Overview of the Training Program

We offer eleven APA Accredited, full time, paid internship positions in clinical psychology: six Adult Track positions and five Child and Adolescent Track positions. Nine of our positions are federally funded by HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration). We are a member of the American Psychological Association and the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral Internship Centers (APPIC); our program adheres to the rules of these governing bodies. For verification and questions from APA please contact:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979

We accept applicants from Doctoral programs in Clinical, Counseling and School/Clinical Psychology.  Candidates must have at least two years of practicum/externship experience, including psychological testing and report writing (objective, personality, and projective). By the time of the application, candidates must have passed their comprehensive exam and have been admitted for doctoral candidacy. In addition, applicants must have an approved dissertation proposal by the application deadline. In compliance with APA guidelines, and to serve our patient population better, we try to obtain a balanced and diversified class each year with regard to gender and ethnicity.

Interns are provided with intensive supervised experience in clinical psychology, with emphasis upon functioning as a professional psychologist in areas including clinical interviewing, psychological testing, as well as individual, couples, family and group psychotherapy. The offerings are individualized in accordance with each intern’s professional goals and objectives. Training includes supervised experience with inpatients and outpatients of varying age groups, the utilization of various modalities of intervention, and implementation of diverse assessment instruments (e.g., intelligence tests, objective and projective personality measures, neuropsychological measures, etc.).  An intern’s time is allocated, approximately, as follows: major rotations 45%; outpatient evaluations, individual, couple, family and group therapy 25%; testing 15%; courses and educational activities 10%; administrative meetings 5%.

Our training occurs in the context of a multi-cultural urban hospital. The patient population is ethnically and culturally diverse. Patients come from many different Latino, European, and Asian communities; the catchment area is among the most diverse in New York City. This lends a multi-cultural dimension to our training and we seek to emphasize the understanding and treatment of psychopathology from different cultural perspectives. We provide training and supervision in culturally competent assessment and treatment. We are also committed to encouraging and achieving a diverse intern and faculty group.

The training rotations offer a richness and variety of case material, and opportunities to work with a wide variety of diagnostic presentations, including psychotic, anxiety, mood, developmental, and personality disorders. From interdisciplinary treatment and case conferences, Psychiatric Emergency Room rounds, Consultation and Liaison rounds, and testing consultations, interns learn the variety of roles psychologists perform in a hospital setting, as well as how to work side by side with allied disciplines. Interns gain an understanding of the medical, pharmacological, nursing, rehabilitation, social work, and creative activity disciplines, and learn about the role of managed care in a hospital.  In addition, interns gain a working knowledge of the application of ethical and legal standards of care of the profession of psychology.