Doctoral Psychology Training Program

Doctoral Psychology Internship Program

The Southwest Behavioral & Health Services Training Institute’s Doctoral Psychology Training Program is committed to developing well-rounded psychologists who have an interest in delivering strengths-based services in a public behavioral health setting. On-site experience is balanced by weekly colloquia, as well as individual and group supervision that provide an excellent venue for learning and professional development. The trainees receive a wide range of training experiences during the course of the year. They have ample opportunities to gain profession-wide competencies including professional values, ethical and legal standards, individual and cultural diversity, research, interpersonal skills, intervention, assessment, interdisciplinary skills, consultation, and supervision.

​Health Service Doctoral Psychology Internship

• Practitioner-Scholar Philosophy: The Southwest Behavioral & Health Psychology Internship program embraces the philosophy of the Practitioner-Scholar model of training which grew out of the conference on Professional Training in Psychology held in Vail, CO in 1973. At the heart of this model is the development and honing of clinical skills required of professional psychologists, including clinical interviewing, client advocacy, treatment planning, and therapeutic interventions, as well as consultation, community outreach, and advancements in research and practice standards. The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).
• Internship Program: Internship is the year that bridges the space between being a student of psychology and being a professional psychologist. As such, the program is designed to meet the increasing skill level of the intern, approaching training and supervision from a developmental model. At the start of the internship, all interns will participate in the New Employee Orientation (NEO) to acclimate them to the agency. Clinical Week encompasses the second week of the internship year, training interns on various clinical activities such as the Initial Engagement Session, service planning, and safety support planning. The program is sequential, cumulative and graded in complexity. Thus, supervision in the initial months of internship is more directive, allowing interns to gain skills needed to be successful. Directive supervision, for example, may take the form of assisting interns understand clinical data to develop a service plan; it may take the form of recommending and modeling or teaching a specific intervention. As the intern gains confidence in clinical skills, supervision typically shifts to having the intern present cases and review the effectiveness of the intern’s intervention strategies. The internship program is designed to meet the American Psychological Association (APA) Standards of Accreditation (SoA), and Arizona licensure requirements. Through supervision, colloquia series, and training, interns will have ample opportunities to achieve the required profession-wide competencies outlined in the APA Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology: (1) Research (2) Ethical and legal standards (3) Individual and cultural diversity (4) Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors (5) Communication and interpersonal skills (6) Assessment (7) Intervention (8) Supervision and (9) Consultation and inter-professional/interdisciplinary skills. Licensure requirements vary from state-to-state, so prospective interns are encouraged to be knowledgeable regarding the requirements of other states.

Description of Internship Tracks

• College of Wellness/Community Living Program: The College of Wellness/Community Living program offers the opportunity for interns to learn how to assist adults with behavioral health interventions in a variety of settings. A key component of this placement is assisting adults with community integration and resolving behavioral issues so that individuals may to gain greater community independence. Services are designed to build upon an individual's strengths, and provide community supports. Services are provided in the client’s home, residential facilities, and the community. Interns will gain proficiency in working with voluntary and court ordered adults, addressing substance abuse issues, assessing and treating a variety of psychiatric symptoms, and navigating public health systems within Maricopa County to increase client supports and resources. As part of a multidisciplinary team, interns will engage in coordination of care, client advocacy, treatment planning and programming with an integrative approach. The intern may also have opportunities to provide input on program development and to facilitate training and supervision to direct care staff. Interns conduct intake assessments, provide individual counseling, facilitate groups, utilize telehealth in some cases and participate in community-based activities. Psychological testing/report writing is not an activity available on this track.
• Inpatient Unit:
  The inpatient units are 24-hour, Level One, secured facilities located in Phoenix, Arizona. Persons admitted to the inpatient programs are typically considered a danger to self or others and are unable to function in the community. The interns provide behavioral health interventions for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis who require a structured, non-hospital setting. Services are designed to build upon the client’s strengths while working to minimize escalation of behaviors that will lead to a more restrictive setting. Interns are part of a multidisciplinary team consisting of prescribers, nurses, and behavioral health technicians. Interns have opportunities to assess and treat adults manifesting a variety of psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses. Interns will gain proficiency in working with individuals as they work to resolve mental health crises and stabilize over a 60-90 day period of time. Daily group and individual therapy sessions are facilitated by interns. Psychological testing is not an activity available on this track.
• Outpatient Clinic - Maricopa County, Arizona; Flagstaff, Arizona: The Outpatient Clinics serve clients who reside in various urban and rural parts of Maricopa County, as well as in Flagstaff, Arizona. The clinics serve all age ranges of clients from birth through adulthood. The intern provides comprehensive behavioral health services including Initial Engagement Sessions, individual counseling, family/couples counseling, and group counseling. Coordinating care with the client’s primary care physician and other providers is essential and assists the intern in becoming adept at an integrated model of care. The intern works as part of a treatment team that includes the program director, case managers, clinicians, family coaches, and prescribers. Although not guaranteed, some psychological testing/report writing may be available on this track. Services are provided in both the outpatient clinic, telehealth, as well as the client’s home, as needed.
• School and Community Based Counseling Services: The School and Community-Based Counseling Services program provides comprehensive behavioral health services to youth and their families in school and community settings in the greater Phoenix area. All behavioral health services are developed in collaboration with the youth and family and are created to be flexible and adjustable as the youth and family progress and grow. The intern is responsible for communicating with families and school staff to help identify those children who have counseling needs. The intern works collaboratively with school staff and families to provide not only individual, group, and family counseling, but helps identify supports needing to be developed and implemented in the home and school environment to help children reach their potential. As part the Child and Family Team (CFT) process, the intern meets with identified members on the child’s clinical team to assess and monitor goals that drive the overall need for development. The intern is able to help the child grow and develop personally and emotionally in order to go back into the classroom to learn, form healthy relationships with others and have the self-confidence they need to go out into the world. Psychological testing is not an aspect of this placement as all testing is done by school district staff.
  

Financial Support and Benefits

Full-time interns receive an annual stipend of $35,000.00 to be paid in increments every two weeks throughout their internship year. Health, vision and dental insurance plans are available to interns and these benefits go in to effect on November 1st of the training year. Eighty hours of Paid Time Off, and paid holidays are counted as compensated hours. Parental leave is offered in accordance with the APPIC Guidelines for Parental Leave During Internship and Postdoctoral Training document dated 10/1/2015.

Supervision

Supervision is integral to professional development. The practicum students receive multiple forms of supervision and training during their practicum. Psychologists associated with the Training Institute and licensed to practice independently will provide weekly individual supervision and group supervision (Friday Colloquium meetings). During individual supervision, the student and the supervisor will review cases, treatment planning, intervention strategies, and other relevant issues. The supervisor will also review the student’s documentation of cases, and if necessary, advise the student on appropriate conduct.

• For more information about the SB&H Doctoral Practicum Training Program, please contact Chief Psychologist, Dr. Lynette Livesay: [email protected].