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Training
Programs | Academic
Programs | Interns
& Postdocs | Renewals APPIC
MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: DOCTORAL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP PROGRAMSRevised
May 2006 Internships that are accredited by the American Psychological
Association or the Canadian Psychological Association are recognized as meeting
APPIC doctoral membership criteria. Programs with APA or CPA accreditation need
only submit the Directory Face Sheet (Section I of the application), the appropriate
fee, and a copy of the accreditation letter. All others must meet all of the following
criteria (i.e., 1 through 16 below) and are reviewed for adherence to the criteria
every three years (Renewal Criteria
Word Document / Renewal Criteria PDF Document
Table I(A) and Table
II(B). Email copies to appic@aol.com.
JOINING APPIC: APPLICATION FORMSInternship Programs download
in Word format | download
in PDF format - A psychology internship is an organized training
program which, in contrast to supervised experience or on-the-job training, is
designed to provide the intern with a planned, programmed sequence of training
experiences. The primary focus and purpose is assuring breadth and quality of
training.
- The internship agency has a clearly designated doctoral
level staff psychologist who is responsible for the integrity and quality of the
training program, actively licensed (certified or registered) by the State Board
of Examiners in the jurisdiction where the program exists, and present at the
training facility for a minimum of 20 hours a week.
- The
internship agency training staff consists of at least two full time equivalent
doctoral level psychologists who serve as primary supervisors, who are actively
licensed (certified or registered) as a psychologist by the Board of Examiners
in the jurisdiction where the program exists.
- Intern supervision
is provided by staff members of the internship agency or by qualified affiliates
of that agency who carry clinical responsibility for the cases being supervised.
At least 2 hours per week of regularly scheduled individual supervision are provided
by one or more doctoral level licensed psychologists (regardless of whether the
internship is completed in one year or two). Supervision is provided with the
specific intent of dealing with psychological services rendered directly by the
intern.
- The internship provides training in a range of psychological
assessment and intervention activities conducted directly with recipients of psychological
services.
- At least 25% of the trainee's time is in face
to face psychological services to patients/clients.
- The
internship must provide at least two hours per week in didactic activities such
as case conferences, seminars, in service training, or grand rounds.
- Internship training is at post-clerkship, post-practicum, and post-externship
level, and precedes the granting of the doctoral degree.
- The
internship agency has a minimum of two full time equivalent interns at the internship
level of training during any period of training. These interns must be on site
and in training at the time of initial application for APPIC membership.
- The internship level psychology trainees have a title such as
"Intern," "Resident," "Fellow," or other designation of trainee status.
- The internship agency has a written statement or brochure which
provides a clear description of the nature of the training program, including
the goals and content of the internship and clear expectations for quantity and
quality of the trainee's work, and is made available to prospective interns.
- Internship programs have documented due process procedures that
describe separately how programs deal with (1) concerns about intern performance,
and (2) with interns' concerns about training. These procedures include the steps
of notice, hearing and appeal and are given to the interns at the beginning of
the training period.
- The internship experience (minimum
1500 hours) must be completed in no less than 9 months and no more than 24 months.
- APPIC member programs are required to issue a certificate of internship
completion which includes the word "Psychology" to all interns who have successfully
completed the program.
- At least twice a year the internship
program conducts formal written evaluations of each trainee's performance.
- The
program has the necessary financial resources to achieve its training goals and
objectives. Intern stipends shall be reasonable, fair, and stated clearly in advance.
Unfunded internship positions are allowable only in unusual and infrequent circumstances.
CLARIFICATION OF APPIC MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: DOCTORAL PSYCHOLOGY
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMSThis
document provides additional information and clarification about the APPIC doctoral
internship membership criteria. Internship programs that are accredited by the
American Psychological Association (APA) or the Canadian Psychological Association
(CPA) are recognized as automatically meeting APPIC doctoral membership criteria. Programs
that are not APA- or CPA-accredited are reviewed for adherence to the criteria
every three years. New applications and program reviews are evaluated for compliance
with all criteria at one of the biannual membership committee meetings. Programs
that meet all criteria are recommended to the APPIC Board for approval or renewal
of membership. Programs that are deficient in any membership criteria will be
informed about the information or programmatic changes needed to meet membership
criteria, and may submit information to the committee for a re-review of their
applications. New programs may submit updated applications for re-review one time
within two membership committee meeting periods without completing a full application
and without paying another application fee. After one re-review or a delay of
more than one year, the program seeking membership must complete a new membership
application and pay another application fee. CRITERIA AND CLARIFICATION
1. A psychology internship is an organized training program which,
in contrast to supervised experience or on-the-job training, is designed to provide
the intern with a planned, programmed sequence of training experiences. The primary
focus and purpose is assuring breadth and quality of training. Clarification: The
organization of an internship program is evident in a clear:
a. statement of
the goals and objectives of the training activities.
b. description of the
plan, location, and sequence of direct service experiences.
c. description
of the training curriculum; i.e., the content, duration, and frequency of the
training activities.
d. description of how the psychology training program
is integrated into the larger organization.
For programs with multiple sites,
the services rendered by interns, the supervision offered, and the training director's
involvement is clearly described at each site.
2. The
internship agency has a clearly designated doctoral level staff psychologist who
is responsible for the integrity and quality of the training program. This person
is actively licensed, certified, or registered by the State Board of Examiners
in the jurisdiction where the program exists, and is present at the training facility
for a minimum of 20 hours a week. Clarification: The
internship is administered by a doctoral level licensed (certified or registered
for independent practice) psychologist who:
a. directs and organizes the training
program and its resources.
b. is responsible for selection of interns.
c.
monitors and evaluates the training program's goals and activities.
d. documents
and maintains interns' training records.
3. The internship
agency training staff consists of at least two full time equivalent doctoral level
psychologists who serve as primary supervisors and who are actively licensed,
certified, or registered as a psychologist by the Board of Examiners in the jurisdiction
where the program exists. Clarification: "Full
time equivalent" typically refers to 40 hours/week. However, there may be
a range of hours that qualify as "full time equivalent" depending on
the norms of the program. 35 hours/week is the minimum that will qualify for "full
time equivalent" for APPIC member programs. "Full time" for interns
could also be set at 35 hours/week if this meets licensure requirements in your
jurisdiction. APPIC believes supervisor expectations should be similar to intern
expectations.
It is expected that interns receive supervision during the
year from at least two different supervisors. Interns' primary clinical supervision
and role modeling must be provided by psychologists on the program's staff who
are licensed (certified or registered) for independent practice at the doctoral
level and who are:
a. officially designated as psychology intern supervisors.
b. significantly involved in the operation of the training program.
4.
Intern supervision is provided by staff members of the internship agency or by
qualified affiliates of that agency who carry clinical responsibility for the
cases being supervised. Regularly scheduled individual supervision is provided
by one or more doctoral level licensed psychologists, at a ratio of no less than
one hour of supervision for every 20 internship hours. Supervision is provided
with the specific intent of dealing with psychological services rendered directly
by the intern. Clarification: Supervisors
need to be clearly designated by the agency as clinically responsible for the
cases (for example, countersigning documentation or having their name on the treatment
plan or case summary). Depending on clinical needs, increased hours of supervision
are expected. The required hours shall be through face-to-face individual supervision
(rural sites may use visual telecommunication technology in unusual circumstances
and when face-to-face supervision is impractical, but must demonstrate that such
technology provides sufficient oversight). Programs shall adhere to all requirements
of their state licensing boards.
5. The internship provides
training in a range of psychological assessment and intervention activities conducted
directly with recipients of psychological services. Clarification: Internship
training in Psychology is primarily based on experiential learning which:
a.
provides psychological services directly to consumers in the form of psychological
assessment, treatment, and consultation.
b. exposes interns to a variety of
types of psychological services and consumers.
6. At
least 25% of trainees' time is in face-to-face psychological services to patients/clients.
7.
The internship must provide at least two hours per week in didactic activities
such as case conferences, seminars, in-service training, or grand rounds.
Clarification: The Psychology training program should
have scheduled didactic experiences available to meet the training needs of their
interns. Didactic activities refers to actual training opportunities and should
include training activities beyond Intern Case Presentations.
8.
Internship training is at post-clerkship, post-practicum, and post-externship
level, and precedes the granting of the doctoral degree. Clarification:
Interns must have completed adequate and appropriate prerequisite training prior
to the internship. This would include both:
a. completion of formal academic
coursework at a degree-granting program in professional psychology (clinical,
counseling, school), and
b. closely supervised experiential training in professional
psychology skills conducted in non-classroom settings.
9.
The internship agency has a minimum of two interns at the predoctoral level of
training during any training year. These interns must be at least half-time (i.e.,
20 hours per week). The minimum number of interns must be on site and in training
at the time of the initial application for APPIC membership. Clarification: The
intention of this criterion is to allow opportunities for personal (face-to-face)
interaction with peers in formal settings in the training program and on the training
site during each training week. Part-time internships must ensure that intern
schedules sufficiently overlap to allow substantial and meaningful peer contact.
10. The internship level psychology trainees have a
title such as "intern," "resident," "fellow," or
other designation of trainee status.
11. The internship agency
has a written statement or brochure which provides a clear description of the
nature of the training program, including the goals and content of the internship
and clear expectations for quantity and quality of the trainee's work. It is made
available to prospective interns. Clarification: Internship
programs must make available descriptions of their training program which give
their applicants and interns a clear understanding of the program in terms of:
a.
the program's training goals and objectives.
b. the program's training methods,
content, and curriculum (for example, required rotations, sample weekly schedules,
or available training seminars).
c. the program's training resources (e.g.,
training/supervisory staff, physical facilities and training equipment, clerical
support, etc.)
d. the sites at which training and services are provided. For
programs with multiple sites, clear descriptions are given for each site of services
rendered by interns, supervision offered, and involvement of the training director.
Clarification:
APPIC must be notified in writing of substantive changes to the training program
(personnel, placements, etc.) that have the potential to impact quality of training
or which substantially alters the advertised training experience. The training
program is likewise responsible for maintaining an up-to-date and accurate description
of the program in the APPIC Directory.
12. Internship
programs have documented due process procedures that describe separately how programs
deal with (1) concerns about intern performance, and (2) interns' concerns about
training. These procedures include the steps of notice, hearing, and appeal, and
are given to the interns at the beginning of the training period.
Clarification: Due
process procedures describe how an agency deals with intern deficiencies and how
the interns' handle grievances with the training program. The documentation would
include:
a. description of formal evaluation and complaint procedures.
b.
the program's and intern's responsibilities and rights in the process.
c.
the appeal process.
d. description of procedures if interns have grievances
about their training or supervision.
Programs need two written policies: (1)
Due Process and (2) Grievance Process. The procedures must be specific to the
internship training program; reliance on a more general HR policy is insufficient.
Both procedures should be provided to interns at the commencement of training. Due
Process is a written procedure that comes into use when an intern's behavior is
problematic. (The use of the term "impaired" is discouraged because
if one identifies an intern by that term, legal issues having to do with the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) could be invoked.) Due process must include three
elements: Notice (i.e. the intern must be notified that problematic behavior has
been identified and that the internship is addressing the problem); Hearing (i.e.
the program must have a formal process by which the identified problematic intern
has an opportunity to hear concerns and to respond to the concerns); and Appeal
(i.e. the intern must have an opportunity to appeal the actions taken by the program
in regards to the identified problematic behavior. The appeal should extend at
least one step beyond the Training Director).
A Grievance Procedure
is a process that is invoked when an intern has a complaint against the training
program. The procedure should include specific steps an intern takes in the complaint
process and be broad enough to cover any and all complaints that may arise for
interns (e.g. complaints about evaluations, supervision, stipends/salary, harassment,
etc.)
13. The internship experience (minimum 1500 hours)
must be completed in no less than 9 months and no more than 24 months. Clarification: Internships
may be conducted on a full or part-time basis. Only School Psychology programs
will be accepted for 9-10 month internships.
14. APPIC
member programs are required to issue a certificate of internship completion,
which includes the word "Psychology," to all interns who have successfully
completed the program.
15. At least twice a year the internship
program conducts formal written evaluations of each trainee's performance. Clarification: The
written evaluation process provides comprehensive evaluative feedback to doctoral
psychology interns as follows:
a. The evaluation provides summary information
of performance in all major competence areas that are a focus of internship training.
b.
Interns have the opportunity to review their evaluation with supervisors to ensure
the fullest possible communication between supervisors and interns.
c. Evaluation
procedures provide feedback that validates trainees' achievements by noting areas
of unusual strength and excellence and facilitate trainees' further growth by
identifying areas that would benefit from additional training.
d. The program
provides the doctoral psychology intern's graduate training director with feedback
concerning the intern's progress in the internship program.
16.
The program has the necessary financial resources to achieve its training goals
and objectives. Intern stipends shall be reasonable, fair, and stated clearly
in advance. Unfunded internship positions are allowable only in unusual and infrequent
circumstances. Clarification: APPIC requires
internship positions to be equitably funded across the site. Intern stipends shall
be set at a level that is representative and fair in relationship to the geographic
location and clinical setting of the training site. Stipends should be reasonable
based on a comparison with other APPIC member programs in your area. Unfunded
or poorly funded internship positions are allowed only in unusual and infrequent
circumstances in which the creation of such a position would serve to alleviate
a hardship for the potential intern candidate. Examples of such hardships may
include geographic limitations due to family circumstances or difficulties finding
suitable placement. In such cases, the "burden of evidence" lies with
the program to demonstrate that the lack of funding does not adversely affect
morale or quality of training. In addition, training resources should be sufficient
to afford the same training for an unfunded or poorly funded position as for fully
funded positions. The payment of a stipend is a concrete acknowledgment
that a trainee in the agency is valued and emphasizes that the primary task of
the year is educational in nature. Stipends are generally lower than a salary
received by a regular employee and implies that there is a significant training
component in addition to experiential learning. Stipends are equal among trainees
unless there is an extenuating circumstance (e.g., specialized skills, consortia
agreements). This distinction between trainee and regular employee emphasizes
that an internship is "an organized training program, in contrast to supervised
experience or on-the-job training." GRANDPARENTING PROVISION: Programs
that are current APPIC members on the date of implementation of this criterion,
but do not meet the criterion or clarification on that date, must request an exception
at the time of each membership renewal. An exception may be granted if the program
demonstrates that they have made reasonable efforts to secure funding and describes
its plan to obtain future funding in order to meet this criterion.
Frequently
Asked Questions About APPIC's Stipend Requirement Note: APPIC membership
criteria are approved by a vote of the APPIC membership and appear above in bold
type. Clarification information is approved by the APPIC Board of Directors.
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