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Site Name: White River Junction (Vermont) Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Department: Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences

Department : Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences

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Member Site Information
APPIC Member Number: 1741
Program Type: Internship
Membership Type: Full Membership
Site: White River Junction (Vermont) Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Department: Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences
Address: VAMC (116A)
215 N. Main Street
White River Junction, Vermont 05009-0001
Country: United States
Metro Area: Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Distance from Major City: 90 miles from Manchester, NH; 120 miles from Boston
Phone: 802-295-9363x5827
Fax: 802-296-5182
Email: adam.smith2@va.gov
Web Address: https://www.va.gov/white-river-junction-health-care/work-with-us/internships-and-fellowships/
Brochure Website's Address: https://www.va.gov/files/2023-08/WRJ_Psychology_Practicum_Brochure2023-4Final.pdf
Primary Agency Type: Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Additional Agency Types:
  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Member of APPIC since:
Accreditation
APA Accreditation Accredited
CPA Accreditation Not Accredited
Internship Staff/Faculty Information
Training Director: Adam Smith
Chief Psychologist: Adam Smith
Number of Full-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 17
Number of Part-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 1
Position Information
Start Date: 07/01/2024
Funded
Number of Full Time Slots Expected Next Class: 3
Number of Part Time Slots Expected Next Class: 0
Stipend
Full Time Annual Stipend for Next Class: 33469
Part Time Annual Stipend for Next Class: 0
Fringe Benefits: Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Professional Development Time, Sick Leave, Vacation
Other Fringe Benefits (not indicated above):
Brief description of the typical work day for an intern at this training site On a typical day, interns are involved in a variety of didactic and direct clinical experiences. This could include a seminar from our PTSD seminar series, outpatient psychotherapy sessions or brief therapy in our Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) clinic, co-facilitating a DBT skills group, completing a neuropsychological assessment, or involvement in a specialty rotation through the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD), the Residential Recovery Center (a five-week addiction treatment program), or our health psychology program.
Does this site have practicum psychology students on site? Yes
Doctoral Psychology Practicum StudentsYes
Masters Psychology Practicum StudentsNo
Do Psychology Interns/Postdocs Have the Opportunity to Supervise Practicum Students?Yes
Is this program fully affiliated with one or more doctoral programs? No
Is this program partially affiliated with one or more doctoral programs? No
Internship Application Process
Accepting Applicants: Yes
Application Due Date: 11/07/2023 11:59 PM EST
Interviews at this site are: Not Offered
A Virtual Interview is: Required
Interview notification date: 12/04/2023
Tentative interview date: 12/11/2023, 12/13/2023, 1/9/2024
Interview process description:

Due to the success of virtual interviews during the pandemic and out of respect for applicants' preferences for remote interviewing, interviews for the 2024-2025 internship year will again be virtual. Interviews will be conducted across three days in December and January; we will reach out for preferences when we make interview offers. All interview days will begin at 8am EST and finish up by 1pm at the latest. In addition to an overview of the program and one-on-one video meetings with staff, candidates will have a non-evaluatory meeting with at least one of our current interns. We plan on clustering interviews so your meetings are all in one day but we can likely be flexible, if needed. If you are going to be in our immediate area before Match Day there is always a chance that we could give you an in-person tour. Please note that touring the facility is in no way required, and would not help with the ranking process. Do reach out if you have any questions. 
How to obtain application info: Visit Website
Preferred method of contacting the program: Visit Website
We have matched with interns from these programs: University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin University of South Dakota Antioch New England Springfield College Carlos Albizu University Palo Alto University William James College Wright Institute Roosevelt University Long Island University Yeshiva University-Ferkauf School of Professional Psychology The New School Clark University Fielding Graduate University Suffolk University
Internship Applicant Requirements
US Citizenship Required: Yes
If NOT a U.S. Citizen, Authorization to Work or to Engage in Practical Training (CPT or OPT) in the US is Required: No
Canadian Citizenship Required: No
If NOT a Canadian Citizen, Authorization to Work in Canada or to Engage in Practical Training (CPT or OPT) in Canada is Required: No
Masters Degree Required: No
Comprehensive Exams Passed: Yes, by application deadline
Dissertation Proposal Approved: Yes, by ranking deadline
Dissertation Defended: No
Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours (if applicable): 450
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours (if applicable):
Minimum Number of Combined Intervention and Assessment Hours (if applicable):
Minimum Number of Years of Grad Training Required (if applicable): 4
Accepted / Not-Accepted Program Types
Clinical Psychology Accepted
Counseling Psychology Accepted
School Psychology Not Accepted
APA-Accredited Accepted
CPA-Accredited Not Accepted
PCSAS-Accredited
Non-Accredited Not Accepted
Ph.D Degree Accepted
Psy.D. Degree Accepted
Ed.D. Degree Not Accepted
This institution, department, internship, or postdoctoral program requires trainees to sign a statement about personal behavior and/or religious beliefs as a condition of admission and/or retention in the program: No
How to obtain text of statement:
Other Requirements: Every new Federal employee is required by law to take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. The Oath of Office will be administered on your first day of internship. Please visit the VA Office of Academic Affiliations website for an overview of eligibility: https://www.va.gov/oaa/hpt-eligibility.asp
Program Description

This scholar-practitioner internship provides strong generalist training emphasizing clinical practice with adults. Our program trains interns who wish to become well-rounded psychologists who function well in a variety of clinical settings. Interns participate in the following clinical experiences: psychotherapy in the VA's outpatient mental health clinic, psychotherapy at the Dartmouth College Counseling Center (pending the VA Office of Academic Affiliations agreeing to support this longstanding part of our internship program), intakes and brief therapy in our Primary Care Mental Health Integration Clinic (PCMHI), co-facilitation of DBT Skills groups and participation on a DBT Consultation Team, psychological assessment and neuropsychological screening, and specialty training in the assessment and treatment of PTSD. Interns also choose one of the following rotations: a clinical rotation in health psychology, a clinical rotation at our residential substance use disorders treatment program, or a research rotation at the Executive Division of the National Center for PTSD, which is on our campus.

As part of the specialty training for the treatment of PTSD, interns will learn Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and will be introduced to Prolonged Exposure Therapy and other treatments for PTSD. Interns have the opportunity to become VA-certified CPT therapists. Interns treat veterans in their early twenties to veterans in their eighties and students from the Dartmouth College Counseling Center. An emphasis is placed on working with patients from diverse backgrounds, including low-SES patients from rural communities. Interns are trained in different treatment modalities including individual, group, short-term and long-term psychotherapy.

Interns work and train alongside psychiatric residents, social work interns, and psychology practicum students, and interns work as part of multidisciplinary teams in the Mental Health Service. Interns also consult with primary care and specialty health care professionals. Strong clinical supervision is provided for all clinical experiences. Training emphasizes cognitive-behavioral therapy through group and individual supervision and case conferences. We have psychodynamic supervisors on our training committee as well. The internship is associated with the Executive Division of the National Center for PTSD. Interns participate in a weekly National Center for PTSD journal club facilitated by top researches in the field. In addition to clinical training, interns participate in a seminar on neuropsychological and personality assessment, and a seminar focused on Professional Issues, Clinical Practice, and Diversity.

 

Internship Training Opportunities

Populations
Infants:
Toddlers:
Children:
Adolescents:
Adults: Yes
Family:
Older Adults: Yes
Inpatients: Yes
Outpatients: Yes
Gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender: Yes
Ethnic minorities: Yes
Spanish-speaking:
French-speaking:
Deaf/Hearing-impaired: Yes
Students: Yes
International Students: Yes
Rural: Yes
Urban:
Low income: Yes
Homelessness: Yes
Other: Native American

(training opportunities continued)

Treatment Modalities
Assessment: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Individual Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Couples Therapy: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Family Therapy:
Group Therapy: Experience (21% to 30%)
Community Intervention:
Consultation/Liaison: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Crisis Intervention: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Brief Psychotherapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Long-term Psychotherapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Cognitive Rehabilitation:
Primary Care: Experience (21% to 30%)
Evidenced Based Practice: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Evidence Based Research:
Supervision of Practicum students : Exposure (1% to 20%)
Other:

(training opportunities continued)

Experience
Health Psychology: Experience (21% to 30%)
Women's Health: Experience (21% to 30%)
HIV/AIDS:
Eating Disorders:
Sexual Disorders:
Sports Psychology:
Rehabilitation Psychology:
Physical Disabilities: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Learning Disabilities: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Developmental Disabilities:
Assessment: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Neuropsychology-Adult: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Neuropsychology-Child:
Serious Mental Illness: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Anxiety Disorders: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Trauma/PTSD: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Sexual Abuse: Experience (21% to 30%)
Substance Use Disorders: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Forensics/Corrections:
Sexual Offenders:
Geropsychology: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Pediatrics:
School:
Counseling:
Vocational/Career Development:
Multicultural Therapy:
Feminist Therapy:
Religion/Spirituality:
Empirically-Supported Treatments: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Public Policy/Advocacy:
Program Development/Evaluation:
Supervision: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Research:
Administration:
Integrated health care - primary: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Integrated health care - specialty:
Other:

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://www.va.gov/white-river-junction-health-care/work-with-us/internships-and-fellowships/  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.

Summary of the Characteristics of the Specified Internship Class
2017-2018 2018-2019 2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024
Number of Completed Applications: 62 62 56 58 55 59
Number of applicants invited for interviews: 30 30 28 30 30 30
Total number of interns: 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total number of interns from APA/CPA accredited programs: 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total number of interns from Ph.D. programs: 0 0 2 2 2 2
Total number of interns from Psy.D. programs: 3 3 1 1 1 1
Total number of interns from Ed.D. programs: 0 0 0 0 0
Number of interns that come from a Clinical Psychology program 3 3 2 1 3 2
Number of interns that come from a Counseling Psychology program 0 0 1 2 0 1
Number of interns that come from a School Psychology program 0 0 0 0 0
Range of integrated assessment reports: lowest number of reports written 3 3 3 5 3 3
Range of integrated assessment reports: highest number of reports written 34 29 23 20 25 22
Summary of Post Internship Employment Settings of Each Internship Class (1st Placement)
2022-2023
Academic teaching:
Community mental health center: 0
Consortium: 0
University Counseling Center: 1
Hospital/Medical Center: 0
Veterans Affairs Health Care System: 1
Psychiatric facility: 0
Correctional facility: 0
Health Maintenance Organization: 0
School district/system: 0
Independent practice setting: 1
Other (Academic Psychology Department): 0
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