Internships

 

2 GW Professional Psychology students

 

All students in the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program are required to complete a full-time, 12-month internship at an institution approved by the Professional Psychology Program. Most students complete the internship in the fourth year of the program, following three years of intensive education and training. The internship may also be completed over two years, with each year being at least half-time (20 hours/week). 

The internship is separate from and builds upon the clinical training students receive while in the program. 

 

Before You Apply

Each fall, the program organizes an orientation for students who will be applying for an internship that year. Students begin applying for the internship after completing comprehensive exams, usually early in the third year of study. 

The internship application is a very time-sensitive process with fixed application deadlines, all of which can be found on the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) website. APPIC is the source of national matching programs for doctoral internship sites to which our students may apply. Students should familiarize themselves with the APPIC site and its online directory of internship sites. In keeping with APA accreditation requirements, students must participate in the matching program to seek an APPIC-listed internship.

Before applying for an internship, students must have:

Upon completion of these requirements, a certification of internship readiness will be filed by the director of the Professional Psychology Program through the APPIC Applicant Portal. 

 

Preparing Your Application

The application process typically begins after comprehensive exams, early in the third year of full-time study. The Professional Psychology Program offers these suggestions to begin preparing your application for online submission through APPIC.

  1. In the late spring and summer of the second year, begin thinking about the places where you might like to apply and the people who you would like to ask to write letters of recommendation for you. Most sites request letters of recommendation from three people familiar with your work (the applications state specific site requirements).
  2. Review the most recent APPIC Internship List to find internship sites of interest.
  3. Keep track of all the clinical hours you do prior to the internship, including direct therapy, supervision, clinical records/reports, practicum seminars and assessment reports.
  4. Update your curriculum vitae, with input from internship coordinators and your advisor.
  5. Complete all clinical requirements.
  6. Attend an orientation meeting hosted by the Professional Psychology Program in the early fall on the application process.
  7. Review the APPIC Match timeline to make sure you are cognizant of any deadlines and significant dates.

 

Completing Your Application

All students applying for an internship will complete their application through the APPIC Applicant Portal. Once students create their account on the Applicant Portal, they must email the Professional Psychology Program director for certification of certain required sections of the application, which the director will file electronically through the APPIC system. 

Letters of recommendation must also be filed electronically through the APPIC system. It is best to give early reminders to your supervisors and others whom you wish to write letters about this process. There are no exceptions to materials being filed electronically. If you are seeking a letter of recommendation from the program director, two separate electronic requests must be made (one for the certification at the beginning of the process, and one for the letter of recommendation). 

 

Match Day

Following completion of the application for a doctoral internship match, applicants will be informed as to whether they have matched to an internship for Phase I by February. (See full list of deadlines on the APPIC website.) If one does not match in Phase I, there is a Phase II to which unmatched students must apply. The APPIC website and the APPIC Internship Matching Program site may be useful to you as you prepare your application and complete the internship match process.

Past Internship Placements

College Counseling Centers:

  • American University
  • Appalachian State University
  • Brigham Young University
  • Catholic University (2 students)
  • University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
  • University of Dayton
  • George Mason University
  • Howard University
  • Southern Illinois University
  • Towson University (2 students)
  • College of William & Mary
  • University of Virginia

Child Sites:

  • Shared Vision Psychological Services

Hospitals:

  • Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital
  • Lenox Hill Hospital
  • Martinsburg VA Medical Center
  • VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System
  • Saint Elizabeth's Hospital

Forensic:

  • Federal Correctional Complex--Butner (N.C.)

Consortium:

  • Mid-Atlantic Internship Consortium, Capitol Hill Consortium for  Counseling and Consultation (2 students)
  • Albany Consortium/ Albany Medical College (NY)
  • Andrus, Child Outpatient Program (Yonkers, NY)
  • Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical Center, Adult Outpatient and Adult Acute Services (two interns)
  • Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical Center, Latino Adult Outpatient/ Child Outpatient   
  • Catholic University of America Counseling Center (Washington, DC)
  • Drexel University Counseling Center (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Eating Recovery Center—Insight Behavioral Health Center (Chicago, IL)
  • The Help Group (Sherman Oaks, CA; child site)  
  • Howard University Counseling Service  (Washington, DC) (two interns)
  • Maimonides Medical Center (Brooklyn, NY)
  • University of Maryland-Baltimore County Counseling Center
  • Nassau University Medical Center (East Meadow, NY)
  • Northern Illinois University Counseling Center
  • Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital (Washington, DC)
  • Springfield Hospital Center (Sykesville, MD)
  • Yale University Psychiatry (New Haven, CT)
  • Allegheny General Hospital
  • Anka Behavioral Health Inc.
  • Baylor University Counseling Center
  • Catholic University of America Counseling Center
  • The Children's Assessment Center
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center (Fort Gordon)
  • The Help Group
  • Howard University Counseling Service
  • Kings County Hospital Center
  • North Carolina State University
  • Pennsylvania Hospital
  • Psychiatric Institute of Washington
  • Rams Inc.
  • Reading Hospital
  • University of Kansas
  • University of Virginia Elson Student Health Center
  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - U.S. Navy Internship
  • American University
  • Brooke Army Medical Center
  • Central State Hospital
  • Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance
  • John L. Gildner Regional Institute
  • Rochester Institute of Technology - Health Science
  • San Jose State University
  • Shared Vision of Psychological Services Inc.
  • The Children's Center - Salt Lake
  • Woodhull Medical & Mental Health Center
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Centerstone Consortium
  • Friends Hospital
  • Jackson Health System/University Miami Miller School Medical
  • Kennedy Krieger/Hopkins/Trauma and Mental Health
  • Nassau University Medical Center
  • Nova Southeastern University Psychology Services Center
  • South Shore Mental Health Inc.
  • St. Louis Psychology Internship Consortium
  • Stanford University
  • Temple University/Tuttleman Counseling Services
  • The Help Group
  • University of Illinois, Chicago, Counseling
  • University of Maryland/Baltimore County Counseling Center
  • University of Massachusetts Center for Counseling
  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
  • Wichita State University Consortium
  • Andrus Children's Center
  • Allegheny General Hospital
  • Anka Behavioral Health, Inc
  • Baylor University Counseling Center
  • Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
  • College of William and Mary
  • Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan
  • Kings County Hospital Center
  • North Carolina State University
  • Sullivan Center For Children
  • UCSF/SFGH Child & Adolescent Services
  • University of Houston, Clear Lake
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Virginia - Student Health
  • Bridge View School/Challenger
  • Child Guidance Center Southern Connecticut
  • The Children's Assessment Center
  • Community Counseling Center Psychology Internship
  • Hamilton-Madison House Inc.
  • Institute for Child and Family Health
  • Louisiana State University Health Science Center
  • Maimonides Medical Center
  • Malcolm Grow Medical Clinics And Surgery Center
  • North Bronx Healthcare Network
  • North Carolina Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Corrections and Juvenile Justice
  • North Carolina State University
  • Shared Vision Psychological Services
  • South Shore Mental Health 
  • Southern Utah University
  • Child Guidance Center South Connecticut
  • Fordham University Counseling and Psychological Services
  • The Help Group
  • Holcolmb Behavioral Health
  • Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital
  • Montana State University-Bozeman
  • Prince William Family Counseling
  • Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences
  • Saint John's Health Center
  • Salina Regional Health Center
  • South Campus Therapeutic Day School
  • SUNY Stony Brook-Counseling Center
  • University of Connecticut Counseling And Mental Health Services
  • Westcoast Children's Clinic
  • YCS Institute for Infant & Pre-school Mental Health
  • Access Institute
  • Baruch College Counseling Center
  • The Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
  • Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center (Fort Gordon)
  • Eastern Virginia Medical School (Evms)
  • Fremont Community Therapy Project (Seattle, Wa)
  • George Mason University Counseling Center
  • Heart of America Psychology Internship Training Consortium
  • House of Ruth Domestic Violence Support Center
  • Howard University Counseling Service
  • LSU Health Sciences Center
  • Miami Children's Hospital
  • Miami-Dade County Community Action and Human Services Department 
  • Montana State University
  • Newark Public School System
  • Northwestern University Counseling and Psychological Services
  • Oklahoma Health Consortium
  • Princeton House Behavioral Health - Eating Disorder Track
  • Rappahannock Area Community Services Board
  • South Florida Evaluation And Treatment Center
  • Swarthmore College Counseling And Psychological Services (Caps)
  • University of Miami Counseling Center
  • Valley Mental Health
  • Visiting Mental Health
  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 
  • Westcoast Children's Clinic
  • West Virginia University Carruth Counseling Center
  • Baruch College Counseling Center
  • Center Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut
  • Expressive Therapy Center
  • Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tallahassee
  • Health Alliance / Harvard Medical School
  • Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems
  • Howard University Counseling Center Predoctoral Internship
  • Mercy Hospital Springfield-Marian Center Behavioral Health Care Psychology Internship Program
  • Newark City Public Schools
  • Pace University Counseling Center
  • The Rebecca School
  • Riverview Psychiatric Center
  • Robert Wood Johnson Medical School University Behavioral Healthcare of New Jersey
  • Saint Elizabeth's Hospital
  • Sheridan VA Medical Center
  • Trinitas Regional Hospital
  • Tuttleman Counseling Services
  • The Village For Families And Children
  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center - United States Navy Internship
  • The Women's Center Ancora Psychiatric Hospital