Preparation for Attaining an APA-accredited Internship

[ResearchRefuge]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello, all.

I am about to enter my first year in an APA-accrediated doctoral program in School Psychology. Though I know not all School Psychology Ph.D. students pursue an APA internship, it is a priority for me. Therefore, I was wondering what one can do to best prepare for acceptance at such an internship site. What kind of activities count toward your hours for an APA internship? Do all assessment/practicum hours count, or only the direct assessment/consultation? How many hours should I aim for? What kinds of things should I focus upon in my practicum placements? Thankfully, the school which I will attend provides for a wide range of experiences, I just need to narrow my focus. Also, how important is it to have publications, presentations, teaching experience, etc? It is likely that I will be able to teach a class of my own in the next two years. However, how many classes should I attempt to teach, how many publications, how many presentations?

Thank you for your help. I am just attempting to be strategic with my time in graduate school.

I apologize if this topic has previously been discussed, however I could not find this information through searching the site.

 

[PsychGraduate]

Preparation for Attaining an APA-accredited Internship
Hello, all.

I am about to enter my first year in an APA-accrediated doctoral program in School Psychology. Though I know not all School Psychology Ph.D. students pursue an APA internship, it is a priority for me. Therefore, I was wondering what one can do to best prepare for acceptance at such an internship site. What kind of activities count toward your hours for an APA internship? Do all assessment/practicum hours count, or only the direct assessment/consultation? How many hours should I aim for? What kinds of things should I focus upon in my practicum placements? Thankfully, the school which I will attend provides for a wide range of experiences, I just need to narrow my focus. Also, how important is it to have publications, presentations, teaching experience, etc? It is likely that I will be able to teach a class of my own in the next two years. However, how many classes should I attempt to teach, how many publications, how many presentations?

Thank you for your help. I am just attempting to be strategic with my time in graduate school.

I apologize if this topic has previously been discussed, however I could not find this information through searching the site

Practica are conducted through the respective school and internships are begun after the practica and courses are finished.

Look into programs early and at as many sites as you find of ineterest and can get to to get a feel for what your internships may be like and what training may be of relevance, though when you finish your program those internships may not be available. Get strong letters of recommendation, a copy of your transcripts, and chdck out www.apa.org for a list of pre-doctoral and doctoral level internships. Also check out www.appic.org. The actual internship must be conducted under a a credentialed school psychologist.

Some University/professional prgrams have their own clinics and provide practicum training on site while others place their students in the community for practicums. Practicums can be anywhere from 4-10 hours a week on average. Practicums are more school based and may be tied into a specific course and require meeting with appropriate school faculty.

Internships are completed after all of a student's coursework and practica is finished. Internships are either full time or half time over 2 years with approval from the APA. The field supervisor is more responsible for your training than the school faculty in an internship as opposed to in the practica. The internship is far more intense than a practica and requires a broad range of skill sets to be used and further developed. The practica and course work are really primers for later more intensive internship application and training.

The APA and NASP both require at least 1500 hours kept on record for doctoral level internships.

For further reading:

http://books.google.com/books?id=meM9nDPq9aYC&pg=PA86&dq=APA+internships&hl=en&ei=XuUiTPuwM5OLnAetqI3BDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=APA%20internships&f=false

Also see the APA monitor.