Program Overview

Doctoral Internship Program

The Doctoral Internship program is an integral part of the mission of the Counseling and Wellness Center, and the entire professional and support staff is involved in the supervision and training of our interns. The training program's aim is to prepare interns to function competently and independently as psychologists.

Our Mission

The mission of the Counseling and Wellness Center is to facilitate student success and psychological well-being through culturally sensitive clinical services, outreach, and consultation. In keeping with the educational mission of the university, we also contribute to the mental health professions by serving as a training site for graduate students in psychology and counseling.

Diversity Statement

The Counseling and Wellness Center fosters a community that values and respects diversity. An inclusive definition of diversity recognizes the variety of personal and social experiences that make individuals and communities different from one another. These differences include race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, size, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations, genetic information, veteran status, and the many other ways one might identify.

Training Mission

The training program follows a practitioner-scholar model of professional training for psychologists, which emphasizes experiential learning. As a practitioner, the intern applies the knowledge gained from scholarly and scientific evidence to clinical practice. As a scholar, the intern is engaged in study of the science of psychology and mental health and is encouraged to contribute to the profession through involvement in scholarly activities.

Aims of the Doctoral Internship Program

The aims of the doctoral internship program are:

• To provide a high-quality training experience for individuals who have progressed through doctoral studies in the field of psychology
• To provide a training experience that will result in interns being eligible for licensure as psychologists
• To provide interns with opportunities for the refinement of the basic skills necessary to practice as a professional health service psychologist and to expose interns to related areas of practice
• To provide a training experience that is flexible enough to allow individuals to meet their personal and professional needs

Psychology Intern/Doctoral Intern

Duties Include

• Provide clinical assessments with triage-based disposition and referral
• Provide individual counseling for students within a brief and focused counseling model
• Assist students in need of more frequent, long-term, or specialized services find off-campus professionals for referral
• Provide coordinated services for clients between the Counseling and Wellness Center, Substance Abuse Prevention, Survivor Advocacy, the Student Health Center's Behavioral Health Team, Disability Access Center, Residence Life, and various off-campus services
• Facilitate and co-facilitating groups, workshops, and psycho-educational outreach
• Provide at least three hours per week of scheduled Same-day Drop-in Consultation time for WWU Students
• Participate in the weekly intern seminar, staff meeting, medical consultation meeting, peer consultation group, and Intern Inclusive Action Team (IAT), other Counseling, Health, and Wellness and division meetings and events
• Receive a minimum of two hours per week of individual supervision and two hours of program supervision activities
• Serve in the after-hours on-call counselor rotation, at times determined jointly by the Director, Training Director and clinical supervisor

Program Details

The Doctoral internship is 2000 hours to be completed over the course of 12 months. The purpose of the internship is to provide experience in the various activities practiced by a Health Service Psychologist. Interns gain exposure to the variety of professional activities and service delivery systems that exist in a contemporary college or university counseling setting.

Stipend and Benefits

The Doctoral internship currently is funded at an annual stipend of $41,131, and, as a one-year non-exempt staff position. This position includes benefits offered to professional staff employees. Doctoral interns also benefit from dissertation release time, professional development time and monies depending on annual budget.

Accreditation

The Counseling and Wellness Center is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS). Counseling, Health, and Wellness Services is dedicated to promoting the mental and physical wellbeing of Western Washington University students.