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edieb

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Does this cover letter sound good? I am going to use it if I have to go to clearinghouse this year. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to write them!!!

Thanks in advance, darlings



02/06

Dr. XX


Dear Dr. XX,

I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in adult clinical psychology at Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge. I would like to apply to the internship program at XX for the 2006-2007 year. I have attached by curriculum vitae to this e-mail. If you require them, I would also be happy to provide you with my three letters of reference, my readiness for internship from my school’s director of clinical training, copies of my graduate school transcript, and/or my APPIC application.

I am very interested in the XX internship program and the opportunity to continue my training in clinical psychology. I am interested in your program to increase my exposure to gain more experience in assessment and treatment of persons with mental illness. I have gained experience in many different areas of clinical psychology (e.g., conducting many neuropsychological assessments, working in a large charity hospital conducting outpatient psychotherapy, inpatient diagnostic consults, and working in a hospital dealing with medical psychology issues such as fitness for organ transplants) and have worked with diverse populations. However, I am excited about expanding my knowledge of clinical psychology as well as honing my existing skills.

Thank You,

XX

Members don't see this ad.
 
edieb said:
Does this cover letter sound good? I am going to use it if I have to go to clearinghouse this year. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to write them!!!

Thanks in advance, darlings



02/06

Dr. XX


Dear Dr. XX,

I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in adult clinical psychology at Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge. I would like to apply to the internship program at XX for the 2006-2007 year. I have attached by curriculum vitae to this e-mail. If you require them, I would also be happy to provide you with my three letters of reference, my readiness for internship from my school’s director of clinical training, copies of my graduate school transcript, and/or my APPIC application.

I am very interested in the XX internship program and the opportunity to continue my training in clinical psychology. I am interested in your program to increase my exposure to gain more experience in assessment and treatment of persons with mental illness. I have gained experience in many different areas of clinical psychology (e.g., conducting many neuropsychological assessments, working in a large charity hospital conducting outpatient psychotherapy, inpatient diagnostic consults, and working in a hospital dealing with medical psychology issues such as fitness for organ transplants) and have worked with diverse populations. However, I am excited about expanding my knowledge of clinical psychology as well as honing my existing skills.

Thank You,

XX

Before I make any suggestions, do you still need this or did you match?

:luck:
 
I am shocked - only a few people at my school matched, and I was not one of those people. So please give me any suggestions ASAP. I need for my cover letter to really stand out.

Thanks in advance

psychgeek said:
Before I make any suggestions, do you still need this or did you match?

:luck:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Are you doing individual ones specifically catered to different sites? That may make it stand out more.
 
Sorry to hear that things didn't work out, but at least it sounds like you will have a lot of fellow students who can support you.

I don't know a lot about the clearing house, but I remember being told that the CV was the most important part of your abbreviated application so make sure it is really good. I also remember being told to have a reliable phone with call waiting and voicemail available so that PDs won't get busy signals.

As for your cover letter the only change I might make is to more specifically mention why you are interested in the internship site in question. I don't think this has to be too detailed (you could even make out a few general ones over the weekend for similar places like VA's, large psychiatry departments within hospitals, and college counseling centers).

Good Luck

PS - I bet if there seems to be an unusually high number of students who didn't match there is also an unusually high number of programs that didn't fill
 
Thanks - I am taking your advice and making a few different "reasons" to go to different types of departments.
 
XX
4155 Essen Lane, 118
Baton Rouge, LA 70809


Primary Phone Number: (214) 662-1791
Secondary Phone Number: (225) 930-7511

Personal Information:

Date of birth: 8/1/77
Place of birth: Dallas, Texas
Single
No children

Education:

Ph.D. Candidate, Clinical Psychology
Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, Louisiana
American Psychological Association-approved program
2006 (anticipated completion)

M.A., Clinical Psychology, December 2004
Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, Louisiana

B.A.; Psychology, May 2002
University of North Texas; Denton, Texas

Professional Involvement:

Student Member of the Louisiana Psychological Association since 2004
Student Affiliate of the American Psychological Association since 2003

Offices/Positions Held Within Professional Organizations:
APAGS-Advocacy Coordinating Team Subcommittee-APAGS Campus Representative (2003-2004)
Represented APAGS on campus to psychology students and serving as advocacy coordinator and keeping students apprised of professional and legislative issues as directed by APAGS.

Presentations and Posters:

Ancona, M., Prattini, R., & Brantley, P.J. (2005, November). Cognitive Adaptation’s Implication on Diabetic Adherence. American Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New Orleans, Louisnana.

Galland, H., Brantley, P.J. & Ancona, M. (2005, May). Consent for Care or Prevent Care, the Effect of the Consent for Care on Services Consented for. Issues and Answers in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Bodenlos, J.S., Whitehead, D., Grothe, K.B., Ancona, M., & Brantley, P.J. (2005, November). Effect of Psychosocial Stressors on Appointment Adherence among Low-Income African American HIV Positive Persons. American Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New Orleans, Louisiana

Bodenlos, J.S., Whitehead, D., Grothe, K.B., Ancona, M.N., Jones, G.N., & Brantley, P.J. (2005, November). A Comparison of Medical Utilization and Patient Satisfaction in Depressed versus Nondepressed Low-Income African American Patients with HIV/AIDS. 3th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Washington, D.C.

Publications:

Validation of the Beck Depression Inventory-II in a low income African-American
sample of outpatients. Psychological Assessment, 17(1), 110-114

Development and Validation of the Weekly Stress Inventory – Short Form (IN PRESS)
Psychological Assessment, 19(2), page numbers not yet determined



Practica/Predoctoral Internship Clinical Experience

Fall 2002-Fall 2003, Fall 2004 – Fall 2005

Outpatient Psychology Extern
Adult Clinical Psychology/Center for Primary Care Research
Earl K. Long Hospital
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

Conducted both inpatient and outpatient assessment on members of an adult clinical population referred by various clinics within the hospital. These include interferon treatment evaluations, organ transplant evaluations, and standard clinical assessments. Also facilitated process groups for the treatment of depression and nicotine dependence. Participated in weekly staff meeting, individual and team supervision.







Spring 2005 – present

Margaret Dumas Mental Health Center
Capital Area Mental Health Services
.

Conducted outpatient psychological and neuropsychological assessments and conducted psychotherapy with community-based low SES persons. Specific assessments included malingering, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, dementing and psychotic disorders. Assessment techniques utilized mainly clinical interview. Also conducted comprehensive neuropsychological and psychoeducational evaluations using WAIS-R, WMS, Woodcock Johnson, PAI, Bender-Gestalt, RAYVLT, and TOMM.



Fall 2003- Summer 2005

Early Intervention Clinic
Adult Clinical Psychology Department
Earl K. Long Mid City Clinic
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
.

Conducted outpatient and inpatient assessment and psychotherapy on individuals within the community who are infected with HIV and AIDS. Specific assessments include mood disorders, amnestic disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders and substance disorders. Also conducted medication adherence evaluations. Assessment techniques utilized psychological instruments and clinical interviews. Also conducted night clinic screenings that involved shadowing a physician in a fast-paced clinic and briefly screening patients for psychopathology and medication adherence issues.

Fall 2003- Summer 2003, Summer 2005-Present

Psychological Services Center
Louisiana State University


Conducted psychoeducational assessments on college and high school-aged persons, participated in weekly case staff meetings, and conducted feedback sessions with families of assessment subjects and subjects, themselves.. Instruments used include: Wechlser Adult Intelligence Scale, Wechsler Memory Scale, Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement, Personality Assessment Inventory, Trail Making Tests A and B, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.



AAPI HOURS SUMMARY

2696 Total Assessment and Intervention Hours
5192 Total Practicum Hours (Assessment, Intervention, Support and Supervision)



Research

Dissertation Topic – Anxiety Sensitivity’s Association with Tobacco-Related Positive and Negative Outcome Expectancies

Earl K. Long Center for Primary Care Research February 2005-August 2005
Worked as part of research team to collect and analyze data in order to validate the Weekly Stress Inventory- Short Form.


Earl K. Long Center for Primary Care Research June 2004 – December 2004
Worked as co-primary investigator to collect and analyze data in order to ascertain whether persons with Type 2 diabetes mellitus who had higher levels of cognitive adaptation had higher levels of dyscontrolled HbA1c levels. Also analyzed data and defended project to thesis committee.

Earl K. Long Center for Primary Care Research September 2002-May 2003
Worked as part of research team to collect and analyze data in order to validate the Beck Depression Inventory II.

Professional Development

Motivational Interviewing Telecourse: 8 week telecourse that teaches participants
introductory motivational interviewing techniques. Taught by XX Van Horn, Ph.D.

Thesis:

Cognitive Adaptation’s Implication on Diabetes Adherence, December 2004.

Article Reviews:

Component processes of the HVLT-R in HIV-1 (For: Journal: Annals of Clinical Neuropsychology)
 
I don't have time to give full feedback, but here are some quick thoughts:

Do you have any honors or awards? If so, definitely list them immediately after your academic history. Even if it is just some departmental money to travel to a conference, list it.

AABT = Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy. There is no "American" in the name of the organization. Of course, now it's ABCT. But when you gave your posters, it was still AABT. ;)

You should include the author list on your publication citations.

And as you started with your research info, I would list your "research experience" immediately after your publication record. Then after your research experience section, provide a section on your "clinical experience."

Under the "research experience" section, provide a brief synopsis of your dissertation (e.g., the purpose of this study is to examine... in a sample of individuals presenting with ...). In the synopsis, end with a short sentence about where you are in the process (e.g., is your data collection complete? is data collection ongoing?).

I would also list your primary mentor under any (research and clinical) experience you mention - you never know who knows who.

I'm sorry to hear that you found yourself in this position. Hang in there!
 
Thanks for the feedback, I will make those changes!
 
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