Future externship question

[HopefulSchoolClinicalPsyD]

Hi- I was wondering how many externships typical PhD/PsyD students complete before applying to internship? Some program's I see have students in externships Y2,Y3,Y4 but others just Y3,Y4. Why is that? Are the programs with just Y3,Y4 at a disadvantage?

Thanks!!

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[psych.meout]

Hi- I was wondering how many externships typical PhD/PsyD students complete before applying to internship? Some program's I see have students in externships Y2,Y3,Y4 but others just Y3,Y4. Why is that? Are the programs with just Y3,Y4 at a disadvantage?

Thanks!!

I'm not sure about all programs, but some of those which start externships earlier, especially in the second year, do so, because they don't use their respective university counseling centers for whatever reasons. I know that the clinical PhD programs at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis each do this, but I'm not sure how many others do and why they do this. This is not inherently better or worse than starting externships later or using the university counseling center, there are tradeoffs with each.

Starting externships earlier or solely relying on externships means that the program is completely relying on the licensed staff at these externship sites to do the clinical supervision. This could lead to more heterogeneity in early clinical training if students are getting their training at different sites, though, again, that's not inherently bad. It could potentially be problematic if some sites are not providing enough supervision, provide poor/inappropriate supervision, teach bad habits or practices, etc. The program would not be as aware of what is going on with their students and would not be able to ensure the same solid foundations on which to build more advanced skills or be able to remediate those students who do need help. I think that Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis tries to resolve this issue by having one faculty member who solely does clinical training coordination and planning, as well as supplementing the on-site supervision with additional supervision by the aforementioned faculty member.

 

[deleted343839]

Hi- I was wondering how many externships typical PhD/PsyD students complete before applying to internship? Some program's I see have students in externships Y2,Y3,Y4 but others just Y3,Y4. Why is that? Are the programs with just Y3,Y4 at a disadvantage?

Thanks!!

No, I don't think so. Students might start in an in-house training clinic (which might provide closer supervision), and then move on to external training sites in the third year. I don't think this model has any inherent disadvantages.