Internship in Clinical Psychology

Welcome to the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School Internship in Clinical Psychology for 2021-2022

The Massachusetts General Hospital is the oldest voluntary nonprofit hospital in New England and the third oldest in the United States. Additionally, it is the first and largest teaching hospital affiliated with the Harvard Medical School.

Mass General has a tripartite mission: Guided by the needs of our patients and their families, we aim to deliver the very best health care in a safe, compassionate environment; to advance that care through innovative research and education; and, to improve the health and well-being of the diverse communities we serve.

Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School offer a full-time, predoctoral internship in Clinical Psychology to matriculated doctoral students enrolled in clinical or counseling psychology programs.

Internship Details

Due to COVID-19, most aspects of the internship are currently conducted virtually. 

All didactics and supervision are delivered virtually.

Outpatient psychotherapy is delivered virtually.

On-site activities include:

• A rotation on the inpatient psychiatry unit for 4 hours/week for 6 months (all elective tracks)
• Psychological testing at the Psychology Assessment Center (PAC) (Adult elective) and the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) (Child elective)

We will follow Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Massachusetts General Hospital guidelines regarding returning to work on site.

There will be 14 funded one-year internship positions available. The internship year begins the last week of June 2021 and ends on June 30, 2022. A stipend of $35,570, four weeks of vacation and subsidized health and dental insurance are some of the provided benefits.

Our internship is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Our training program subscribes to the guidelines of the Association of Predoctoral Psychology Internship Centers (APPIC) and follows that schedule of recruitment, interview, offers and acceptance. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.

Learn more about the APPIC Match

Mass General is a teaching facility of Harvard Medical School and a member of Mass General Brigham.

The Internship in Clinical Psychology at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School has a long history of training psychologists who go on to become clinicians, academics and researchers within the field.

Goals & Objectives

The goal of the Mass General Internship in Clinical Psychology is to develop professional psychologists who exemplify the scientist-practitioner model.

Our objectives are to train interns to do the following:

• Provide competent and effective psychological interventions
• Perform comprehensive psychological assessments
• Utilize research and theory to inform clinical practice
• Develop or refine clinical research skills
• Practice with sensitivity to individuals in their ethnic and cultural context
• Maintain the highest ethical standards
• Develop the attitudes and skills needed to support lifelong learning

This is accomplished through a program of graded clinical experience, supervision, seminars and mentoring. The internship is organized around a core training curriculum that emphasizes the development and enhancement of skills in diagnosis, assessment, treatment, research and the role of science in clinical practice. This generalist training prepares graduates to pursue specialty training in their postdoctoral experience. In addition to generalist training, interns choose an elective training area for supplementary experiences in specific domains of psychology.

Electives

Interns choose from the following electives:

• Adult Clinical Psychology (2 interns/year)
• Behavioral Medicine (BMED) (2 interns/year)
• Child Clinical Psychology (2 interns/year)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (4 interns/year)
• Integrated Brain Health (2 interns/year)
• Neuropsychology (2 interns/year)

Curriculum

Core Activities

The foundation for all training experiences is the core shared philosophy and common activities of providing clinical services to a diverse patient population. We consistently adhere to the scientist-practitioner philosophy in the following activities.

Treatment

All interns are responsible for providing individual outpatient psychotherapy through the outpatient service.

The Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic offers an array of outpatient services to a diagnostically and socioeconomically diverse group of patients. Patients are typically referred by their Mass General primary care providers for treatment. Current treatment modalities include individual and group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy.

The Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic offers family therapy, behavioral and academic interventions in addition to the services listed above.

Assessment/Evaluation

All interns in all elective tracks complete a rotation on the Mass General inpatient psychiatry service on Blake 11. During this six-month, four-hour per week rotation, evaluation and treatment services are provided to adults with diverse diagnoses. This includes active participation in multi-disciplinary team rounds, conducting individual psychotherapy and co-leading groups. Supervision is provided by a team of inpatient psychologists.

Consultation

Because they are working in a major medical center, all interns have the opportunity to consult on cases with a variety of health care providers including psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and other allied health professionals.

Research

As the first component of research training, the internship is committed to assisting in completion of the doctoral dissertation. To that end, resources include a dissertation seminar and consultation with research faculty. Over 90% of interns have completed their dissertations by the end of internship. Additionally, all interns participate in the department's treatment outcome research, which is based in the outpatient clinic. Other research opportunities are offered by training faculty.

Core Didactics

All trainees in all elective tracks are involved in the following seminars:

• Core Training Seminar: Weekly seminar that offers modules in diversity, consultation, supervision and ethics
• Blake 11 Seminar: Weekly seminar for six months teaching assessment, evaluation and treatment of psychiatric inpatients on a short-stay unit
• CBT seminar: Weekly seminar teaching empirically validated treatment of psychiatric disorders

Additional seminars are offered within each elective area.

Supervision

Each intern will have a minimum of four hours of weekly supervision.

Faculty Training Committee

• Sheila O’Keefe, EdD, Director of Psychology Training
• Sabine Wilhelm, PhD, Chief of Psychology, Director of the OC and Related Disorders Program, Founder & Director of the BDD Clinic and Research Unit, Director of the Tic Disorders Program, Co-director, CBT Internship Elective
• Mark Blais, PsyD, Director, Psychological Evaluation and Research Laboratory (PEaRL)
• Anne Chosak, PhD, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program
• Aude Henin, PhD, Co-director, Child CBT Therapy Program; Director, CBT Program, Clinical and Research Program in the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Unit
• Christina D. Kay, PhD, Co-director, Neuropsychology Internship Elective
• Jennifer A. Murphy, PhD, Co-director Child Internship Elective
• Conall O’Cleirigh, PhD, Director, Behavioral Medicine Program
  
• Lauren E. Pollak, PhD, ABPP, Co-director, Neuropsychology Internship Elective
  
• Christina Psaros, PhD, Associate Director, Behavioral Medicine; Director, BMED Internship Elective
  
• Nancy S. Rotter, PhD, Assistant Director, Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry Service; Co-director, Child Internship Elective
• Susan Sprich, PhD, Director, CBT Program; Co-director, CBT Internship Elective; Assistant director, Psychology Internship
• Michelle B. Stein, PhD, Director, Adult Internship Elective
• Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD, Director, Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program; Director, Integrated Brain Health Internship Elective

Application Requirements

Applicants to the Clinical Psychology Internship should meet the following requirements:

• Three years of full-time graduate study in a doctoral program (preferably APA-approved programs in Clinical Psychology, but applicants from other programs will also be accepted)
• Two years of clinical experience, at least one of which must be supervised practicum experience
• Verification of Internship Eligibility and Readiness Form, completed by graduate program director
• Typically, competitive applicants for the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavioral Medicine, Integrated Brain Health and Neuropsychology electives have significant clinical research experience in the form of completed publications and presentations at professional meetings
• Typically for the Child Elective, competitive applicants have experience working with children
• Typically for the Adult Elective and Child Elective, competitive applicants have experience with psychological assessment

Applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds are welcome. Learn more about the Department of Psychiatry's Center for Diversity.

How to Apply

Qualifications for Prospective Applicants

The Mass General Psychology Internship adheres to the selection policies and procedures as outlined in the APPIC Match Policies. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.

In order to be considered as a prospective candidate, all applicants must:

• Submit the required APPIC Online Application by midnight on 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 1, 2020
• Include the following information in the cover letter accompanying your application:
  • Indicate the elective track for which you would like to be considered
  • Indicate your preferred interview date according to elective track

Please upload work samples according to elective track requirements below.

Review the Requirements (above) section to determine your eligibility to apply.

Choosing an Elective Track

Applicants should only apply to one elective track. This choice determines the review process of your application materials. (Please see below for required elective track-specific work samples to be submitted.)

Application Timeline

• 11:59 pm EST November 1, 2020: Deadline for receipt of completed applications
• December 15, 2020: Notification of invitations for personal interviews completed
• INTERVIEWS:  For this application cycle, all interviews will be conducted virtually
• Interview Dates: If invited for an interview, you will be offered one of the dates below. Please be sure to indicate your preferred date on your cover letter. We will try to honor requests, but may not always be able to offer your first choice due to scheduling conflicts. On the day of your interview, please plan to be available from 8:00 am to approximately 4:00 pm EST

References

Please include three letters of reference. Due to the volume of applications, we appreciate your adherence to the request for three letters.

Work Samples

Please upload work samples as required below:

• Adult Elective Track: Submit a) one full psychological test report on an adult patient (18 or older), and b) one sample of other clinical work (e.g., intake evaluation, discharge summary, case report, etc.) for an adult patient
• Child Elective Track: Submit a) one full psychological test report on a child or adolescent patient (up to and including 18 years old), and b) one sample of other clinical work (e.g., intake evaluation, discharge summary, case report, etc.) for a child or adolescent patient, up to (and including) 18 years old
• Neuropsychology Elective Track: Submit two full neuropsychological evaluation reports, preferably one adult and one child/adolescent
• CBT, BMED and Integrated Brain Health Elective Tracks: No work samples are required