Internship Availability
Internship positions are usually located in settings related to Clinical or Industrial/Organizational psychology. Students should be aware that clinically oriented internships do NOT allow undergraduate students to practice actual psychotherapy. Some clinical internships involve sitting in on therapists’ sessions. Other internships (which might be labeled “clinical”) exist in a variety of social service agencies. In these internships, students usually work with children, mental health patients, or clients with special needs. Industrial/Organizational internships are often in human resource offices or other corporate settings.
Internship for Credit
Although not required, students can receive credits for completing an internship in psychology. Up to 15 credits of PSYCH 495 can be granted in a semester; however, only a maximum of 3 credits of PSYCH 495 may be applied to 400-level course requirements for the psychology major (credits beyond this will fulfill elective credits).
Students are responsible to find an On-site Supervisor who typically are psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, or other appropriately trained professionals. Students must also obtain a Faculty Internship Advisor from the Department of Psychology. Along with the work completed on-site, students also are responsible for an academic component (see below). The on-site experience and the academic component are designed to be completed concurrently.
Students looking to earn credits should complete internships in conjunction with the fall, spring, or summer semesters. Credit are granted during the semester the student is on-site, thus the student must be enrolled and registered for the fall, spring, or summer semester during which internship activities are conducted. Typically students earn 1credit per 40 hours of work completed on-site. In order to receive 3 credits of PSYCH 495, students are expected to complete a minimum of 120 hours of work at the internship site. Students are more than welcome to work hours above and beyond those needed to earn credit. For example, a student can pay for just 1 credit of PSYCH 495 but choose to work at the internship site for 200 hours. Note:some internship sites require you to be registered for credit at your home institution.
Academic Component: Reading Lists
All internships require an academic component in addition to on-site activities. This component typically involves assignments from an appropriate reading list and a final written product or assignment due at the end of the semester.
The reading list and written product/assignment should be developed in consultation with the Internship Supervisor and/or Faculty Internship Advisor. A final plan of study must be approved by the Internship Coordinator in the Department of Psychology (Colleen Heckard).
The reading list should reflect the content area of the internship
and be tailored to provide scientific (theory and research) and applied
information on the student’s activities and internship goals.
Appropriate resources include: a) Introductory texts on focal internship
topics, b) Research articles and chapters on focal internship topics,
c.) Applied articles and chapters on focal internship topics, and d)
Internship Agency/Site literature on focal internship topics.
Reading lists should include adequate material to outline weekly or
bi-weekly reading assignments. For most internships, reading lists should reflect a diversity of sources including journal articles,
although sometimes a single ambitious text may be satisfactory. Some great places to find articles can be through PsycINFO. Many of the articles can be accessed free of charge through the University Library.
Example Reading Lists:
1. A Neuropsychological/Gerontology Internship
Davison, G., and Goldfried, M. (1976). Clinical Behavior Therapy. New York: Wiley.
Chapters 1-4, 9-10.
Burns, A. and Winblad, B. (2006). Severe Dementia. New York:
Wiley.
Chapters 12-15.
Randolph, C. (1998). RBANS Manual. The Psychological Corporation.
Entire Manual
Roth, D. L. (et al.) (2002) Timed-Event Sequential Analysis of
Agitation in Nursing Home Residents During Personal Care Interactions
With Nursing Assistants. The Gerontological Society of America.
pp. 461-468.
Roth, D. L. (et al) (2003) Psychometric Analysis of the Revised
Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist: Factor Structure of Occurrence
and Reaction Ratings. American Psychological Association.
Entire Article.
Robinson, A. , Spencer, B., and White, L. (1989) Understanding
Difficult Behaviors. Alzheimer's Association.
Entire Manual.
2. A General Mental Health Services Internship
Feltham, C., and Horton, I. (2006). The Sage Handbook of Counselling
and Psychotherapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Selected chapters.
Johnstone, L., and Dallos, R. (2006). Formulation in psychology
and psychotherapy: Making sense of people's problems. New York:
Routledge.
Selected Chapters
Luborsky, L., & Luborsky, E. (2006). Research and psychotherapy:
The vital link. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson.
Selected chapters
Freeman, A., Pretzer, J., Fleming, B., and Simon, K. (2004). Clinical
applications of cognitive therapy (2nd Ed.). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum
Publishers.
Selected chapters
3. A Child Clinical Internship
Shapiro, P., Friedberg, R. D., & Bardenstein, K. K. (2006). Child
and adolescent therapy: Science and art. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Selected Chapters
Bratton, S. C., Landreth, G. L., Kellam, T., & Blackard, S. R.
(2006). Child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) treatment manual:
A 10-session filial therapy model for training parents. New York:
Routledge.
Entire Manual
Wilmshurst, L. (2005). Essentials of Child Psychopathology. Hoboken,
NJ: Wiley.
Selected Chapters
Stern, M. B. (2002). Child-friendly therapy: Biopsychosocial innovations
for children and families. New York: Norton.
Selected Chapters
Hobday, A., Kirby, A., & Ollier, K. (2002). Creative therapy
for children in new families. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Selected Chapters
Academic Component: Written Products
The purpose of the academic component is for the student to integrate daily practicum experiences and psychological scholarship. The academic component is evaluated on the basis of written products that reflect this integration. The plan of study should include written components reflecting periodic progress (for example, journal entries) and a final, more integrative product (for example, a term paper). The scope of the written products should reflect the number of credits the student receives. The specific written products should be developed in consultation with the Faculty Internship Advisor and Internship Supervisor and described in the academic plan.
Final Grades
Final grades for PSYCH 495 are assigned by the Faculty Internship Advisor based on the final written product and a letter of evaluation from the Internship Supervisor. Students on internships must request an evaluation letter from their on-site supervisor be sent to the PSYCH 495 Faculty Internship Advisor by the end of the internship semester.
In order to receive credit for internships, students must complete the following steps:
1. Find an internship site. Students may complete internships anywhere
they are available. It is up to the student to search and find a site. One useful
approach is the human services agencies listed in the “Blue
Pages” of most telephone books.
2. Obtain an on-site supervisor (at the internship itself).
3. Obtain a Faculty Internship Advisor. Do you have someone in mind? Do you need help in identifying someone?
4. Meet with the Internship Coordinator in the Psychology Department
(Colleen Heckard) to: a) determine
if the internship site and supervisor are appropriate for PSYCH 495,
b) identify a Penn State faculty member to serve as the faculty internship
supervisor for the internship, and c.) discuss development of the plan
of study.
5. Write a 1 to 3 page summary outlining the work to be completed at
the internship site, the reading list, and the written products to be
completed as part of the Plan of Study.
6. Complete an Internship Form which
outlines the procedure for completing an internship for credit and get
signatures from the Internship Supervisor, Faculty Internship Advisor,
and Internship Coordinator. Forms are available on the web and in the
Records and Advising Office in 111 Moore Building.
7. Submit the signed Internship Form and Plan of Study to the Records and Advising
Office in 111 Moore Building.
Types of Internships
Internships are NOT a requirement for earning your Psychology degree although the experience can be quite useful in working towards your future goals. Any type of internship; whether for credit, volunteer, or even paid, can be a wonderful enhancement to your course of study. Some students; usually who don’t need elective credit or do not want to pay for credits, participate in volunteer internships where they receive neither credit nor pay. All types of internships can be valuable experiences. Regardless of the type of internship a student pursues, he/she may still list the experience on a resume or curriculum vitae (CV). Remember that up to 3 credits of either Internship (PSYCH 495) OR Research Experience (PSYCH 494) can fulfill 3 credits of the PSYCH 400-level requirements. Credits beyond these will ONLY fulfill elective credits. Which experience you choose to participate in to enhance your studies depends upon your future decisions. Please schedule a meeting with your assigned advisor to discuss which opportunity would best serve you.