Clinical & Health Psychology

OVERVIEW

The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology offers internship training in clinical psychology to students who are pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from programs accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA, Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, 202-336-5500). We seek to prepare students for the practice of professional psychology consistent with philosophy embodied in the scientist-practitioner model of training. We endeavor to teach students how to think scientifically about clinical problems, how to provide clinical service with skill and appreciation for human diversity and the highest ethical and professional standards, how to evaluate the clinical relevance of empirical research, and how to contribute to advancements in psychological knowledge through research and scholarship. Our philosophy of training is consistent with the model espoused by the National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Professional Psychology (1990):

Accordingly, our Departmental Mission Statement directs us to "educate tomorrow's leaders in psychology in the scientist-practitioner tradition, advance psychological service, and improve the health and quality of life of all people through excellence in research, education, and health service delivery."

Our Department is the recipient of the "2001 Department of the Year Award" from the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS). Consideration of our Department for this award was based upon a letter of nomination submitted and signed by our students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows attesting to the positive atmosphere in which training occurs in our Department. Top

INTERNSHIP SETTING

The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is a unit of the College of Public Health and Health Professions of the University of Florida. Founded in 1853, the University of Florida has a long history of established programs in education, research, and service. It is one of only 17 public, land-grant universities that belong to the prestigious group of 62 institutions that comprise the Association of American Universities. With more than 46,000 students, including approximately 8,500 graduate and professional degree students, the University is the fourth largest in the nation. The University is a major teaching and research institution with more than 200 educational programs and extramural grant income exceeding $300 million per year.

The College of Public Health and Health Professions is one of six colleges (including Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine), which along with Shands Hospital and Clinics comprise the University of Florida Health Science Center--the most comprehensive academic health science center in the southeastern United States. The UF Health Science Center is dedicated to high-quality programs of education, research, and clinical care. Patient care services at the UF Health Science Center are provided through Shands Hospital (570 beds) and 23 associated Clinics. The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology operates the Psychology Clinic, which provides comprehensive psychological services to outpatients in the greater Gainesville community and to patients of Shands Hospital. The Psychology Clinic serves as the primary training site for the Psychology Internship Program. The Clinic provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services to the patients of Shands Hospital and to the community, and thus has a sufficiently diverse population to support clinical training. The Clinic averages about 625 patient contacts per month. Of these, approximately 150 are for diagnostic assessments/consultations, and the remainder are intervention contacts (including individual, couple, family, and group psychotherapy). The Clinic provides adequate space for assessment and treatment activities by the faculty, interns, and students of the Department. Virtually all interview rooms are equipped with unobtrusive video cameras that allow for either the taping of sessions or live observation via remote monitors in a control room. Top

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

The Psychology Internship Program is one of two APA-approved training programs within the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. In addition to the internship program, the Department also has a doctoral training program in clinical psychology. The Department receives funding from the State of Florida to support its educational mission, and it has enjoyed a long history of strong institutional support for the missions of doctoral education and internship training in clinical psychology. Indeed, the Psychology Internship Program, which has been accredited by APA continuously since 1963, represents an integral part of the mission of the Department, the College, and the Health Science Center. The Internship Program has received strong support at each of these levels for its training mission. This support has manifested itself in the substantial commitments of faculty time, space allocation, and administrative and financial resources provided by the Department, the College, and the Health Science Center.

The administrative structure of the Psychology Internship Program is unique among those situated in academic health science centers. Our program resides in an independent Department of Clinical and Health Psychology rather than in a Department of Psychiatry, the more common location of psychology internship programs in academic health sciences centers. The Chairman of the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is Russell Bauer, Ph.D., ABPP.

Responsibility for the training of interns is shared by 29 faculty members who serve as clinical training supervisors and by a number of other faculty who contribute to the program through educational and didactic offerings. Virtually all of our faculty participate in the clinical, research, and educational mission of the Department, and thus reflect and model the scientist-practitioner tradition on a day-to-day basis. Major decisions regarding the internship, including overall evaluations of program performance and intern progress, are made collectively by the faculty. The Director of the Psychology Internship Program is Lori Waxenberg, Ph.D.Top

REQUIRED TIME COMMITMENT

The Psychology Internship Program requires one year of full-time training. The Internship Program begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th of the following year. We do not have part-time interns. To be considered for admission, candidates must be graduate students in good standing in an APA-approved program in clinical or counseling psychology. They must have completed their masters' degree or equivalent as well as their qualifying doctoral examination or equivalent. Candidates must be certified as ready for internship training by the Director of Training of their doctoral programs. Applications must be received in our offices by November 15th and must include a curriculum vitae, the APPIC internship application, three letters of recommendation (including one from the training director of the applicant's doctoral program), graduate transcripts and a clinical work sample. Top

TRAINING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

We seek to prepare the intern through supervised clinical training and didactics to function as an entry-level professional psychologist, to practice competently in applied areas of psychological assessment, consultation, and intervention, and to develop attitudes for ongoing professional development within a context of an evolving body of scientific and clinical knowledge, with an understanding and appreciation of ethical, legal, and human diversity considerations in the practice of clinical psychology. The internship program consists of supervised clinical training experiences that are sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity. We take a "developmental perspective" on the accumulation of knowledge and skills during this critical training period when the intern makes the transition from the role of student to that of colleague. Each clinical supervisor is expected to contribute to the intern's progression from relative dependence to increased autonomy and responsibility in the provision of clinical services.

Graduates of the Internship Program are expected to demonstrate specific competencies required for entry-level practice of psychology in a variety of settings. Graduates are expected to be knowledgeable consumers of psychological research results, and to have the ability and inclination to incorporate advances in knowledge into their own practice. They are expected to be skilled in the delivery of a broad variety of assessment intervention procedures. Graduates are expected to be cognizant of major sources of individual and group variation and to understand how such diversity affects psychological processes, clinical presentation, and responsiveness to intervention. Graduates are also expected to deliver professional services and to conduct research in a manner that shows dedication to applicable ethical, professional practice, and legal standards.

At the completion of training, interns are expected to demonstrate the ability to function as psychologists with entry-level knowledge and skills with respect to six substantive domains: (1) psychological assessment, (2) psychological consultation, (3) psychotherapeutic intervention, (4) professional standards, ethics, and law, (5) cultural and individual diversity, and (6) research and scholarly inquiry. [A comprehensive description of the Internship Program's Goals and Objectives and their relation to competencies, training activities, and outcomes is presented in the section labeled GOALS, ACTIVITIES, AND OUTCOMES.] The goal and objectives in each of these areas form the basis for our individualized training plans and our assessments of intern progress throughout the course of the internship year.

By the conclusion of the internship year, all interns are expected to demonstrate entry-level knowledge and competence with respect to one area of specialty within clinical psychology (i.e., clinical child/pediatric psychology, medical/health psychology, clinical neuropsychology, or rural/primary care psychology) and intermediate knowledge and skills with respect to each of the other areas of their clinical training. (Entry-level knowledge and competence is defined as ability to function competently as a professional psychologist with minimal supervision until achieving licensure as a psychologist.) Top

GENERAL AND SPECIALTY TRAINING

The Internship Program combines intensive specialty training together with general training in the practice of clinical psychology in a health care setting. Specialty training occurs in one of four Divisions: (1) clinical child/pediatric psychology; (2) medical/health psychology; (3) clinical neuropsychology; or (4) rural/primary care psychology. Specialty track training allows the intern to focus intensively on a major area of professional interest and development. Interns complete three 3-month rotations in their designated specialty area and two 6-week rotations in non-specialty (or general) areas. Thus, specialty training accounts for about 75% of the intern's time and general training accounts for the remaining 25%. This provides opportunities to accomplish both breadth and depth of training. A brief description of the types of training experiences and clinical problems encountered in each of the specialty tracks is summarized below.

ORGANIZATION OF INTERN TRAINING

Each quarter, an intern is assigned to one of the four Divisions (clinical-child/pediatric psychology, medical/health psychology, clinical neuropsychology, rural/primary care psychology) to conduct assessments/consultations conjointly with or under the supervision of faculty within that Division. Assessments and consultations include outpatients referred to the Psychology Clinic and inpatients within Shands Hospital. Assignments for training in assessment and consultation skills are made on a quarterly basis. The assignments for training are based on an individualized training plan that is developed jointly by the intern and the Training Director and take into account the intern's previous training experiences and future career goals. Within their specialty area, the interns will work with a variety of faculty. The precise structure of assessment/consultation training will vary by Division due to the different service demands and training goals.

Training in psychological interventions and psychotherapy is generally conducted when the intern is not engaged in assessment/consultation training during the week. Each intern is expected to carry a range of treatment cases with respect to presenting problem diagnosis, age, sex, and socio-cultural diversity. Interns normally maintain a caseload of 5 to 10 cases per week, and they typically receive 1/2 hour of individual supervision per one hour of therapy. Psychotherapy supervision is not subject to the quarterly rotation system that is used for assessment/consultation assignment. Interns continue with a therapy supervisor from the start of a case through to its conclusion. It is expected that over the course of the internship year that interns will accumulate 200 or more hours of contact with patients in psychotherapeutic interventions. Interns average approximately 6 hours per week of supervision including a minimum of 3 hours per week of individual supervision.

Didactic training and an opportunity for research involvement are also integral parts of the training program. Didactic training has both general and specialized components. All interns are expected to attend: (a) the weekly Clinic Team Meetings (which are devoted to discussion of clinical cases and the assignment of new treatment cases); (b) the weekly Departmental Teaching Conference series; and (c) the weekly Intern Training Seminar (which is devoted to presentations and discussions related to ethics, professional practice, career development, and the integration of empirical and clinical knowledge). All interns also attend one or more specialty track meetings, which are devoted to clinical and research issues specific to the identified specialty area of psychology. In addition, interns collaborate with departmental faculty in research either by participating in an ongoing investigation or by initiating a new project with a faculty collaborator or sponsor. Research involvement during the workweek is generally limited to 10% time. Collectively, 10% to 20% of the interns' time each week is devoted to didactic and participatory experiences designed to demonstrate of the integration of science and practice in clinical psychology. Top

INTERNSHIP ORIENTATION

During the first two days of the internship year, a series of presentations is used to provide all interns with a basic orientation to the program and preparation for much of the clinical training they will undergo during the year. Interns receive guidance in the implementation of our clinic operating procedures, as well as division-specific presentations about the rotations that are planned. All didactic components are supplemented with key readings to assist interns in basic preparation for the clinical training experiences that they will encounter during the internship year. Top

INDIVIDUALIZED TRAINING PLAN

The specific course of training is tailored individually to each intern's particular training needs. Early in the internship year, the Training Director meets with each intern to review the intern's prior practicum training experiences and self-assessment of professional training needs. The outcome of this review is a written product which delineates a training plan across the following five categories: (1) assessment and consultation skills (e.g., interviewing, testing, independent case conceptualization, report writing, feedback to referral sources, etc.); (2) intervention skills (e.g., individual, marital/couples, family, or group psychotherapy, etc.); (3) populations (e.g., children, adolescents, adults, elderly, medical surgical, pediatric, psychiatric, neurological patients, etc.); (4) theoretical orientations (e.g., behavioral, cognitive, systems, interpersonal, dynamic, eclectic, etc.); and (5) other skills (e.g., supervisory experience, research involvement, etc.). These identified training targets serve as the guide that is used in determining the intern's clinical training assignments within each Division. The individualized training plan is reviewed quarterly and is updated based on the intern's progress and input from the written and oral feedback from the intern's training supervisors. Top

SUPERVISION METHODS

The intern's experience of direct provision of clinical services occurs in conjunction with regular, ongoing (individual and/or group) supervision by a faculty member. It is generally preceded by opportunities for observational learning and guided participation by the faculty member. In addition, the clinical and supervisory experiences are supplemented with yearlong didactic experiences that address theories and methods of assessment/diagnosis and consultation, psychological interventions and their efficacy (including empirically supported treatment), ethics and professional behavior, and issues of cultural and individual diversity.

Modeling and guided participation typify the primary teaching methods used at the onset of each quarterly assessment/consultation rotation. Each faculty supervisor reviews the intern's prior training related to the primary focus area of the rotation so as to gauge the level and type of supervisory guidance required to meet the intern's training needs. At the outset of the rotation, the faculty typically will model the clinical skills that the intern is expected to learn or hone during the course of the rotation. The faculty may also assign supplementary readings to assist in preparation for training. Through guided participation, the faculty member will allow the intern to assume greater degrees of clinical responsibility with appropriate feedback about the intern's performance. By the conclusion of the rotation, it is generally expected that the intern will be able to demonstrate a substantial increase in the ability to carry out the assessment/consultation skills that comprised the primary focus of training for that rotation. In many but not all cases, it is expected that the intern's performance of the assessment/consultation skills will be at or near the level judged by the faculty supervisor to represent competent entry-level professional practice. An example of an exception to this rule would be the case of an intern completing a first rotation in neuropsychological assessment. Top

TRAINING SUPERVISORS

At the present time, 30 faculty member in our Department serve as "training supervisors" in the Internship Program (Drs. Ashkanazi, Adams, Bauer, Boggs, Bowers, Crosson, Dede, Durning, Eyberg, Fennell, Geffken, Guenther, Gylys, Heaton, Janicke, Johnson, Kerkhoff, McCrae, Pereira, Perlstein, Perri, Robinson, Rozensky, Shaw, Waxenberg, and Wiens). These faculty members have direct supervisory contact with the interns and are actively involved in the planning and implementation of the internship program. There are also six additional faculty members in our Department who do not have supervisory contact with the interns but who provide training experiences such as didactic presentations and the opportunity for participation in their clinical research programs (Drs. Bradley, Glen, Lang, & Marsiske). The training supervisors have primary responsibility for professional services delivered through the Psychology Clinic, the primary training site for our Internship Program. All training supervisors are doctoral-level clinical or counseling psychologists, and all are currently licensed as psychologists in the State of Florida.

Our faculty includes a distinguished group of scientist-practitioner psychologists. Seven of the faculty are Fellows of the American Psychological Association (Drs. Bauer, Crosson, Eyberg, Fennell, Lang, Perri, and Rozensky), and nine are Diplomates of the American Board of Professional Psychology (Drs. Bauer, Belar, Crosson, Eyberg, Fennell, Guenther, Kerkhoff, Perri, & Rozensky). Dr. Fennell has been past president of APA Division 40-Neuropsychology.

At the same time that they are serving as clinical supervisors, the majority of our faculty are also conducting empirical research on issues of clinical significance. At the current time, most of our faculty members are serving as the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on federally funded research grants. In addition, 10 of our faculty are currently editors or editorial board members of scientific and professional journals in psychology (Drs. Adams, Bauer, Boggs, Crosson, Eyberg, Fennell, Janicke, Lang, Perri, and Rozensky).

All training supervisors have 12-month appointments and play an active role in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the Internship Program. The faculty are well suited to serve not only as clinical supervisors but also as professional role models whose clinical and scientific contributions are consistent with the training philosophy and objectives of the Internship Program. Moreover, given our considerable research expertise, the faculty are in an especially favorable position to review with interns the relative scientific and empirical bases for the professional services typically delivered through the Psychology Clinic. Top

EXPECTED PROFICIENCIES

The essential clinical psychology skills in which all interns are expected to demonstrate competence include the following: (a) psychological assessment including clinical interviewing (i.e., the development of an appropriate interpersonal contact that permits the gathering of information relevant to biobehavioral and psychosocial factors that cause or maintain the patient's presenting problem or symptomatology) and the selection, use, and interpretation of standardized psychological tests and measures relevant to forming a diagnosis, conceptualization, or treatment plan for the presenting problem; (b) consultation and communication with other professionals regarding the contribution of psychological factors to the presenting problem or diagnosis and the availability of appropriate psychological intervention alternatives; (c) case conceptualization and report writing (i.e., the integration of interview data, test findings, and collateral sources of information into a coherent framework that allows for the communication of an accurate diagnosis and the development of an appropriate treatment plan); (d) psychotherapeutic intervention (i.e., the development and implementation of an appropriate treatment derived from a data-based case conceptualization and an awareness of the relevant empirical literature regarding the efficacy of various treatments for the presenting problem or diagnosis); (e) awareness of issues of professional ethics, legal issues, and individual and cultural diversity as they affect the practice of psychology; and (f) knowledge of the methods and contributions of research and scholarly inquiry as applied to the practice of psychology.

Competence in the essential professional skills at an "advanced" level (appropriate to a entry-level position) within the designated track is required for successful completion of the internship program. Competence at the "intermediate" to "advanced" level is required for skills outside the intern's designated specialty track. Systematic training in the targeted professional competencies is assured through the following activities: (1) the direct provision of clinical services that all interns accrue on their assessment/consultation rotations and psychotherapy/supervision activities; (2) the extensive ongoing individual and group supervision that averages more than six hours per week for each intern; (3) the four hours per week of involvement in research; and (4) the more than 150 hours per year of didactic training that addresses theories and methods of assessment/diagnosis and consultation, psychological interventions and their efficacy, strategies of scholarly inquiry, ethics and professional behavior, and issues of cultural and individual diversity. Top

ASSESSMENT OF INTERN'S PROGRESS

Intern knowledge and competence are assessed on an ongoing basis through a variety of methods, including live observations of intern-patient interviews and testing, reviews of video- or audio-taped therapy sessions, detailed reviews of the intern's written assessment reports and treatment progress notes, observations of required intern presentations of case formulations and treatment planning, as well as formal and informal feedback from referral sources. Feedback to interns about their progress in achieving competence in professional skills is accomplished through several means. First, each supervisor provides interns with verbal feedback about performance during the course of assessment/consultation rotations or therapy cases. Second, all supervisors complete detailed, written, scaled evaluations of the performance of each intern supervised during the quarter. Third, the Divisions review and discuss the progress of each intern, on a quarterly basis, and makes individualized recommendations for training experiences for the following quarter. These progress reports and recommendations are reviewed by the Internship Director. Fourth, the Internship Director meets individually with each intern to review the formal feedback from the faculty evaluations, to assist the intern in conducting a self-assessment of progress, and to integrate the evaluative information into the training plan for the remainder of the internship year.

We expect that interns generally start the year of training with "beginning" to "intermediate" levels of knowledge and skill (i.e., that they require a relatively high degree of faculty input into the planning and provision of clinical services). As the training year progresses, we expect that intern progress will be such that their levels of knowledge and skills will progress to the "intermediate" and eventually "advanced" (i.e., "entry") level. The "advanced" or "entry" level is defined as knowledge and abilities required for the competent performance of professional psychology skills with minimal supervision. At the conclusion of the internship year, all interns are expected to demonstrate "advanced" skills with regard to knowledge and abilities in their designated specialty track. At the conclusion of the internship year, each intern is also expected to demonstrate "intermediate" to "advanced" proficiency with regard to competencies outside their designated specialty track.

Competence in the understanding and application of ethical principles is stressed throughout the internship year. Interns are exposed early and often to the wide array of ethical issues that arise in clinical practice. Discussion of ethical issues is an important feature of didactic training and individual and group supervision and often arise in the Friday morning clinical case discussions. In didactic meetings, interns are required to demonstrate an ability to apply the APA Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct in a clinical context. Application of these principles is fostered through group discussions (during the intern didactic seminar series) of the possible courses of actions to be taken in specific case scenarios. Knowledge and sensitivity to issues of individual and cultural diversity in psychological practice is ensured through a variety of means. Interns are prompted by the faculty to discuss these issues as they relate psychological assessment and treatment in individual and group supervision. A series of didactic and experiential presentations is devoted specifically to key issues of cultural and individual diversity. Top

FEEDBACK REGARDING PROGRESS

At mid-year (or sooner if warranted by the presence of a significant issue) and at year-end, the Internship Director writes a letter to the Director of Clinical Training of each intern's doctoral program. This letter summarizes the intern's progress. Each intern is asked to read this letter and to sign it prior to mailing. The intern is encouraged to indicate points of agreement or disagreement either in the letter itself or in a separate correspondence to his or her Director of Clinical Training.

Minor deficiencies in intern preparation or performance are generally remediated through the course of normal interaction with the intern's supervisor(s). The remediation may consist of didactic supervisory instruction, modeling of techniques by the supervisor, and/or readings in the appropriate literature. When the deficiency is in the domain of experience, the intern may be assigned additional relevant cases to provide the needed exposure. Minor deficiencies in experience, training, or performance are communicated to the Director of Clinical Training from the intern's home program in the context of the mid-year evaluation letter. Since interns undergo ongoing informal evaluation and receive formal quarterly evaluations from faculty, major deficiencies are generally detected early, usually the during first quarter of training.

When a major deficiency is detected, three steps are taken. First, the intern is placed on "probationary status" to communicate clearly that significant improvement in performance is needed for successful completion of the internship and that failure to remediate the deficiency could result in dismissal from the internship program. Second, a remediation plan is developed by the faculty and the Internship Director to ameliorate the noted deficiency. Such plans typically involve increased supervisory contacts (for both training and evaluation) along with intensive variations of the remediation methods used to deal with minor deficiencies. The remediation plan specifies the required changes in performance along with a timetable for re-evaluation of progress. Third, the Director of Clinical Training at the intern's home program is notified by the Internship Director first by telephone and then in a written correspondence with a copy provided to the intern. The input of the Director of Clinical Training is sought in the remediation plan, and he or she is kept abreast of the intern's progress through follow-up contacts both by telephone and by mail. If the deficiency is remediated, probationary status is lifted. If the intern fails to remediate the deficiency, the faculty carefully reviews evaluations from the intern's supervisors as well as the intern's self-evaluation of progress. The faculty then decides whether sufficient progress has been made to warrant continuation of the probationary status, with the expectation that the deficiency will be remediated, or whether dismissal from the program is warranted by the intern's failure to demonstrate progress. Over the past ten years, major deficiencies in performance have been noted in 2 of our 99 interns (2%). In one instance, the deficiency in performance was satisfactorily remediated; in the other instance, the intern voluntarily withdrew from the program. Top

CULTURAL AND INDIVIDUAL DIVERSITY

The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Institution. The Department of Clinical and Health Psychology is strongly committed to respecting and understanding cultural and individual diversity in its admission and training policies. Admission to the program is not limited by age, color, disabilities, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status. The program avoids any actions that would restrict admission on grounds that are irrelevant to successful completion of the internship. Moreover, the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology has an active minority recruitment program for prospective interns. Applications for the internship program from qualified minority persons are encouraged and invited. Minority individuals who wish to be considered under this recruitment program are encouraged to indicate their interest on the internship application form. Top

RESPECT FOR INTERNS

Our Program is committed to treating interns with courtesy and respect. Interns are viewed as junior colleagues, and the faculty strives in all interactions to treat interns with dignity and with concern for their welfare as trainees and as persons. Moreover, the faculty show respect for cultural and individual diversity among interns. Interns are apprised of the APA ethical standards regarding their treatment as students, and they are informed of the various formal and informal means of assistance in event of difficulties in this area (See Section on GRIEVANCES). Interns are afforded the opportunity for personal counseling, and appropriate assistance to attain such services are arranged on a confidential basis by the Internship Director. Top

GRIEVANCES

A stepped-approach is used in the resolution of disputes and grievances. These steps, which are specified in the University of Florida Graduate Student Handbook are outlined in detail for interns during the orientation period. Interns are encouraged to resolve problems directly with the individual(s) involved if at all possible. Interns may seek the advice and guidance of the Internship Director in resolving problems at this level. If this procedure is not successful, the intern may ask the Internship Director to intervene. In such a case, the Internship Director collects all relevant information from the intern and other parties and consults with other faculty and staff as is appropriate to the specific situation. Subsequently, the Director brings the relevant individuals together and presents a plan for resolution of the problem. The Director then follows up with the intern and other relevant parties to determine whether a successful resolution of the problem has been achieved. If the grievance is such that the intern believes that the complaint cannot be brought to the Internship Director, or if the intern wishes to appeal the Director's decision, the intern may bring the problem to the Department Chair for resolution. Finally, if appropriate redress of the problem cannot be achieved within the Department, the intern may pursue a grievance or appeal procedure to the Dean of the College of Public Health and Health Professions. See also UF Academic Honesty Guidelines. Top

RESOURCES

The Internship Program is housed within the University of Florida Health Science Center, which is comprised of six colleges (Public Health and Health Professions, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine) Shands Hospital and Clinics, and the UF Health Science Library. In addition, the neighboring Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is also a collaborative unit in the health center complex. The location of the Psychology Internship Program within an academic health science center promotes the integration of science and practice, multi-disciplinary collaboration, exposure to advanced trainees from other programs, and health-related research and services. For example, Department faculty and interns regularly participate in activities of the Center for Neuropsychological Studies, the UF Brain Institute, the Center for Pain and Health Behavior Research, the Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, the Transplant Center, and the Center for Pediatric Psychology Research. In addition, the Health Science Center Library, to which interns have full and easy access, includes 220,000 volumes, more than 2,000 journals.

The Department currently occupies approximately 23,000 square feet of space. The offices for seven of the interns are housed contiguously with the Psychology Clinic area and the Department's research laboratories and conference rooms. The offices of the three child psychology interns are located nearby in the Department of Psychiatry. The seven interns housed within our Department share two large and one medium sized rooms. The three interns housed in the Psychiatry Department have small to medium sized individual offices. Each intern is provided with an individual desk, storage space, and a personal computer with Internet access. Through our college network, each computer has a variety of software programs for word-processing and statistical analyses, and each office is equipped with a printer. The College of Public Health and Health Professions has several full-time computer technicians who are available to assist faculty and interns with technical support. Top

INTERN SALARY AND BENEFITS

The base salary for interns in the class of 2008-2009 will be $18,500 per annum. In addition, interns will also receive a $1,000 allotment for the purchase of health insurance. This $1,000 is added to the base salary and is paid bi-weekly. Interns may purchase a health plan provided to students by the University or they may select a private policy of their choice. Interns have 15 days per year of annual leave, which may be used for vacation or professional activities, and 10 days per year of sick leave, which may be use for personal illnesses or to care for family members who are ill. In addition, there are nine paid holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after, and Christmas Day. Top

DECISIONS REGARDING ADMISSIONS

Admissions to the Internship Program are made in a two-step process. The Internship Admissions Committee, which is chaired by the Internship Director and includes representative from each of the Divisions, selects applicants to be invited for on-campus interviews; following the interviews, the particular faculty members associated with each of the four training Divisions (i.e., clinical child/pediatric psychology; medical/health psychology; clinical neuropsychology; and rural/primary care psychology) decide on the rankings of candidates to be submitted to the National Matching Services, Inc.

If you wish to apply for an appointment as a psychology intern, you should:

1. Complete an APPIC Application for Psychology Internship including the APPIC Doctoral Practicum Documentation Form, the APPIC Professional Conduct Form, the APPIC Academic Program’s Verification of Eligibility Form, and the APPIC Adult and Child Test Administration Forms (http://www.appic.org/).
2. Complete the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology Application
3. Include with your application your vita and at least three letters of recommendation from individuals who are knowledgeable about your clinical training. Please note that the Program Verification (AAPI-Part 2) does not by itself suffice as a separate letter of recommendation. If one of your letters comes from your program director, a separate letter should be submitted. These letters should be sealed with the writer’s signature appearing across the flap.
4. Send official transcripts of all graduate work.
5. Include a work sample of a psychological evaluation report that you personally have written. Be sure to protect the confidentiality of patients or clients and their families (i.e., compliant with all federal regulations regarding patient privacy).

Lori Waxenberg, Ph.D.
Director, Psychology Internship Program
Dept. of Clinical and Health Psychology
University of Florida Health Science Center
101 South Newell Drive Room 3151 (FedEx Address)
PO Box 100165
Gainesville, FL 32610-0165

All application materials must be received in our offices by November 15th to ensure consideration for selection. Personal interviews will be offered to those applicants who have passed an initial review conducted by training faculty. Telephone interviews may also be arranged in the event that the applicant cannot personally visit the program. Personal interviews are scheduled for three (3) Fridays in January prior to the selection date. For January, 2009, the Friday interview days will be January 2nd, January 9th and January 16th. Although a personal interview is not required for admission, in nearly all cases it is beneficial and informative for both the Program and the applicant. For additional information, please contact Nettie P. Van Wyen, 352-273-6155 or via email: nettiepa@phhp.ufl.edu

The program abides by all APPIC regulations regarding Uniform Notification. A copy of regulations currently in effect can be found on by clicking on http://www.appic.org/. The Psychology Internship Program is accredited by the American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C., 20002-4242, (202) 336-5500

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