Clinical Psychology Internship at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in our internship program. We offer four internship positions, two for general clinical training and two specialized internship tracks, one each in neuropsychology and health psychology. We especially encourage applicants who are interested in working with an ethnic minority population, as the majority of our patients are African-American. Our primary goal as an internship is to produce competent graduates who will be ready for entry-level positions, or further specialized post-doctoral training in clinical psychology.

The strengths of our internship program are:

Balance:  We recognize the need for a personal life and the need to complete dissertations. Our interns have sufficient time (and energy!) to complete their dissertation work, if necessary, during the internship, and usually do so. Interns work 40-45 hours per week, as do staff.

Flexibility: We work together with you to be creative in figuring how to fulfill your training needs. Interns choose their own rotations and ask for input as needed. General track interns choose from 5 major rotation choices and all interns choose from over a dozen minor rotation choices. Off-site rotations are also available.

Breadth: All interns get ongoing experience in individual and group therapy, as well as an opportunity to get breadth in training through their rotation choices.

Diversity: We work with a diverse, urban population. While the VA setting is ideal for those who desire intensive experience with a male population, we do treat more female veterans than most VA medical centers. Our population is ethnically diverse; the majority of our patients are African-American and most of the rest of our veterans are Latino and European-American. More information about our veteran population and related diversity issues can be found in our diversity statement.

Professional development:  Supervisors mentor interns as they adapt to the rigors of full-time clinical work, both through talking about professional coping and giving input on managing (or reducing if necessary) one’s workload. Individual professional issues are dealt with in a supportive fashion. Quality of training experiences remains our primary emphasis.

Relationships with colleagues:  Our supervisors are enthusiastic about working with interns. We have twice the staff per intern as the average internship site. We enjoy seeing our interns become more confident and autonomous as the year progresses.

Career development and mentoring:  Interns and I discuss career issues throughout the internship. Networking is facilitated and encouraged. Over 90% of our graduating interns in the past few years have secured a highly competitive job or post-doc by their last day at the VA.

I speak for all the staff in saying that we welcome and encourage your application and interest in our program.

Eric Van Denburg, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Training

 

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