Philosophy of Training
We endorse the principles outlined in Preparing Professional Psychologists to Serve a Diverse Public (APA, 2013) as they are an essential component of our profession. Thus, in accordance with our mission to serve the university as a whole, it is expected that interns and post-doctoral fellows be open and affirming of this vital area of competent and effective practice.
Our Doctoral Internship Program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. PACS is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc. (IACS) and is a member of the Association of Psychology Internship Centers (APPIC). PACS adheres to the procedures established by APPIC for the recruitment and selection of graduate interns and post-doctoral fellows.
The University and the Community
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866 as a land-grant institution, has an enrollment of approximately 13,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students from 70 different countries.
The University of New Hampshire is located in Durham, NH, with a population of 10,000. UNH is a major educational institution in New Hampshire and is committed to offering excellent educational programs and opportunities for its students. The campus, 188 acres in size, is surrounded by more than 3,000 acres of fields, farms and woodlands that are great for hiking, jogging and cross-country skiing. The University also offers fine athletic facilities and the Paul Creative Arts Center with two theaters and two art galleries.
The beaches of New Hampshire and Maine, the White Mountains and Boston, MA are within 20 to 60 minutes driving time. Several towns rich with history, ethnic restaurants, craft shows, theater, seasonal outdoor performances and festivals are accessible by bus.
Psychological and Counseling Services (PACS)
Psychological and Counseling Services (PACS) is the primary mental health facility on campus. We are fully funded by student fees. Our confidential services are designed to help students who are enrolled in full-time study to achieve their personal and academic goals. PACS utilizes a brief, solution-focused counseling model, which may include individual and group therapy, workshops, consultation with a psychiatrist, or counseling during a crisis. Students needing longer term service are offered referrals to other university and community agencies.
PACS is located on the third and fourth floors of Smith Hall. The offices are comfortably furnished and the atmosphere is welcoming. All of our offices are equipped with computers and have access to UNH’s digital library.
Policies and Practices
PACS maintains a policy and procedure manual that outlines all internal policies for our department including our due process procedures. For more information contact PACS Training Director, Elisa Bolton.
As required by the APA Commission on Accreditation.
Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data
Internship Overview
Our program is based on an apprenticeship model in which staff psychologists and interns work collaboratively. During the early weeks of internship, interns and supervisors share tasks such as intake and urgent care coverage, with interns assuming more responsibility and autonomy as they are ready. Shared activities over the course of the year, include co-therapy and co-facilitating seminars and workshops.
Direct Service
1. Initial Phone Consultations and Intakes: Interns conduct brief phone consultations and individual and group intakes. These brief, comprehensive assessments lead to a case disposition and/or formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
2. Individual Counseling: Interns build a caseload of approximately 16 individual client hours per week. Interns work with individuals from diverse backgrounds, presenting with a wide range of concerns. The majority of psychotherapy provided at PACS is brief in nature (approximately 4-8 sessions). However, interns will also carry two longer-term training cases.
3. Groups: Interns lead a semi-structured, support and/or therapy group with senior staff or fellows during the fall and spring semesters. This involves a minimum weekly commitment of one and one-half hours.
4. Crisis Intervention: Interns are included in the rotation for urgent care appointments and cover approximately three hours per week. In rotation with staff, interns will serve as back-up consultants with back up from senior staff for clinicians employed by ProtoCall, our after-hours service provider.
5. Outreach and Consultation: Each semester interns develop and present several workshops for campus offices or classes. In addition, interns negotiate a year-long consultative relationship with at least one campus agency and design and implement a consultation project with a segment of the campus population. Interns spend considerable time during the summer months completing their consultation projects.
6. Testing and Assessment: Interns engage in practical and training activities on the use of different self-report measures and a focused battery assessment for ADHD.
7. Peer Supervision: Interns are trained and supervised in a model of peer supervision that includes didactic seminars and supervision of supervision.
Training Seminars, Supervision, and Meetings
- Individual Supervision: Each semester interns are assigned to work with a senior staff member whose interests best match the intern's needs. The pair meets weekly for two hours of individual supervision, primarily around the initial consultations, crisis interventions, and the intern’s individual clinical caseload.
- Supervision of Group Work: Senior staff and postdoctoral fellows provide weekly supervision to examine issues of co‑leadership and group process.
- Staff Case Conference: Interns, postdoctoral fellows, and senior staff meet weekly for one hour to present and discuss cases.
- Intern Seminars: Interns attend weekly professional training seminars designed to deal with issues specific to the university population and counseling center work. Topics include crisis management, consultation, outreach, assessment, multicultural counseling, ethics, group treatment, and professional development issues.
- Staff Meetings: Interns attend weekly staff meetings.
- Professional Development Supervision: Interns meet bi-weekly for one hour with the Director of Training. The purposes of these meetings are varied, reflecting the needs of the interns, including: processing the internship experience, clinical issues and case conceptualizations, professional development, and administrative details.
- Supervision of Assessment: Interns meet once a month for one hour with an assessment supervisor. Interns receive supervision throughout the assessment process and participate in assessment seminars focusing on the integration of assessment and testing in the therapy process.
- Supervision of Consultation Project: Interns meet once a month for one hour with their consultation supervisor. Interns receive supervision throughout their consultation project.
- Supervision of Outreach: Interns meet once a month for one hour with the outreach coordinator. Interns receive supervision throughout the year on their outreach efforts.
- Identity, Power, and Privilege in College Counseling: Interns meet once a month through the fall and spring for one hour with a supervisor to increase trainees’ awareness of various cultural groups’ unique experiences through brief readings and discussion focused on increasing competency at providing culturally sensitive therapy and programming.
- Supervision of Supervision: Interns meet twice a month through the fall and spring for one hour with a supervisor for supervision of supervision.
Additional Professional Development
- Research and Scholarly Inquiry: Interns' dissertation research is supported and encouraged. Interns are provided with their own computers; they have access to statistical packages and a digital library. Additional opportunities for research and scholarly inquiry come in the form of the special projects and journal club.
- Professional Involvement: Interns are encouraged to become involved in professional organizations on local, state and national levels, and to attend conferences, and present papers.
Given the nature of the academic calendar and the ensuing demands upon university counseling centers, the total number of hours interns work per week will vary. In addition, mid-autumn and mid-spring semester are usually very busy times, and interns along with staff may work more than their contracted hours. However, winter and spring break and the summer session are less demanding times for the center and interns have more flexibility for scheduling professional development activities, and vacations. During the summer months clinical demand decreases significantly and more time is available for consultation and outreach, and scholarly work.
Projects
Interns will complete special projects developed in conjunction with PACS’s leadership team, including but not limited to a case presentation at the end of the spring semester, a consultation project and a clinical specialty project.
Given the nature of the academic calendar and the ensuing demands upon university counseling centers, total number of hours per week will vary. In addition, mid- Fall and Spring Semesters are usually very busy times and trainees along with senior staff may work more than their contracted hours and may be required to work a few evening hours. However, Winter and Spring Break and the Summer Session are less demanding times for the center and trainees have more flexibility for scheduling professional development activities, and vacations. During the summer months clinical demand often decreases and more time is available for consultation and outreach, clinical specialty, and scholarly work/dissertation research.
We aim to prepare interns to assume different roles as professional psychologists including but not limited to full-time clinicians, applied clinical researchers, and dedicated research faculty.
Evaluation
We conduct baseline self-evaluations. The level of competence displayed will contribute to the intern’s subsequent training goals and plans for the year. Interns are formally evaluated three times within the year and interns are given the opportunity to evaluate themselves, their supervisors, and the training program on a regular basis.
We have clearly defined minimum levels of achievement:
In order for interns to successfully complete the internship, they must:
- Complete the 12-month internship;
- Provide 500 hours of face-to-face individual or group therapy;
- Achieve “Entry to Practice” for each competency; and
- Not be found to have engaged in any significant unprofessional or unethical behavior.
Applying
Applicants must be enrolled in an APA- or CPA-accredited doctoral program in counseling or clinical psychology and must have a minimum of 450 direct client hours and 1000 hours of practicum by the time of application. It is preferred that candidates have some experience at a university or college counseling center or equivalent experience with a young adult population. It is strongly recommended that applicants have completed, at a minimum, their dissertation proposal by the time of the internship interview. Also, we require that candidates' comprehensive exams or task be passed by the ranking deadline. Interns who do well here are strongly considered for our postdoctoral fellowship.
To apply:
- Complete the Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI, www.appic.org) online and submit it by November 6, 2023.
- Please include the following in your AAPI cover letter for our site: a section that speaks directly to your short-term and long-term career goals and addresses how our program is a good match with your specific goals for internship
- Official transcripts for all graduate work
- Three letters of recommendation, at least two from supervisors familiar with your more recent clinical work and one from someone familiar with your research or other academic work.
Information obtained through the written application materials and interviews with staff and postdoctoral trainees will be used to determine the final selections. In addition, all offers of employment are contingent upon a receipt of a satisfactory background check. Applicants should be aware that background checks may uncover records that applicants assume have been sealed or expunged, which can impact employment eligibility. If you are concerned about the impact of this condition of employment, please notify the Training Director if any issues arise so that we may help to address or resolve any concerns in a timely manner.
We are committed to ensuring diversity in our training classes, which is reflected in our candidate selection. Consideration is given to applicants who identify themselves as members of historically underrepresented groups on the basis of racial or ethnic status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, and experience, such as military service. The program also values applicants who have knowledge of the ways in which different social and cultural identities can impact assessment, treatment, and outreach. These factors may be indicated on applications.
PACS adheres to the procedures established by APA and the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). This internship site agrees to abide by the APA Policy and the APPIC Policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any applicant prior to the Match.
UNH is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action institution. The University seeks excellence through diversity among its administrators, faculty, staff, and students. The university prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or marital status. UNH is a predominately white institution (PWI) with an active commitment to diversity. Employees from underrepresented groups who thrive here understand the complexity of working at a PWI and value small-town culture with close proximity to metropolitan areas and natural spaces.
Accreditation Status: APA Approved
For questions regarding accreditation status,
please contact:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st St. NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaccred@apa.org
Web: apa.org/ed/accreditation
