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Site Name: Arkansas Division of Aging, Adult, & Behavioral Health Services - Arkansas State Hospital
Department: Psychology Department
Interviews will be conducted virtually or in person. The decision was made to offer both options based on feedback from APPIC and previous applicants. We have no preference as to which interview option applicants choose and will give equal consideration regardless of interview style choice. Interview dates will be 12/15/23, 1/5/24, 1/12/24, and 1/19/24. Applicants will be given the opportunity to meet either virtually or in person with the Training Directors for an overview of the DAABHS/ASH internship program before beginning individual interviews with supervisors and other members of the psychology department. They will also get to meet with the current intern class to ask any questions and gain a different perspective on the internship program. The current interns do not have a formal role in the selection process. Each applicant will have three 45-minute virtual or in person individual interviews, and will also be asked to complete a brief writing sample on a hypothetical clinical case. Applicants will be notified via email of interview status on or before December 8, 2023. Requests to meet with specific staff are welcome but cannot always be accommodated. Every effort is made to ensure that each applicant has the opportunity to interview with a representative from each of the three major training areas: Adult Services; Forensic Services; and Adolescent Services.
The Arkansas Division of Aging, Adult, & Behavioral Health Services offers a full time (2,000-hour), one-year, doctoral internship in professional psychology to qualified graduate students in clinical or counseling psychology programs. The internship emphasizes generalist training and provides interns with the opportunity to work with diverse patient populations in an inpatient hospital setting. Upon completion of the internship, interns are expected to have competencies in assessment and diagnosis, individual and group psychotherapy, diversity, ethics and consultation. The internship year consists of three 4-month rotations: the Forensic Evaluation rotation (primarily conducting court-ordered evaluations of competency, criminal responsibility, culpable mental state, opinion on capacity to be restored to fitness, and violence risk assessment), the Adolescent rotation (acute/residential treatment and treatment for adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behaviors) and the Adult SMI rotation (primarily working on a unit treating adults civilly commiteed or voluntarily admitted for psychiatric treatment). The primary training site is the Arkansas State Hospital with some seminars and training opportunities (e.g., observing expert witness testimony; observing ECT) occurring off-site. The internship structure is designed so interns can work with their supervisor and the training faculty to gain additional experiences, as available, to help them meet long-term career goals. These experiences include, but are not limited to, research, program development, and neuropsychological assessment. Interns are expected to attend supplemental didactic seminars during the training year. They can choose from Psychiatry Grand Rounds or weekly psychopharmacology presentations. Interns are expected to work 40 hours per week, which includes time spent in didactic trainings and supervision. Annual leave and sick leave are earned on a bi-weekly basis and interns are provided leave time to defend dissertations as well as sit for licensure examinations. The internship site is ideally located in central Little Rock within a major medical complex that includes the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital.
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Additional information about training opportunities: Not all rotations or training experiences may be available as described in the APPIC Directory. Please consult the program's application materials or their website at: https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/divisions-shared-services/aging-adult-behavioral-health-services/arkansas-state-hospital/psychology-doctoral-internship-program/ for a complete description of the training opportunities available at this training site. IF the site has not updated their information by August 1, feel free to contact the Training Director for additional information.
