PhD/PsyD What happens if you don't get an internship?

[bre333]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I did try searching for it and was surprised I couldn't find an answer. So, what happens if you don't place at an APA accredited internship site? What are your options? From what I can tell, it's definitely a scenario to be avoided, but what on earth do you do if that happens?

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[cara susanna]

You go non-APA (if you applied to any of those sites), try again next year, or find another career. You can also hope and pray that something opens up in the Post-Match Vacancy. It's rare but it does happen.

 

[bre333]

What happens in the year off? Are you still a student and a member of the program, do you find work elsewhere?

 

[cara susanna]

You're still a student but if you're finished with all of your classes you have to enroll in some type of continuing enrollment credit, which costs money. You can get a clinically-oriented job but you can't count hours earned there towards your AAPI. You can also try to get another practicum. And if you haven't done so already, you work on and try to finish your dissertation. You also work on interviewing skills or whatever you think might have contributed to your not matching (although in many cases there was nothing that you did, really). Basically, you do what you can to improve your application and your chances for next year. For instance, many people in my program who didn't match their first time moved away to do a specialized practicum site that wasn't available around here.

 

[WisNeuro]

If your school will give you funding, stay and bolster the weaknesses in your CV. If not, see if you can find clinical or research work elsewhere.

 

[Rivi]

If you don't match at all, you apply again next year and take the year to work full/part-time, finish your dissertation, etc. You are still a student and a member of the program, just not enrolled full-time, but I imagine it depends on the situation. APA-accredited sites are required for federal government employment, etc. so it is in your best interest to get an APA-accredited site. Unfortunately, many people have to settle because of the internship imbalance.

 

[bre333]

That really clears it up for me, thanks everyone!

 

[cara susanna]

You asked a really good question that IMO more clinical/counseling PhD/PsyD applicants need to think about. Be aware that you can do everything right and still not match. It's a scary situation and I'm not sure if it will improve by the time you would be applying.

 

[Dream Chaser]

Good question OP. I did not match my first year applying (despite having a good number of interviews in phase 1 and phase 2). Since I completed my dissertation and all course requirements (and then some), I opted to take a leave of absence (LOA) and work full time in a clinical setting. Because of the circumstances of this plan of action I was required to discuss and get approval from the DCT, my advisor, and the department chair. I was able to avoid taking out an additional year of loans and able to support myself financially. The draw backs to this arrangement were that my loans went into repayment during my year off and the clinical hours I earned could not be counted on the APPIC (although I had plenty accrued my first time around). Some of the benefits were not having to take additional loans, having time to beef up my CV, practice interviewing skills, gain supervisory experience (I'm licensed at the masters level), and had some time to travel. I applied again the second time around and matched to my top sight (which in my opinion was well worth the wait). Good luck to all those applying this year!

 

[G Costanza]

Just wondering how many interviews you had the first year applying and what did you do different the second year?

Good question OP. I did not match my first year applying (despite having a good number of interviews in phase 1 and phase 2). Since I completed my dissertation and all course requirements (and then some), I opted to take a leave of absence (LOA) and work full time in a clinical setting. Because of the circumstances of this plan of action I was required to discuss and get approval from the DCT, my advisor, and the department chair. I was able to avoid taking out an additional year of loans and able to support myself financially. The draw backs to this arrangement were that my loans went into repayment during my year off and the clinical hours I earned could not be counted on the APPIC (although I had plenty accrued my first time around). Some of the benefits were not having to take additional loans, having time to beef up my CV, practice interviewing skills, gain supervisory experience (I'm licensed at the masters level), and had some time to travel. I applied again the second time around and matched to my top sight (which in my opinion was well worth the wait). Good luck to all those applying this year!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

The # of interviews matter to a point, but there are enough moderating factors to make it a bit fuzzy. It may be helpful to look at the year to year APPIC Match Stats, as they have data that looks at # of ranked sites and match %.

 

[Dream Chaser]

I applied to 15 sites my first year and received 7 interview invites (all ranked). Second year around I applied to 19 and received 14 interview invites (mostly BOP and Forensic/state hospital sites). Between year one and year two I worked to refine my career goals, participated in trainings related to career goals, continued to receive regular clinical supervision, supervised masters level students, improved interviewing skills ( I am somewhat introverted, which in interviews doesn't help when surrounded by extroverts) and was overall more confident. I discussed more of the "fit" in my cover letters and reiterated this in my interviews. Non clinically I traveled, focused on self care and started some hobbies. My clinical contact hours and essays did not change much between year one and year two aside of updating to include recent experiences.

 

[Dream Chaser]

The # of interviews matter to a point, but there are enough moderating factors to make it a bit fuzzy. It may be helpful to look at the year to year APPIC Match Stats, as they have data that looks at # of ranked sites and match %.

True statement given that there are several factors that go into the application and matching process. Also, sometimes there are just flukes in the system as there are not enough sites available for everyone to get an internship. My first year applying, a number of sites had financial difficulties, a few I applied to lost funding and did not send interview invites and 2 of the sites I received an interview at went from having 3 positions available to 2. Financially things seem to be a bit smoother these past 2 years.

Ultimately, do the best you can and although it's tough, try not to worry about the numbers game too much.

 

[PsychPhDone]

Depends on your program and your choices. In my program, the occasional non-matcher has stayed for the following year, trying to make progress; successfully matched in phase II; or moved for a new clinical/research opportunity for the year.

 

[Rivi]

I applied to 15 sites my first year and received 7 interview invites (all ranked). Second year around I applied to 19 and received 14 interview invites (mostly BOP and Forensic/state hospital sites). Between year one and year two I worked to refine my career goals, participated in trainings related to career goals, continued to receive regular clinical supervision, supervised masters level students, improved interviewing skills ( I am somewhat introverted, which in interviews doesn't help when surrounded by extroverts) and was overall more confident. I discussed more of the "fit" in my cover letters and reiterated this in my interviews. Non clinically I traveled, focused on self care and started some hobbies. My clinical contact hours and essays did not change much between year one and year two aside of updating to include recent experiences.

Glad to hear things worked out for you Dream Chaser. I hate hearing about people not matching.

 

[futureapppsy2]

You asked a really good question that IMO more clinical/counseling PhD/PsyD applicants need to think about. Be aware that you can do everything right and still not match. It's a scary situation and I'm not sure if it will improve by the time you would be applying.

Yep. I know someone who matched on their third try (from a good university-based PhD program). The first time was "more okay" because it allowed them to finish their dissertation, but I got the impression that is was harder for them to figure out how to spend their second gap year, especially because their publications and clinical hours were already fairly competitive. They did end up matching to a prestigious site on their third try and continuing on a very solid post-doc from there, though.

 

[Pragma]

I think my program had a 90-95% match rate, but I knew 3 people who didn't match for various reasons over the years (couples match, geo restriction, etc). They all were great candidates and it seemed like a fluke to me. Two of them found good alternative internship sites and ended up at great postdocs. One of them decided that the alternatives weren't good enough, finished their dissertation, published some stuff, and got a really good site the following year. All three are highly successful now. I should mention though, the non-match was really stressful and they all reached out for support, which they got in the form of phone calls and other forms of networking.

The other thing that I will say is that this was a program with a solid rep. I am not sure how it is for programs with subpar reputations.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I think my program had a 90-95% match rate, but I knew 3 people who didn't match for various reasons over the years (couples match, geo restriction, etc). They all were great candidates and it seemed like a fluke to me. Two of them found good alternative internship sites and ended up at great postdocs. One of them decided that the alternatives weren't good enough, finished their dissertation, published some stuff, and got a really good site the following year. All three are highly successful now. I should mention though, the non-match was really stressful and they all reached out for support, which they got in the form of phone calls and other forms of networking.

The other thing that I will say is that this was a program with a solid rep. I am not sure how it is for programs with subpar reputations.

I had similar experiences with my program, although the folks who didn't match were less fluky. Our match rate was typically 100%, although there were maybe 3 folks who didn't match while I was in school--one applied to sites that weren't a strong fit with prior training (who matched the following year and is doing great), and the other two had what I'll term "interpersonal" challenges/difficulties. As Pragma mentioned, though, I believe all three received pretty significant programmatic support via phone calls, networking, etc.