Beyond the Academy:

Internships, Postdocs, Licensing Exams, and State Board Requirements

Shoshana D. Kerewsky, Psy.D.

Poster presented at Association for Women in Psychology

March 11, 2000, Salt Lake City, UT

Linked from

Psychology from ABD to Licensure

copyright 1999, 2000 Shoshana D. Kerewsky, Psy.D.

may be reproduced with this attribution only

1. Introduction

When it is time to meet the non-academic requirements for practice as a psychologist, women may feel abandoned by their academic departments. Many departments do not provide adequate assistance in the internship application process; in turn, many internships do not prepare trainees to meet further licensing requirements. Bad experiences associated with finishing coursework, applying to internship, and meeting licensure requirements may have negative effects on both self-esteem and interpersonal relationships with faculty, supervisors, and peers. Suspicions of favoritism, a sense of alienation, feeling fraudulent, needing more support, and despair are among the concerns articulated even by women who weather this process successfully. Women who already feel isolated from or undervalued in their departments are potentially more suceptible to misunderstanding the process, inadequately representing and advocating for themselves, and being cut off from sources of information that are essential to reaching licensure. This poster provides an overview of psychologist licensing and access to materials and resources useful for completing this process.

2. Tips

• If you're still thinking about graduate school, check out all the degrees and courses of study available to you. A reference librarian or career counselor may be able to help. For example, would a counseling or clinical program be a better fit for your interests and skills? A Psy.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., or M.S.W.?
• Check out programs that interest you. Get their catalogues and look them up on line. Talk to their Admissions offices, the program coordinator, and others who run the program. Sit in on a few classes and look at syllabi. Do you want to spend years there? Talk to current students and recent alumnae. If you want to talk to a lesbian or a person of color, ask to do so, or ask for the faculty member who is liaison or advisor for that student group. If this flusters anyone, wouldn't you rather know before you do all that paperwork?
• Once enrolled, use national, local, and campus resources for information, support, and advocacy. Build or enhance your support network with mentors and peers within your program, department, or university.
• Maintain and foster relationships with family and others. Don't just work and study!
• Learn about sources of funding other than student loans. Submit your work for awards and prizes. Apply for fellowships, grants, tuition remission and stipends. Look ahead to upcoming tasks and rites of passage.
• Talk to students a year ahead of you in your program or placements. Don't rely on your advisor or department to tell you about deadlines and requirements.
• Take it over. Start a support group or an on-line discussion group. Join student government at the departmental or university-wide level. Become an APAGS representative. Advocate for guest speakers, instructors, and curricula that meet your needs.
• Bear witness by speaking and writing about your experiences. Talk to APA site visitors when they evaluate your program or placement. Talk to the students a year behind you.
• Share your expertise by mentoring others.

3. Psychologist Licensure Resources on World Wide Web

There are many sources of licensing information available online. However, they are widely scattered, incomplete, and often confusing. I have centralized access to these resources through my website: Psychology from ABD to Licensure, http://ourworld.cs.com/PsychLicense. From there, you will find explanations of (and easy and extensive links to) the following topics:

• Applying for internships
• Applying to your state or provincial licensing board
• Arranging postdoctoral hours
• Taking the written licensing exam (EPPP)
• Completing other state exams and requirements
• Practicing as a psychologist
• Issues beyond licensure

In addition, the page contains links for

• Non-counseling/non-clinical psychologists
• Non-psychologist counselors (MSWs, NCCs, etc.)

4. National Psychologist and Counselor Organizations on World Wide Web

These organizations are good places to start learning about psychology and counseling. Many of the webpages below link internally and externally to a multitude of sites. Be on the lookout for jobs; announcements of events; notice of awards and scholarships; and calls for papers. APA's Divisions usually have newsletters, publications, awards, and listserves. Check with each Division for the cost of membership (students get lower rates).

American Psychological Association (APA)
http://www.apa.org
Psychology resources and links (includes job listings)

Canadian Psychological Association
http://www.cpa.ca/contents.html
Available in French and English

American Counseling Association (ACA)
http://www.counseling.org
Counseling resources and links (includes job listings)

Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
http://www.counseling.org/cacrep/main.htm
Program accreditation information

National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology (NCSPP)
http://www.am.org/ncspp/
Advancement of high-quality schools of professional psychology (includes job postings)

Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)
http://www.asppb.org
Creators and adminstrators of the EPPP, the psychology licensing and certification organization

Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)
http://www.appic.org
Standardizing force behind most psychology internships

Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)
http://ww1.theworks.baka.com/webpages3/maluso/awp/default.html
Website for AWP

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
http://www.nbcc.org/index.htm

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
http://www.aamft.org

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
http://www.naswdc.org

American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA)
http://www.amhca.org

5. Listserves and Discussion Groups on World Wide Web

Joining listserves is a great way to get up-to-date information, hear about awards and prizes, and ask questions. APA Divisions, other professional organizations, or your program may also have lists.

For these lists, go to http://www.apa.org/apags/listservs.pdf and follow the subscription instructions further down the page:

NEWPSYCH -- New psychologists list

APAGSINTERNSHIP -- Internship list

APAGSABILITIES -- Disabilities list

APAGSEMGS -- Ethnic minority list

POWR-L -- Association for Women in Psychology and APA Division 35
http://ww1.theworks.baka.com/webpages3/maluso/awp/html/powr-l.html
see subscription instructions

PSYCGRAD -- Psychology graduate students
http://users.erols.com/matthew.simpson/psycgrad.html
follow links to listserve subscription form

Psych Students in Federal Agencies
http://fed-psych-students.intranets.com/register_member.asp
Fill out new member form using the registration code "5263030."

EPPP_PREP -- Idea exchange and support for written licensing exam
http://www.egroups.com/list/eppp_prep/

6. Awards, Prizes, Calls for Papers, and Announcements

Below are just a few of the many announcements posted recently on listserves or described in APA Division webpages.

AWP/APA Division 35
http://ww1.theworks.baka.com/webpages3/maluso/awp/html/awards.html
Annual Distinguished Publication Awards, Annual Prize for Psychological Research on Women and Gender by Graduate or Undergraduate Students.

AWP
http://ww1.theworks.baka.com/webpages3/maluso/awp/html/awards.html
Jewish Women 's Caucus Award for Scholarship, Annual Lesbian Psychologies Unpublished Manuscripts Award, Annual Women of Color Psychologies Award.

APA Division 35\
http://www.apa.org/divisions/div35/awards.html
Carolyn Wood Sherif Memorial Lectureship Award, Barbara Strudler Wallston Award for Representation of Underrepresented Groups in the Publication Process, Research on Psychotherapy with Women Award, Graduate Student Award in the Psychology of Black Women (supported by the Section on the Psychology of Black Women), Heritage Award, Florence (Lindy) Geis Memorial Student Research Award, Janet Shibley Hyde Fund Student Grant.

APA Division 44
http://www.apa.org/divisions/div44/maylon.html
Maylon-Smith Award (note spelling discrepancy between site and award name).

Gates scholarship
http://www.gmsp.org

7. Bibliographies

INTERNSHIP

Basic How-to-Get-a-Psychology-Internship Books

These may be slightly out of date, but they cover everything from "what is an internship?" to "how much money can I expect to spend on applications and interviews?"

Carl Levenger, Itzchak Schefres
Everything You Need to Get a Psychology Internship (2nd revised edition)
(1997) Windmill Lane Pr; ISBN 096480431X

Edwin I. Megargee, Sanford L. Pederson
Megargee's Guide to Obtaining a Psychology Internship (3rd revised edition)
(1997) Accelerated Development; ISBN 1560327502

(Note: APPIC corrects some discrepancies between Megargee's description of the Match and the actual Match. To see these, go to http://ourworld.cs.com/PsychLicense, click on the internship page, locate this bibliography, and follow the link to APPIC.)

General Counseling Internships

Brian N. Baird
The Internship, Practicum, and Field Placement Handbook: A Guide for the Helping Professions
(1998) Prentice Hall; ISBN 0139239626

Christopher Faiver
The Counselor Intern's Handbook
(1995) Brooks/Cole; ISBN 0534248705

Psychology-Specific Internships

Richard H. Dana, W. Theodore May (Editors)
Internship Training in Professional Psychology (Clinical and Community Psychology )
(1987) Hemisphere Pub; ISBN 0891165800

Mary E. Oehlert, Scott Sumerall, Shane J. Lopez
Internship Selection in Professional Psychology: A Comprehensive Guide for Students, Faculty, and Training Directors
(1998) Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd; ISBN 0398068186

Herbert M. Potash
Inside Clinical Psychology: A Handbook for Graduate Students and Interns
out of print

Susan J. Simonian, Kenneth J. Tarnowski
Directory of Internship and Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychology, 1998-1999 (2nd edition)
(1998) Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc; ISBN 0805832394

Gary K. Zammit; James W. Hull (Editors)
Guidebook for Clinical Psychology Interns (Applied Clinical Psychology )
(1995) Plenum Pub Corp; ISBN 0306448599

DISSERTATION

John D. Cone, Sharon L. Foster (Contributor)
Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish: Psychology and Related Fields
(1993) American Psychological Assn; ISBN 1557981949

Lawrence F. Locke, Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, Stephen J. Silverman
Proposals That Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals
(1997) Sage Pubns; ISBN 0803950675

Kjell Erik Rudestam, Rae R. Newton
Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process
(1992) Sage Pubns; ISBN 0803945639

David Sternberg
How to Complete and Survive a Doctoral Dissertation
(1981) St. Martin's Press; ISBN 0312396066

SOURCES OF GENERAL PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION

American Psychological Association, (1993). Getting in: A step-by-step plan for gaining admission to graduate school in psychology. Washington, DC: Author.

Isaac, Alicia. (1998). The African-American student's guide to surviving graduate school. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Kerewsky, Shoshana D. (2000). Beyond internship: Helpful resources for obtaining licensure. Newsletter of the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, 12(1), 11-12.

Rheingold, Harriet Lange. (1994). The psychologist's guide to an academic career. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Schwiebert, Valerie L. (2000). Mentoring: Creating connected, empowered relationships. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

8. Selected Divisions of the American Psychological Association

For a complete list of divisions, go to http://www.apa.org. The links below take you to stripped-down pages, some of which contain links to more extensive homepages.

Society for the Teaching of Psychology http://www.apa.org/about/division/div2.html

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues http://www.apa.org/about/division/div9.html

Society of Clinical Psychology http://www.apa.org/about/division/div12.html

Educational Psychology http://www.apa.org/about/division/div15.html

Counseling Psychology http://www.apa.org/about/division/div17.html

Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse http://www.apa.org/about/division/div28.html

Psychotherapy http://www.apa.org/about/division/div28.html

Society for the Psychology of Women http://www.apa.org/about/division/div35.html

Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Issues http://www.apa.org/about/division/div44.html

Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues http://www.apa.org/about/division/div45.html

Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy http://www.apa.org/about/division/div49.html

Addictions http://www.apa.org/about/division/div50.html

Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity http://www.apa.org/about/division/div51.html

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Last revised: March 08, 2000.

Disclaimer

This information is accurate to the best of my knowledge, but you should check with the sources of information listed for confirmation, updates, and complete descriptions. This page is provided as an extension of my opinions only and does not represent any point of view other than my own. I assume no liability for your actions based on this information either as an individual or as a practice under my own name, or as a representative of any institution, agency or program.