Psychology INTERNSHIP

Overview

In response to a shortage of psychologists in the area, Solutions Behavioral Healthcare Professionals (“Solutions”) opened a doctoral Psychology Internship program in 2018. Two students are accepted annually to this program.  The Psychology Internship requires a full-time commitment (40 hours/week) for one calendar year. The training year begins on August 1 and concludes at the end of July of the following year. Interns are expected to complete 2000 hours of training to successfully complete the internship.

Agency Mission

Solutions’ agency mission is to provide high quality, readily accessible mental health which are: rooted in the belief that change is possible; person-centered and designed to empower independence; technically sound and informed by science; and administered in a supportive and respectful work environment

Solutions values personal choice and understands the importance of developing caring relationships to facilitate growth and healing. Solutions supports the development of personalized interventions based on individual need and readiness for change. Solutions strives to manage safety needs in a supportive environment. Solutions views its Psychology Internship program as consistent with its general social mission, and as a way to strengthen its outcomes.

Accreditation Status

Solutions’ Internship program is a member of APPIC, #2488. Solutions is fully accredited as of 11/21/2021.

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 Phone (202) 336-5979 Email: apaaccred@apa.org. APA’s website: www.apa.org/accreditation.

Program Aim

Solutions’ Psychology Internship program seeks to provide a broad level of training for interns and prepare them for a “generalist” practice of professional psychology consistent with the philosophy of the practitionerscholar model of training. We endeavor to teach Interns to meld their clinical and theoretical training with current research findings as they choose assessment strategies, interpret results, develop interventions, and provide effective consultation. We do not define any program-specific competencies, but rather focus on establishing the APA Profession Wide Competencies, which are further outlined below in our goals. A second objective is for workforce development, as a means to affect the shortage of psychologists in our geographic area. Solutions views the Internship Program as training-focused versus productivity-focused. Supervisors ensure that the focus is always on training of Interns

Model of Training

psychologist within an interdisciplinary context. This doctoral internship is a generalist training program that is designed to prepare Interns to be competent psychologists. Interns work with a wide range of ages and clinical conditions. The goal over the course of the year is for interns to develop the many competencies needed to practice independently as an ethical professional psychologist. Read more

Training Committee

Members of Training Committee are leaders in practice and are committed to providing the best possible training. They have areas of expertise in evidence-based practices as practitioners and trainers. Many serve as adjunct faculty with area universities. Read more

Training Sites

The internship program is provided across two of Solutions’ clinic settings.  Interns are in the Moorhead office three days per week. This office is in a metropolitan community of roughly 250,000 and has four local colleges and universities. Interns are based in the Detroit Lakes office two days per week. Detroit Lakes is a relatively rural community with varied ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Read more

Program Elements

Interns have many opportunities to learn about the practice of professional psychology, both formal and informal. Informal opportunities include being in a clinic setting which has a variety of qualified clinicians, and who are not officially a part of the Training Committee. 

Formal elements to this training program include supervised experiences with activities such as: 1) psychological evaluations; 2) psychological interventions; 3) consultation; and 4) supervision. Interns learn through hands on experience as well as didactic training. The internship provides comprehensive supervision and support to assist Interns in learning ethical and professional practice for a diverse range of individuals. Read more

There are two specialized 6 month rotations, and also the option of elective experiences. One rotation is in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and the other is in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Read more

Internship Manual

Schedule

There is a general weekly schedule for Interns’ training experiences when on each rotation. Read more

Intern Evaluation

Informal evaluation is ongoing throughout the training year.  Supervisors are expected to provide Interns with feedback on strengths, as well as communicate early and often in regards to areas of growth.  Interns are formally evaluated by their primary supervisor twice per year, at the mid- and endpoints, on the basis of the profession-wide competencies. The evaluation instrument is at this link: Read more

Interns are provided feedback at the mid and end point of their rotations. Read more

Interns also complete an evaluation of their supervisors and a program evaluation at the mid- and endpoints of the Internship.  These evaluations are designed to facilitate feedback that informs any changes or improvements needed in the internship program.  All evaluation forms are available in the Psychology Internship Manual.  

Successful Internship Completion

• Completion of 2000 total hours of training during the year

• Completion of the required number of identified clinical tasks

• 24 Psychological Evaluations

• 24 Diagnostic Assessments

• 2 Behavioral Evaluations

• Minimal 25% client time

• Participation in required supervision hours (i.e., 4 hours per week)

• Participation in scholarly review of research articles each month, presenting on alternating months

• Provision of a one-hour presentation to an identified group of Solutions staff

• Delivery of a 1-hour didactic presentation on the Intern’s approach to behavior change

• Successful demonstration of the Profession-Wide Competencies identified in the Intern Evaluation form, as measured by a rating of “4” or higher at the end of the year evaluation

Compensation

Interns are compensated $33,280 for the Internship year. They are considered full time employees and are therefore eligible for a range of benefits, including health insurance.   Read more

Interns are allowed up to 5 days during the internship year for professional development, e.g., attending conferences.   

Policies

The program maintains policies pertinent to the Internship. Read more

COVID-19

Solutions is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for Psychology Interns. It maintains a COVID-19 plan. Additionally, it has adopted a policy that all staff be vaccinated against COVID-19. Read more

About the Area

Here is more about the Fargo-Moorhead and Detroit Lakes areas. Read more

How to Apply

Solutions’ Internship currently offers 2 full-time positions with training experiences provided in two offices located in Detroit Lakes, MN and Moorhead, MN.

Students interested in applying for the internship program should submit an online application through the APPIC website (www.appic.org).  Applications must be received by November 25 and Interns will be notified of their acceptance for an interview on or before December 15. Intern selection and academic preparation requirements can be found here.

Placement Data

Intern placement data can be found here: c-27i