Goals: 

• The goals of the internship are to develop and refine comprehensive skills in the practice of health service psychology, including individual and group therapy and psychological assessment, and to develop professional identity as a psychologist. There is also a focus on developing supervision and case consultation skills. Professional identity emphases include demonstrating responsible professional behavior, knowledge, and application of ethical and legal standards, and demonstrating a commitment to scholarly activity. Developing knowledge of and a sensitivity to cultural and individual diversity is a core theme in all internship activities, whether experiential or didactic. We recognize that developing cultural humility is a lifelong journey, and we expect interns to participate fully through discussion and dialogue about diversity, both formal and informal, as well as through fulfilling required internship activities during their time at the UCC. 

Positions available: 

• 3 internship positions are available for the 2023-2024 academic year

• National Matching Service (NMS) Number: 246211 

Training Period: 

• Current Term: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024 

Responsibilities: 

All interns participate in the following training activities to ensure the development of core competencies throughout the year. The training opportunities and responsibilities include: 

• Providing individual and group therapy 

• Conducting new client evaluations and completing documentation 

• Providing individual supervision to a practicum trainee 

• Receiving two hours of individual clinical supervision per week 

• Conducting psychological assessments and writing comprehensive reports 

• Participating in campus outreach activities and creating an outreach initiative 

• Participating in supervision of supervision 

• Participating in weekly group supervision with postdoctoral fellow(s) 

• Attending weekly staff meetings 

• Attending weekly case conference meetings and didactic seminars 

Supervision: 

• Supervision is an essential component of the training program and is intentionally and thoughtfully incorporated throughout the training experiences at the UCC. Clinical work with individual clients will be supervised by a licensed psychologist, who is supportive, culturally competent, and highly experienced in direct client service, supervision, and training. Interns will receive two hours of on-site individual supervision per week. In addition, interns participate in one hour of group supervision with their intern cohort that is facilitated by licensed staff members, who are passionate about training. Interns also receive supervision as part of group therapy facilitation and outreach experiences. 
• The opportunity to provide supervision is also one of the distinguishing features of the UCC internship program. Interns at the UCC are matched with a graduate-level practicum student and provide primary supervision for 3-4 longer term cases throughout the academic year. This experience provides interns with an opportunity to develop the foundational knowledge and skills associated with being a supervisor that is further supported by weekly supervision (i.e., supervision of supervision) with two licensed providers in a group format. 

Didactics: 

• To facilitate growth and development in various aspects of clinical service delivery and professional development throughout the year, case conferences and didactic seminars are provided as part of the internship training experience. In addition, interns participate in an assessment seminar that allows interns to build competencies with conducing ADHD assessments, conducting comprehensive neuro cognitive evaluations, and preparing psychological evaluation reports. In overview, the didactic internship seminars are rooted in providing small group opportunities for members of the intern cohort to not only learn from staff, but also learn from one another.  

Scholarly Project: 

• Interns are expected to contribute to the UCC through the completion of a scholarly project. Like the clinical training, this project is flexible and provides an opportunity for interns to create a project within a particular area of interest and/or for an identified need or gap area at the UCC. The ideal project will be grounded in, or informed by, existing research and will be undertaken with the aim of enhancing the clinical, administrative, and/or organizational goals of the center. Scholarly projects make a meaningful impact each year and are often integrated into the functioning of the UCC. Examples of past scholarly projects include creating group therapy and workshop initiatives, outreach workshops, organizational assessments, and comprehensive literature reviews of pertinent clinical phenomena.  

Telehealth Services: 

• The UCC continues to offer services both in-person and via telehealth. Initially, interns are expected to be in-person at the UCC daily and conduct telehealth sessions at the UCC to prioritize accessibility to support when needed. Options for interns to work remotely two days a week may be available during the second half of the training year. While some group meetings (i.e., UCC Staff Meeting, UCC Case Conference) continue to be held virtually, individual supervision will be conducted in-person at the UCC. Groups, workshops, and outreach programming may also be offered both in-person and virtually. However, psychological assessment services and urgent care services are primarily offered in-person at the UCC. 

As staff members at the UCC, we strive to offer culturally responsive and empirically supported services in a space that feels welcoming, safe, and affirming to all students. Given this center-wide value, we are committed to engaging in ongoing dialogue about the intersection of identity and the work we do, with awareness that these opportunities contribute to students receiving more effective care. Our therapeutic, assessment, and outreach services are delivered in a caring and compassionate manner that recognizes the unique characteristics, experiences, and identities of the individual student. As a collective, we make space to support, challenge each other, and grow in understanding of our own biases during monthly Affinity Group meetings and in other staff trainings that are often organized by the Diversity Alliance, which is a group of staff members who hold the UCC accountable for taking steps to cultivate systemic equity. 

Given the diverse nature of the Vanderbilt student population, interns are expected to approach their work from a multicultural perspective. Knowledge of and sensitivity to individual and cultural diversity is essential in all areas of practice, including individual and group therapy, assessment, individual supervision, group supervision, campus outreach, and training seminars. The UCC Solidarity Statement can be found here: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ucc/solidarity-statement/.  

Stipend: 

• The current stipend for the 2023-2024 internship year is $40,000 

Health Insurance: 

• Vanderbilt University offers health insurance as a benefit of employment with employee contribution. For more information visit: https://hr.vanderbilt.edu/benefits/ 

Paid Time Off: 

• Internship is a time of meaningful growth and provides an opportunity to develop a better understanding of the needs you may have to thrive as a mental health provider. To honor this aspect of professional development, interns are encouraged to prioritize their self-care throughout the training year, and Paid Time Off (PTO) is an important aspect of structural support that is built into the internship year at the UCC.  
• More specifically, interns accrue 24 days of PTO and are provided with an additional 5 professional development days, so that PTO does not need to be used for professional meetings and workshops, dissertation-related activities, job interviews, etc. “No prizes are given out for having the most PTO days left at the end of the year,” is a common saying you might hear at the UCC. 

Professional Development Funds: 

• Interns at the UCC receive $1000 in professional development funds to attend workshops and conferences  

Additional Resources: 

• All interns have access to Vanderbilt University campus library resources as well as library and computer resources available at the UCC 

• The UCC training program adheres to the APPIC Match Policies, which can be found here. 

• The UCC participated in the APPIC 2023 match, and applications were submitted through the AAPI Online applicant portal. 

• National Matching Service (NMS) Number: 246211 

The Vanderbilt UCC Internship in Health Service Psychology offers 3 full-time internship positions each year and is accredited by the American Psychological Association. The anticipated date for the program’s next site visit is 2024. Questions related to the program's accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation using the contact information below:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org

The UCC is also a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), the Association of the Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA), and the UCC will be participating in the APPIC Match. Applicants may submit their applications using the AAPI Online applicant system. The Vanderbilt UCC training program National Matching Service (NMS) Number is: 246211.

For more information, please contact Ruth Howard, PhD, HSP at ruth.howard@vanderbilt.edu.  

Date Program Tables were updated: 06/30/23

 Program Disclosures

As articulated in Standard I.B.2., programs may have “admission and employment policies that directly related to affiliation or purpose” that may be faith-based or secular in nature. However, such policies and practices must be disclosed to the public. Therefore, programs are asked to respond to the following question:

Internship Program Admissions

 Intern Support Table

*Note: programs are not required by the Commission on Accreditation to provide all benefits listed in this table.

Initial Post Internship Positions

(Provide an Aggregated Tally for the Preceding 3 Cohorts)

Minimum Requirements for Consideration: 

1. Applicants must be actively enrolled in an academic program leading to a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology or have completed a doctoral degree in a non-professional field of psychology and be certified by an appropriate official as being enrolled in an organized re-specialization program requiring the completion of the equivalent of pre-internship training in health service psychology. 
2. If in the United States, the academic program must be housed in a regionally accredited, degree-granting institution. If in Canada, the institution must be publicly recognized as a member in good standing by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. 
3. Applicants must be enrolled in an APA or CPA accredited graduate program.  
4. Applicants must have completed at least 3 years of graduate academic work in a program meeting the requirements described above. 
5. It is preferred that applicants have a minimum of 445 Total Intervention and Assessment Hours as defined by the AAPI. This training must be of such a nature and amount as to provide the applicant with the experience needed to have a reasonable opportunity to succeed in the placement for which the applicant is being considered. Given the breadth of training opportunities available, the breakdown between assessment and intervention hours varies across applicants. As a general rule, applicants with at least 425 Intervention Hours and at least 20 Assessment Hours will meet the requirements for the Vanderbilt UCC training program. Limitations in accruing this number of hours due to the impact of COVID-19 will be taken into consideration. Applications will be reviewed holistically with attention given to applicants who have not necessarily accrued this number of hours.   
6. Applicants must be certified by the program’s Director of Clinical Training as being ready for internship. 
7. The applicant must pass a criminal background check. This will be performed after Match Day and before the first day of employment. Employment as a doctoral intern is contingent on passing the background check. No prospective intern has ever been refused employment as a result of the background check, but it is a possibility. For further context, several prospective interns have had difficulty and in all cases the difficulty was related to past legal problems that were not disclosed during the application process. 

Submission Details:  

• Applications due date: TBD
• All applications must be submitted through the AAPI Online applicant portal.
• The Vanderbilt UCC National Matching Service (NMS) Number is: 246211
• Please email Ruth Howard, PhD, HSP at ruth.howard@vanderbilt.edu with further questions about the application process. 

Application Requirements: 

1. Cover letter: Vanderbilt UCC training program: National Matching Service (NMS) Number: 246211 
2. Curriculum Vita 
3. At least three and no more than four letters of recommendation from faculty members or practicum supervisors who are familiar with your clinical work as well as your research work. At least one letter of recommendation must be from an academic faculty member, and at least one letter of recommendation from a clinical supervisor.  

Selection Process and Dates: 

• Selection Process: 
  • After an initial review of all applications, selected applicants will be invited to schedule virtual interviews.  
  • Virtual interviews are typically held during the second week of December and the first and/or second week of January each year.  
  • Interviews also typically take place throughout the morning from 8:00am - 12:30pm CST. 
• Dates:  
  • Applications for 2024-2025 are due on: TBD 
  • 2024-2025 internship applicants will receive notification of interview decisions on or by: TBD 
  • Interview Dates: TBD