APA-accredited internship program

Training facility

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is a 408-licensed bed hospital that provides a comprehensive array of behavioral health services to the north side of Chicago, including the medical populations of Advocate Illinois Masonic. These services, provided through Advocate Illinois Masonic Behavioral Health Services, include a full complement of child, adolescent, adult, inpatient, outpatient and community services. Advocate Illinois Masonic serves a population that is comprised of a range of socio-economic levels, and a wide variety of ethnic and cultural groups.

Training philosophy & goals

Advocate Illinois Masonic's internship program adheres to a practitioner-scholar model. Professional development occurs through experiential learning achieved through provision of clinical services combined with scholarly inquiry. The training approach is generalist in nature, preparing the intern to function within a variety of multi-disciplinary settings. There is a strong emphasis on evidence-based training and practice. This is accomplished by exposing interns to best-practices established through research, as well as utilization of outcome measures in their own clinical work. The clinical psychology internship program provides a broad-based clinical training experience. Interns work with a varied range of clinical concepts, approaches and problems. Secondarily, interns may hone in on particular areas of interest and specialization.

The clinical psychology internship program at Advocate Illinois Masonic strives to fulfill several major goals:

• Competence in provision of effective psychotherapy to a diverse array of clients
• Competence in clinical assessment
• Sensitivity to diversity and individual differences
• Competence in the areas of professional consultation and supervision
• Adherence to codes of professional conduct and ethics
• Competence in the application of evidence-based practices in clinical settings

Requirements for successful completion of the program

The pre-doctoral internship program is a full year, 40-hour-per-week commitment beginning on September 1 and ending on August 31 of each year. In order to successfully complete the program, the intern must:

• Be on-site for 2,000 hours during the training year
• Complete 720 intervention and assessment hours during the training year
• Complete all required documentation to support clinical services provided
• Demonstrate at minimum a score of intermediate to advanced skill level in the competency areas listed above

Fulfillment of goals is reflected through regularly scheduled competency assessments and supervisory evaluations.

The clinical psychology internship program has been APA-accredited since 1978.

Internship program admissions, support and initial placement data

Interns work with the entire age span but may concentrate on work with children, adolescents or adults. The outpatient clinic serves a very diverse population with regard to race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. There is no dominant theoretical framework. Cognitive, Behavioral, Dynamic, Systems, and Developmental Perspectives are well-represented. The program has a strong team of bilingual (English/Spanish) supervisors and staff. There are opportunities for longer term therapy but outpatient clinics typically adhere to a 20-session model with guidelines for extended therapy. The program is primarily outpatient and community-focused with opportunities to work with an extremely diverse psychiatric population as well as medical populations. Extensive experience in the treatment modalities of individual, family, couples and group therapies.

• Psychology Internship Training Program Information

Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If Yes, indicate how many.

• Total Direct Contact Intervention Hours – Yes – Amount: 500
• Total Direct Contact Assessment Hours – No – Amount: N/A

Candidates who are likely to be the best fit for the program are those who have practicum-level experience providing psychotherapy to diverse populations in a variety of modalities.

Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:

• Selection decisions are made primarly on the basis of a proven history of challenging training experiences with a clinically-diverse population.

Financial and other benefit support for upcoming training year*

Initial post-internship positions