Mission & Aims / Training

The Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Doctoral Psychology Internship program in Health Services Psychology emphasizes the development of intermediate to advanced level clinical competence, through intensive supervised clinical experiences in the application of theoretical and empirical psychological knowledge. The program provides Psychology Residents with a continuum of clinical training opportunities within a broad range of multidisciplinary clinical settings. Our training curriculum strives to be relevant to the current demands of practicing psychologists and the populations they serve. The activities of the internship are designed to teach and develop professional competence, through modeling, practical experience and supervision. The internship emphasizes the provision of service to culturally diverse communities, including the treatment of underserved, marginalized and disenfranchised populations.

The Internship supervision experience is sequentially structured. Psychology Residents will be expected to assess cases and develop interventions based on matching clinical presentation to theory and evidence-based treatment. Our program is largely CBT based. Psychology Residents will be expected to understand and articulate the assumptions and limitations of their interventions, as well as implement modified practices that redress the problems they encounter. Psychology Residents generally start the year with fewer cases and increase their responsibilities as their skills develop.

We offer three adult, and two child/adolescent tracks, each of which is tied to a specific primary clinical rotation site. This primary rotation will span 3 days per week. These rotations are described later in the Major and Minor Rotations section. In addition, the Psychology Resident chooses one minor rotation. This will account for an additional day per week.

All tracks have been developed to provide consonant training opportunities for the Psychology Residents, despite their divergent clinical population foci. The Psychology Resident will be paired with a clinical supervisor who will be responsible for fully orienting the Psychology Resident to the practices and policies of that unit. The supervising psychologist will serve as a role model and mentor, supervising the Psychology Resident for the range of psychological services provided by the Psychology Resident within the setting. Supervisors review with Psychology Residents the general and specific competencies they must develop as an ongoing function of supervision. They provide frequent and ongoing formative feedback in addition to participating in a summative evaluation process at 6- and 12 months.

Updated 8/15/2023

The Doctoral Psychology Internship's 'Competency Areas' have been designated by the training faculty to prepare Psychology Residents for the practice of Health Service Psychology within the scientist-practitioner model. Our specific competency elements are subsumed under the below General Competencies. Psychology Residents will have experience within both their major and minor tracks, by which their attainment of these competencies will be formally evaluated. Our competency areas are:  

Psychology Residents demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to critically evaluate research in support of clinical activities. Interns will also participate in a mentored research experience.

Psychology Residents are knowledgeable of and act in accordance with: the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct; relevant laws, regulations and policies governing health service psychology.

Psychology Residents are able to effectively work with a range of diverse individuals and groups with sensitivity to cultural competence.

Psychology Residents behave in ways that reflect the values and attitudes of a professional psychologist.

Psychology Residents demonstrate excellence in communication and interpersonal skill on both a scientific and professional level.

Psychology Residents are able to conduct valid evidence-based assessments, including comprehensive clinical assessments, utilizing clinical interview, behavioral assessment, psychological testing and psychological inventory.

Psychology Residents demonstrate competence in evidence-based interventions consistent with Health Service Psychology practice.

Psychology Residents effectively collaborate and share knowledge with others in promoting efficacy in professional activities.

Psychology Residents demonstrate competence in the values, knowledge, and skill set of supervision.

This training model and its goals and objectives inform the competencies that must be achieved by Psychology Residents to successfully complete the internship. The Psychology Resident Evaluation Competency-Based Evaluation Form defines the competencies to be rated by supervisors for each Objective. Each supervisor evaluates the Psychology Residents they supervise using this Evaluation Form at 6-months and the end of the year. Supervisors also provide a more streamlined evaluation monthly. Psychology Residents are expected to attain final competency levels consistent with an independent psychologist for all 9 competencies to successfully complete the internship program.

Updated 8/15/2023

One day per week is dedicated to didactic training which includes mentored research time, attendance at Rutgers RWJMS Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds presentations, and seminars attended either by the Psychology Residents alone, or as part of integrated training with the Rutgers RWJMS psychiatry residents. The didactic trainings are composed of distinct modules. The didactic program is subject to change each year based on Psychology Resident needs and faculty availability.

Didactics topics and seminar series offered over the past two years include:

• ACEs and trauma-informed clinical care
• ARC training series
• Case-based assessment series
• CBT case conceptualization
• CBT in patients with physical health comorbidity (e.g., Parkinson’s Disease)
• Committee on Professional Practice and Standards
• Electronic cigarettes
• Grand Rounds at RWJMS Department of Psychiatry – many topics
• Journal club – many topics based on Psychology Resident interest
• MMPI-3
• Motivational Interviewing seminar series (usually 7 sessions)
• Multicultural treatment considerations
• New Jersey screening/commitment laws and the role of designated screening centers
• Opioid use disorder
• Professional development
  • Applying for post-docs
  • Personal productivity
  • Leadership and management for psychologists
• Psychological interventions for cancer survivors
• School violence
• Sleep and sleep disorders
• Social Emotional Learning
• Suicide assessment
• Therapy for Arab American clients
• Tobacco use & dependence in behavioral Health
• Treating substance use disorders in the LGBTQ community
• Working with LGBTQ clients

In addition to the didactic trainings, Psychology Residents are required by UBHC to complete a series of mandatory live and on-line trainings that are required of all behavioral healthcare clinicians. Information on these required trainings is reviewed with Psychology Residents at orientation and completed during the orientation period. Completion of these trainings by Psychology Residents is monitored by UBHC. Rutgers UBHC and RWJMS provide a broad range of optional training presentations, conferences, and seminars that supervisors and Psychology Residents are encouraged to attend. Psychology Residents will attend relevant Rutgers RWJMS Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds presentations and one Psychology Resident will have an opportunity to present at Grand Rounds.

Finally, Psychology Residents will attend the Rutgers RWJMS Department of Psychiatry annual poster session (assuming social distancing guidelines allow the poster session to be held) in which faculty and trainees present their research.

updated 7/27/2022

The Psychology Residents have 2-3 hours per week protected for working on a research project. Given the limited number of hours allocated, the most appropriate types of projects are likely to be critical literature reviews or assistance in writing up manuscripts or grant applications. Most of the work is likely to be conducted remotely from the research mentor’s lab / office space.

The goal is for the Psychology Resident to gain valuable, mentored research experience. The hope is that this will be a “win-win” in which the research mentor also gains needed assistance in moving a paper or grant along.

The Psychology Residents is to meet with the potential research mentor to come up with a research plan for the year. This should be a feasible plan in which the Psychology Resident contributes meaningfully to a research project and gains a meaningful educational experience.

The research plan should be submitted to the Director of Internship Training for approval though it is assumed that the plan will be flexible given the needs of the mentor and the Psychology Resident.

Some recent publications and presentations resulting from Psychology Residents’ research projects with their research mentors include:

Interian, A., Miller, R. B., St. Hill, L. M., Latorre, M., King, A. R., Rodriguez, K. M., Mann, S. L., Kashan, R. S., Dissanayaka, N. N., & Dobkin, R. D. (2023).  A pilot study of telehealth mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression in Parkinson’s disease.  Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 36(2), 143-154. DOI: 10.1177/08919887221103579

Interian, A., Mann, S. L., Mavandadi, S., St. Hill, L. M., Kashan, R., Rodriguez, K. M., & Dobkin, R. D. (2022).  Criticism in the Parkinson's caregiving relationship: A key target for intervention.  Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 35(5), 671-679. doi:10.1177/08919887211049119

Donadio, M. Valera, P., & Sinangil, N. (2021). Understanding attachment styles, adverse childhood events, alcohol use, and trauma in Black and Latino Men with criminal justice histories. Journal of Community Psychology, 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22773

Schweitzer, E. M., Urmanche, A., Kong, J., Hafezi, S., Zhao, J., Cooperman, N. A., & Konova, A. B. (2023). The role of social connection in opioid use disorder treatment engagement.Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Advance online publication. https://doi-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1037/adb0000934 

Moore, K., Massie-Lambert, S., Martinez, E.M., & Gara, M. (2019, August). The impact of a caregiver intervention for families of young children affected by complex trauma. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention.

Schweitzer, E., Urmanche, A.A., Zhao, J., Kong, J., Hafezi, S., & Konova, A. (2022, June). When everyone’s a critic: How social factors impact individuals with opioid use disorder and influence treatment engagement. Poster presented at the 84th Annual Scientific Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Minneapolis, MN.

Updated 8/15/2023