

I am currently in the process of applying to neuropsychology internship programs and am deciding which letters to send to each site. I'm deciding between:

1) Sending two letters from my neuro practica supervisors and one from my dissertation chair (also a neuropsychologist)
2) Sending one letter from my chair, one from a neuro supervisor, and one from a therapy practicum supervisor.

The advantage of the former option is that training sites can see my developmental progress across several neuro training experiences, but the advantage of the second option is that (I assume) non-neuropsych faculty at a given site will also be screening letters and may want to see a strong grounding in general clinical skills as well as neuro skills. Which would be the ideal option here?

Thanks for any advice in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Honestly, I don't know that there'd be much difference between the two. Just choose the writers you think will give you the strongest letters and/or know you and your work the best.

 

[Pragma]

If they are neuro track internships it wouldn't be a bad idea to have two neuro letters.

 

[nervenotpluck]

Thank you both!

 

[psych.meout]

Does the neuro internships prefer some kinds of intervention practica experience over others?

E.g.
inpatient vs. outpatient
Outpatient: traditional psychiatry vs. integrated primary care vs. specialty clinic (e.g. pain)
CBT vs. ACT vs. DBT
peds vs. adult vs. gero
AMC vs. VA vs. community mental health
civilians vs. vets

Or if they want a diversity of these experiences, what would an ideal mix look like?

 

[Kadhir]

Chair/neuropsychologist, neuropsych practicum supervisor, and therapy supervisor was what I did, and I'd probably recommend the same. My practicum letter was actually a joint letter from two neuro supervisors at the same site, so you might consider asking folks if they would be willing to do that.

Never really a bad idea to show that you have some intervention skills, if we're really sticking to the position that neuropsychology is a subspecialty of clinical psychology. Especially relevant for VAs.

 

[nervenotpluck]

Chair/neuropsychologist, neuropsych practicum supervisor, and therapy supervisor was what I did, and I'd probably recommend the same. My practicum letter was actually a joint letter from two neuro supervisors at the same site, so you might consider asking folks if they would be willing to do that.

Never really a bad idea to show that you have some intervention skills, if we're really sticking to the position that neuropsychology is a subspecialty of clinical psychology. Especially relevant for VAs.

Thank you!

 

[McCartney]

I did a combination of the two. I had letters from two of my neuropsych practicum supervisors, and a letter from my dissertation chair (also a neuropsychologist, with whom I had done primarily research and a couple clinical cases). Then, I asked one of my therapy supervisors to write a short excerpt about my intervention skills, and my mentor included it in his letter. I know others who have done something similar to highlight their therapy background without spending a whole letter on it.