Mission Statement

The mission of the Sheridan VAHCS internship training program is to provide interns with a rigorous yet supportive training environment designed to help them develop the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to enter the professional practice of psychology. We are particularly interested in developing psychologists who have an interest in working with Veterans in underserved rural areas, since folks from these areas tend to be over-represented in the armed forces.  We believe that psychologists working in rural areas, and early career psychologists in general, need to have a strong generalist foundation.  We train for the opportunity to work in a number of environments, providing our interns a strong foundation in the varied fields of psychology.  We utilize interdisciplinary training and care models and teach interns about state-of-the-art health care delivery and the unique challenges associated with rural health care.  While assessment and intervention have historically been the cornerstones of psychological practice, we believe that experience and training in consultation, supervision, and program development and evaluation are also important. We are committed to providing training that is sensitive to individual differences and diversity.  Interns are expected to work reasonable hours as self-care expectations are valued within our system. 

Training Model and Philosophy:  Our training program is based on the practitioner- scholar model.  Good clinical practice should be influenced by the science of psychology and vice versa.  We emphasize empirically supported treatments and best practices while acknowledging the complexities of patients and the multitude of variables that must be contended with in clinical settings.  Effective clinical practice is built on knowledge of the theoretical and empirical literatures, critical thinking, and self-reflection. We train interns to implement and promote established, efficacious treatments and encourage them to draw upon theoretical and empirical literature to enhance the development of their professional skills.  

Methodology:  The training approach is developmental.  Interns will move from close supervision, mentorship and intensive instruction to relatively autonomous functioning.  Competencies will be developed through graduated supervised clinical experiences in a variety of treatment settings and programs over the course of the internship year.  These are discussed in the Rotation Structure section below.  Didactic seminars, grand rounds, case conference group supervision, assessment group supervision, workshops, and interdisciplinary treatment team meetings will augment direct clinical experience.  This combination of clinical experience, supervision, and didactic experience will be structured in such a way as to prepare interns to take increasing responsibility for treatment decisions as their knowledge and skill levels increase.  Interns will receive training in empirically based psychotherapies such as Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD, Cognitive-Behavioral Acceptance and Commitment therapies for a wide array of anxiety and mood disorders, CBT for Insomnia, IBCT for couples therapy, and Social Skills Training for serious mental illness. Empirically supported treatments will be taught by VA-trained practitioners, and interns will be supervised by clinicians trained and experienced in those EBPs.  The internship program will also offer training in other psychotherapies with solid empirical support, which might include: Interpersonal Psychotherapy for depression, Seeking Safety for co-occurring PTSD and substance-use disorders, Time-Limited Dynamic Therapy for a range of anxiety, depressive, substance abuse and somatoform disorders, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Transference-Focused Therapy for severe personality disorders, and integrative approaches for Veterans with complex co-morbidities.