Recommended Books
Megargee, E. I. (2001). Megargee’s guide to obtaining a psychology internship.
(4th ed.). New York: Brunner Routledge.
Megargee’s seminal text has been used throughout several decades by psychology doctoral students in navigating the confusing and complicated waters of securing doctoral-level internship. This resource includes chapter about the APPIC matching process, how to develop a curriculum vita, writing cover letters, handling site visits and interviews, and dealing with adversity in the application process. Each topic is cogently presented and provides the student with a treasure-trove of information during this potentially overwhelming process.
Williams-Nickelson, C., & Prinstein, M.J. (Eds.). (2004). Internships in psychology: The APAGS workbook for writing successful applications and finding the right match. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
In recognizing the difficulty of finding a psychology internship, the editors provide a useful “how-to” manual for successfully completing the psychology internship matching process. Chapters are developed by current and former psychology interns, with instruction for completing the APPIC application, developing essays, technical details about the matching process, and numerous frequently asked questions.
Links to Related Websites
-Organizations-
American Psychological Association (APA) Internship
This site, developed by APA Graduate Students (APAGS), provides answers to frequently asked questions and links to other useful sites. It contains information helpful for those seeking APA-accredited and/or non-accredited internship placements.
Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)
This site is invaluable for students who intend to apply to internships using the well-known APPIC match procedures. Here students can learn more about what the match is, how to use the site to search for potential internship programs, how to make application, as well as other details about the application process. Perhaps the most helpful feature is a search engine that allows students to find information about various sites based on student-selected criteria. Take some time to explore the site, which includes student-specific resources including practicum tracking forms and links to other sites of interest.
-Internship Sites-
This is far from a complete listing of available sites. These sites were selected because of faculty’s knowledge and connections with these particular training programs. For more sites, visit the APPIC webpage, do a search based on your own criteria (which can include location, type of training program, etc.), and follow links to training program home pages.
The Centennial School of Lehigh University
This Lehigh University-based internship training program maintains an emphasis on empirically supported assessment and intervention practices for children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Take a look at this informative website.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
This hospital-based site was formerly known as the Seashore House. Under the direction of Dr. Thomas Power, this APA-accredited internship program provides a wide variety of scientist-practitioner training opportunities across multiple disciplines. There is a nice balance of research and practice at this site. A number of “greats” in the field completed training here, including our own Dr. McGoey.
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Houston, TX)
This website offers information about a school-based training program in the home district of Dr. Scott Poland, prominent researcher in the area of violence prevention. Cypress Fairbanks offers a unique service delivery model that offers training with diverse populations in both traditional and nontraditional capacities.
Illinois School Psychology Internship Consortium
This new consortium – developed and managed by four Illinois-based school psychology doctoral training programs (i.e., Illinois State University, Loyola University, National-Louis University, and Northern Illinois University) – offers training positions in schools, hospitals, residential treatment programs, and clinics within rural, suburban, and urban settings. The website features narratives from students describing their training experiences.
Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium
This relatively new training program provides a school-based internship experience whereby students work with a culturally diverse population across sites to provide services. This unique program has been receiving much attention of late.
The Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology (NICPP)
This website is a link to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln-related consortium that encompasses multiple internship placement sites, including the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation (where Drs. Anhalt and Cowan completed their internships) and Girls and Boys Town (formerly Boystown). This site provides descriptions of and mission statements for eight separate training programs. Although all sites have an emphasis on both training and research, the percentage of time devoted to these activities varies somewhat. Looking into the separate program descriptions should prove helpful in helping determine whether you might want to apply to the consortium.
Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center
This website provides information about this internship training program located in Erie, PA geared toward providing training in primarily nontraditional settings working with a variety of clients, including children and youth with emotional and behavior disorders.
