APA-Accredited Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology

(Following the recommendation by the American Psychological Association Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, the title of the internship program was changed from "Predoctoral Internship" to "Doctoral Internship" in October 2013.)

The goal of the Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology at CAPS is to prepare doctoral students in the final stages of their graduate training for broad, competent, and responsible functioning as professional psychologists in the mental health care system. The program provides interns with the opportunity to develop and refine general skills that are fundamental to the independent practice of health service psychology, and applicable to a wide variety of mental healthcare settings.

The internship training program places particular emphasis on consolidation of a theoretical body of knowledge; competencies in individual and group psychotherapy, clinical exam, crisis exam and intervention, consultation and advocacy, preventive and developmental outreach programs, and supervision skills. Interns are also expected to deepen their sense of professional identity by functioning effectively as members of a multifaceted mental health/student development system for the campus community. The internship facilitates the interns' productive relationships with fellow trainees and with clinical staff. The objectives are both to become proficient in the provision of psychological services and to enhance the personal and professional qualities necessary to participate cooperatively and creatively in health service settings.

The internship program is based on a 40-45 hour week, for 12 months, with university holidays, vacation and sick leave, and staff benefits. The program begins on July 31, 2023, and is completed one year later. The total training comprises more than 1,800 hours of supervised experience. In addition, time is spent outside the regular daytime business hours as may be needed for program planning, research, preparation for services, documentation, and delivery of special activities.

Approximately three evenings and one weekend per academic quarter, interns serve as after-hours on-call consultants for a third-party agency that receives crisis calls from the Northwestern community. When on-call outside of daytime business hours, interns are paired with backup supervisory staff at CAPS. These additional hours bring the total internship hours to 2,000 for the year; individuals are advised to check with their state Boards of Psychology to determine if these additional hours may be declared in their applications for licensure.

For transparency, they offer a look at the current year's Training Policies & Procedures Handbook . This Handbook is given to their interns when they arrive at the internship, but it may be worthwhile for prospective applicants to review it. The Handbook provides comprehensive information that pertains to Doctoral Interns at CAPS, including their internship structure, weekly training and service activities, the timeline for evaluations, and policies for absences and leave time. It also provides information about their policies for due process, non-discrimination, harassment, grievance, and resources for equal opportunity and access. In addition, prospective interns may benefit from learning about the expectations for activities and performance of interns, which can be found in the Handbook as well as in the requirements for successful completion of the internship program.

Competencies in working with a culturally diverse clientele comprise one of the three training goals for their interns as outlined in the hyperlinked document in the previous paragraph. For information about their internship's commitment to diversity and preparing interns to serve a diverse public, please review their position on Multicultural and Diversity Competencies and CAPS Diversity Value Statement. 

Please keep in mind that the details about the internship program are their best effort to describe the 2023-2024 training year. Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, they have adjusted their services to the needs of students who attended the university remotely and in-person, while adhering to public health guidelines and the university's plan for students, staff, and faculty. These guidelines continue to evolve. We take into consideration legal restrictions on mental-health practice across states. They strive to be mindful of their own resources and limitations to assist staff and interns in managing their workload and well-being.  Therefore, interns' clinical activities and supervision described here represent the expected internship training experience based on what they know at the time of this update.

When pandemic-related changes to services and training have been made, they have aimed to continue to: (a) uphold the quality and integrity of interns’ training, (b) adhere to public health guidelines for the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (c) adhere to APA’s internship accreditation standards. When necessary, the internship program is in consultation with APA's Commission on Accreditation about substantive changes in the training program.

The doctoral internship program at CAPS is accredited by the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation (CoA). The CoA can be contacted at the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation 750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 Phone: 202-336-5979 TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123.

Psychology Today

Multicultural therapy is a form of talk therapy that aims to address the concerns of clients whose race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, income, disability status, or other social factor(s) falls outside of the majority or outside the dominant social group. The approach centers on the idea that demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, and gender identity play a critical role in how someone experiences the world and relates to others, and attempts to factor those realities into their treatment. Multicultural therapy also acknowledges that negative issues that arise for minority groups—such as oppression, stereotyping, racism, and marginalization—are relevant for mental health and illness and should be afforded special recognition during therapy.

Members of minority groups, especially racial minority groups, are generally less likely to seek therapy than those from the majority, in part because many members of minority groups feel that therapists (many of whom identify with the majority, even today) would be unable to understand their lived experiences and fully address their needs. Multicultural therapy, therefore, aims to create a therapeutic environment where individuals from those groups will feel safe, respected, and able to articulate their challenges without feeling misunderstood.

Though therapist and client may not necessarily share the same race, ethnicity, or other relevant factors, a competent multicultural therapist will show significant awareness of the effects such factors may have on a client’s life. Multicultural counseling can take many forms, but in general, there may be more emphasis on the individual client’s unique background, experiences, and needs than in some traditional therapy settings that take a more universal approach. It may also address different cultural views of mental health treatment and help clients overcome internalized stigma or negative associations with seeking care. While the approach is primarily a form of talk therapy, it may be combined with therapies that involve other activities, such as art or music, if these interventions can help clients communicate better.