Psychology Internship Program 2013-2014 Training Year
Community Reach Center 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Community Reach Center 3 Center s Commitment to the Internship 3 Reach Center Programs 3 Primary Service Locations 4 Psychology Internship Program 5 Internship Rotations 5 Training and Supervision 7 Evaluations 7 Example of Intern Schedule 8 Psychology Internship Faculty 9 Procedure for Application 11 Application 11 Interview 11 APPIC Policies 11
Community Reach Center 3 COMMUNITY REACH CENTER The Community Reach Center is a comprehensive community mental health center, which provides services to residents of Adams County, excluding the city of Aurora. The county is adjacent to and immediately north of Denver and the county seat is in Brighton. There are approximately 298,000 residents in the service area and over 30% are under the age of 19. Approximately 25% are from ethnically diverse groups, predominantly Hispanic (18.6%). Last fiscal year, Reach Center served over 10,000 consumers. CENTER S COMMITMENT TO THE INTERNSHIP The Community Reach Center exists for the purpose of providing high quality mental health services to the citizens of Adams County, Colorado. This purpose includes a broader responsibility to participate in the training of doctoral students in psychology in order to advance and improve the field of community mental health. It is our belief that interns significantly enhance the quality of a service-providing program and contribute vitality, new perspectives, and considerable expertise. At the Reach Center, we believe the optimal environment for interns to transition from student to professional is under the supervision and guidance of an experienced licensed psychologist. In keeping with these beliefs, the Community Reach Center has developed an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited psychology internship program for graduate students who have completed all course work necessary for a doctorate in psychology. (APA s Commission on Accreditation (CoA) can be contacted at 750 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-4242, (202) 336-5979) REACH CENTER PROGRAMS The Community Reach Center offers services to children, adolescents, and adults. Services are available for persons experiencing difficulties ranging from acute crisis situations to severe and persistent mental illness. The following is a non-exhaustive list of programs and services available to children and adults through the Center. Integrated Services Collaborative Community Services Northglenn Commerce City Thornton Westminster Brighton Child Development Center School Based Therapy Day Treatment STREET (home-based services) Vocational Services HUD Housing Adult Intensive (IOP) Adolescent Intensive (IOP)
Community Reach Center 4 Intensive Services Medical Services Emergency Services (crisis, crisis management) OBRA (Nursing Home Care) Adult Residential Services Justice, Accountability, and Recovery (Adult and Adolescent Forensic) Case Management Psychological Services (Psychology Internship and Testing Team) Mountainland Pediatrics Psychiatrists Nursing Services School Based Health Clinics Integrated Care PRIMARY SERVICE LOCATIONS Mary Ciancio Memorial Building (MCMB)/ Thornton Office Located in Thornton and houses administrative offices and outpatient team that provides services to adults, children, and families. Commerce City Office Located in Commerce City and houses an outpatient team that serves adult, children, and families, the adult residential continuum teams, and Adolescent and Adult Intensive Teams. Brighton Office Located in Brighton and includes an outpatient team that serves adults, children, and families. Gateway Building Next door to the MCMB in Thornton, it houses the Crisis Team (for walk-in crises), Adult Forensics, and Juvenile Forensics. Northglenn Building Located in Northglenn, this site houses a number of teams that provide intensive services to children (School Based Teams, Day Treatment, and Home Team), and an outpatient team that serves adults, children, and families. Mountainland Located in Thornton, this location houses Early Childhood Services and pediatric medical offices. Westminster Office Located in Westminster and houses an outpatient team that serves adult, children, and families
Community Reach Center 5 PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM The goal of our psychology internship program is to prepare doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology to provide psychological services in public mental health, managed care, and private sector settings. Our model is the scholar-practitioner model, and training is generalist, with some opportunities for specialization. We expect that the interns will begin the training year with knowledge of the theories, research, and models of general psychology, in addition to having basic clinical skills in therapy and assessment. Applicants should have administered and written up to five or more comprehensive evaluations (at least one of which included a Rorschach), and provided at least 500 hours of psychotherapy under supervision. During the internship, interns are expected to increase their knowledge of clinical psychology and their ability to intervene in ways that are sensitive to the level of the client s psychopathology, ethnic or cultural background, and legal or ethical factors. Interns are expected to be functioning at a beginning doctoral level by the end of internship. Interns will work on average 40 to 45 hours per week. Research opportunities are available but are not required. There are five full-time, one-year Generalist training internship positions available. Interns are paid an annual stipend of $20,000. For qualifying Bilingual (English/Spanish) interns, an additional pay differential will be offered to compensate for language skills competency. Benefits are the same as those for all staff, including 20 days of leave time (includes sick and annual leave). Health and dental insurance plans are also available for the intern, family members, and domestic partners. Our training year begins on July 29, 2013. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we value diversity and encourage all qualified applicants to apply. INTERNSHIP ROTATIONS Each intern has a licensed psychologist as primary supervisor for his or her clinical work. After an initial orientation, interns are expected to function as and be treated as full professional members of the team. Because the Community Reach Center has a capitation contract with the State of Colorado to provide mental health services to Medicaid consumers, all interns will gain experience with managed care. In addition, they will gain experience with various insurance companies and fee-for-service situations. Supervision is provided for all rotations. In addition to the rotations listed below, interns may have the opportunity to supervise master s level clinicians, practicum students, or case managers. Primary Rotations The primary rotation is 20 hours a week for one year. A minimum of 3-4 hours a week (of the 20 hour primary rotation) is allotted for individual supervision, team meetings, and clinical meetings. This full-year assignment allows interns the opportunity to develop a sense of stability and professional identity. It also promotes continuity of client care and experience providing intermediate and long-term treatment, though brief therapy is emphasized. Each of the 5 interns will complete a Generalist training internship. The primary assignment is made to one of the following outpatient sites: Thornton,
Community Reach Center 6 Northglenn, Commerce City, Westminster, or Brighton. Community Reach Center s Generalist training allows for the opportunity to treat children (ages 7 and older) adolescents, and adults of all ages. In addition, each outpatient office provides individual, family, and group therapy. Although the internship training is described as Generalist, if an intern has an interest in focusing more on the treatment of children and adolescents, our site can readily accommodate this interest and need. Minor Rotations To complement and broaden the training gained from the primary rotation, each intern will do three rotations of 100-200 hours each. These include the following: Crisis Rotation This rotation includes working with the Crisis Team. Duties may include leading a crisis group, fielding crisis phone calls, and conducting office-based and hospital evaluations. SPMI Rotation A wide variety of services to the severely and persistently mentally ill (SPMI) are available for this rotation. In the past, duties have included providing therapy to nursing home residents and / or co-leading a variety of groups with SPMI consumers (e.g., DBT, trauma, substance abuse). Interns also have opportunities to attend certification hearings. Elective An elective rotation is offered in order to provide interns with the opportunity to pursue a special interest. Possible electives include services to the elderly, ethnically diverse consumers, early childhood services, children, play therapy, administration, program evaluation, interagency liaison, trauma treatment, community liaison, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, and groups with victims of domestic violence. Interns ideas for an elective rotation are welcome. Testing and Evaluation Team Interns will complete 12 evaluations on the testing team. Referrals for assessments are received internally from Reach Center staff or from external sources such as social services, the probation department, and juvenile detention. Typical batteries include a WAIS-IV / WISC-IV, MMPI-II / MMPI-A, and appropriate projective personality measures, including the Rorschach. Additional tests are available for testing (e.g., TAT, Sentence Completion Test, Draw-a-Person Test, WRAT-4, Child Behavior Checklist, BASC-2, SIB-R, Vineland). All interns must complete a Rorschach course using the Exner Comprehensive System prior to beginning the internship training year. Training and supervision are provided weekly during the three-hour Testing Seminar. Interns are also expected to provide one clinically relevant professional presentation to the agency.
Community Reach Center 7 TRAINING AND SUPERVISION Interns spend five to seven hours a week in training activities and group supervision in addition to two hours a week of individual supervision with a licensed psychologist. Interns are required to attend all team meetings, which include clinical discussions, and encouraged to attend agency in-services. Interns also have opportunities for doing group and co-therapy with more experienced clinicians. Each of the seminars listed below includes a licensed psychologist. The following is a partial list of training activities interns attend: 1 hour every other week of supervision with Chief Psychologist or Director of Psychology Internship 2 hours of seminar/group supervision a week with Chief Psychologist, Director of Psychology Internship, or other mental health professional 3 hours a week in Testing Seminar led by Testing Team Manager A minimum of 2 hours a month in Intern time EVALUATIONS Six weeks into the training year primary rotations are evaluated to see if they are meeting interns needs. If there are difficulties, a formal procedure is followed to address any difficulties. Formal six month and twelve month evaluations of each intern s performance are provided to the respective graduate school by the primary supervisor (or as requested by each program.) The intern and the Director of Training review these before they are sent. The Director of Training requests formal six-month and year-end written evaluations of the internship program and supervisors from each intern. Informal evaluations of individual and program performance are expected to take place in individual and group supervision throughout the year.
Community Reach Center 8 EXAMPLE OF INTERNS SCHEDULES Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 8:00 Testing 9:00 Individual Seminar Supervision 10:00 Psych Evaluation 11:00 Group Supervision 12:00 Crisis Team 1:00 Meeting DBT group Psychology 2:00 Seminar 3:00 4:00 5:00 Individual Supervision Report Writing Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 8:00 Team Individual Meeting Testing Supervision 9:00 DBT Seminar Parent/Child Group Interactional 10:00 Evaluation 11:00 Group Supervision 12:00 1:00 Psychology Seminar 2:00 Preadolescent Boys Group Psych Evaluation Feedback Session 3:00 Psych Evaluation 4:00 Individual Supervision Documentation 5:00
Community Reach Center 9 PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP FACULTY Faculty Position Theoretical Areas of Interest Orientation Lisa Puma, Ph.D. Chief Psychologist Humanistic Sexual Orientation University of Akron, 1996 Cognitive Behavioral Assessment Erika McElroy, Ph.D. Director of Psychology Integrative: Existential, Trauma University of Utah, 2004 Internship Interpersonal, Cognitive Child Maltreatment Behavioral Evidence-based Practice Clinical/Outcome Research Laurie Schleper, Ph.D. Testing Team Manager Existential Psych Assessment Colorado State University, Cognitive Behavioral Children/Adolescents 2003 Pervasive Developmental Disorders Trauma Health Psychology Play Therapy Libbi Palmer, Psy.D Clinical Data Analyst Cognitive Behavioral Trauma University of Northern Solution Focused Play Therapy Colorado, 2005 Forensic Assessment of children Disaster mental health Evidence-based Practice Jill Atkinson, Psy.D Clinical Division Cognitive Behavioral Trauma California School of Director Children and Families Professional Psychology, Personality Disorders Los Angeles Campus, 1994 Abigail Tucker, Psy.D Senior Manager Cognitive Behavioral Emergency and Disaster Nova Southeastern Justice, Accountability, Response Mental Health University, 2005 and Recovery Program Police Psychology Forensics Tiah Terranova, Psy.D Behavioral Health Family Systems Integrated Care Argosy University/Chicago, Psychologist Cognitive Behavioral Trauma 2010 Mountainland Pediatrics Diversity Issues Early Childhood Adolescents Systems Issues Assessment
Community Reach Center 10 Matt Davis, Psy.D Bilingual Behavioral Psychodynamic Integrated Care Rosemead School of Health Specialist Emotion-Focused Couples Treatment Professional Psychology, 2011 Clinica Family Health Personality Disorders Services Men and Masculinity Erica Hope, Ph.D. Therapist Constructivist Trauma University of Northern Commerce City Addictions Colorado, 2012 Couples/Family
Community Reach Center 11 PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION APPLICATION To apply for the psychology internship please submit the following online through APPIC by November 5, 2012: 1. Completed APPIC application for Psychology Internship (AAPI). This document is available for downloading through the APPIC Website: http://www.appic.org/ 2. Three letters of recommendation 3. Graduate Transcripts 4. Psychological evaluation report which must include a WAIS-IV / WISC-IV, Rorschach, and MMPI-II / MMPI-A, or Parent/Caregiver checklist (if evaluation completed on a child). Please note, if you are unable to submit a report that includes the Rorschach as part of a comprehensive battery, please include an additional sample write-up of a Rorschach. 5. Curriculum Vita (CV) INTERVIEW An interview will be required of all applicants being considered after applications have been thoroughly screened and reviewed. We prefer that the candidate interview on site, but we will arrange phone interviews in special circumstances. Face-to-face contact between prospective interns and psychology faculty may give us a clearer impression of each other and may therefore provide an advantage to interns who apply in person. Interviews are generally scheduled for Thursdays in January. APPIC POLICIES The Community Reach Center Psychology Internship agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking related information from any intern applicant. As an APPIC internship we adhere to APPIC match policies. Thank you for your interest in our Psychology Internship Program. If you have additional questions please feel free to contact Erika McElroy, Ph.D. (Director of Psychology Internship) at (303) 853-3662 or email, e.mcelroy@communityreachcenter.org, or Lisa Puma, Ph.D. (Chief Psychologist) at (303) 853-3685 or email at l.puma@communityreachcenter.org.