Department of Psychology

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** PSYCH designations refer ONLY to courses offered Spring 2007 or later.

Availability

Internship positions are usually 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 resources offices or other corporate settings.

Internship for Credit

Students can receive credits for completing an internship in psychology. Up to 15 PSYCH 495 credits can be granted in a semester; however, only a maximum of 3 credits may be applied to 400-level course requirements for the psychology major (credits beyond this will fulfill elective credits).

Students must be supervised on site by a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or other appropriately trained professional. Students must also have an academic advisor for the internship from the Department of Psychology. Internships must include an academic component (see below). Both the on-site experience and the academic component must be completed concurrently.

Students should complete internships in conjunction with the fall, spring, or summer semesters. Credit must 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. For fall and spring semesters, students will receive one credit for every 3 hours of work per week. For summer internships, students will receive one credit for every 4 to 5 hours of work per week.

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 academic advisor. A final plan of study must be approved by the internship coordinator in the Department of Psychology (Dr. Richard Carlson).

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, although sometimes a single ambitious text may be satisfactory.

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 academic advisor and supervisor and described in the academic plan.

Final Grades

Final grades for PSYCH 495 are assigned by the faculty internship supervisor 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 academic 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 find a site. One useful approach is the contact human services agencies listed in the “blue pages” of most phone books.
2. Find an on-site supervisor (at the internship itself).
3. Meet with the internship coordinator in the Psychology Department (Dr. Richard Carlson, racarlson@psu.edu) 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.
4. 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.
5. Complete an internship form which outlines the procedure for completing an internship for credit and get signatures from the internship supervisor, faculty internship supervisor, and internship coordinator. Forms are available on the web and in the Records and Advising Office in 111 Moore Building.
6. Submit the signed form and plan of study to the Records and Advising Office in 111 Moore Building.

Paid or Volunteer Internships

Students who arrange to be paid for an internship may also receive credit, but that requires work that goes beyond the paid work. 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. Both paid and volunteer internships can be valuable experiences. Students may still list the experience on a resume or curriculum vitae (CV).