The mission of the UAMS psychology training program is to provide quality training and practice experience in an environment centered on cultural humility, providing our community with equitable access to evidence-based behavioral health services. Therefore, we seek to recruit and train doctoral interns and fellows who reflect the community in which we serve and share our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strive to prepare culturally responsive trainees for competent, ethical, and socially relevant practice as early career psychologists. Our clinical psychology internship has four tracks, one (2 internship slots) which emphasizes Child and Adolescent-focused training, one track (1 internship slot) with an emphasis in adult-focused training centered on Trauma, Recovery, and Justice, one track (1 internship slot) with an emphasis on adult-focused training in Integrated Health Care, and one track (1 internship slot) with an emphasis on Neuropsychology. It is an internship housed in a supportive, multidisciplinary setting within the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Department of Psychiatry. Eligible are at least third year declared candidates for Ph.D. or Psy.D. degree in clinical or counseling psychology from APA or CPA-accredited programs. Applicants must have completed all doctoral requirements except for clinical internship and dissertation (significant progress strongly encouraged).
Those who are applying to the Child and Adolescent track must also have strong child and adolescent training and experience. Year-long major rotations are offered in inpatient and outpatient assessment and treatment. Interns also receive training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) , Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP). By the end of internship, interns will have made significant progress towards meeting the national certification/rostering requirements for PCIT and TF-CBT. Minor rotations often include research and adult treatment.
The goal of the Trauma, Recovery, and Justice Track is to train psychologists who: 1) are versed in the complex, systems-level influences on and responses to the health and mental health of adults, 2) can provide tailored, evidence-based care across a variety of settings and modalities, and 3) are prepared for leadership roles in promoting high-quality care for traditionally underserved populations. To this end, we focus on training in this track on the intersections of trauma, mental illness, addiction, and involvement with the criminal legal system (e.g., arrest, incarceration, victimization).
The goal of the Integrated Health Care Track is to train psychologists who can thrive in multidisciplinary, specialized health care settings, provide high-quality evidence-based care, and promote the crucial role of collaborative care in promoting physical and psychological wellness. Our track strives to provide clinical experiences and mentorship that fosters development of interns’ professional identity as an integrated care professional. We aim for interns to leave our program as skilled early career professionals who are developing expertise in interdisciplinary communication, promotion of psychological health to other healthcare professionals and to the public, and as scholars who are able to utilize clinical science to develop evidence-based healthcare programs for underserved communities.
The intern on the Neuropsychology Track will train within the Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurosurgery seeing a wide variety of patient populations and working as a part of multiple multidisciplinary teams including the DBS, epilepsy, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease programs. This intern will have additional rotations in General Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, and an optional research rotation will also be available. We encourage applicants who are interested in pursuing Board Certification in Clinical Neuropsychology.
