Thank you for your interest in the Doctoral Psychology Internship Program (DPIP) at Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC). We are thrilled with the inquiries we have received about our internship positions for the 2024-2025 training year! The DPIP at DCAC is a mighty (and small) training program. As of October 1, 2022, one of our current psychologists shifted to part-time work through the rest of the 2022-2023 training year before she began to pursue new opportunities. As such, the Director of Clinical Training in conjunction with other stakeholders at DCAC are pursuing other funding sources and are looking to expand the DPIP for the 2024-2025 training year. However, at this time, that funding has not been secured and the additional psychologists have not been hired. The DPIP is currently accredited, on contingency, inactive by the American Psychological Association (APA). At this time, the DPIP at DCAC will not be participating in the Match for Phase I. As we have more information regarding the hiring process and our participation in the Match, we will post information on our website, on the APPIC Directory, and through the Late-Breaking Internship Program Updates via the MATCH-NEWS email list. The internship program brochure from the 2022-2023 training year is still available on our website if you are interested in learning about the program we have built. Please note that the accreditation status of the program described in the most recent version of the brochure has changed, as described above. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact the Director of Clinical Training, Elena Doskey de Lobón, at edoskey@dcac.org.
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The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) Doctoral Psychology Internship Program shares DCAC's common set of core values in that (1) The children come first in all that we do; (2) We operate as a seamless team; and (3) Each of us acts with a servant's heart. To that end, the aim of the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center Doctoral Psychology Internship Program is to support the overall mission of the DCAC through the provision of training in evidence-based practices of psychology with an emphasis in child maltreatment.
The internship provides training in evidence-based practices that have been shown to be effective not only with children and families with child maltreatment histories but also those with other disruptive behavior, impulse-control, trauma-related, and mood disorders. This training will prepare interns for independent practice and successful post-doctoral specialization in the field of clinical child psychology and child maltreatment consistent with APA’s required profession-wide competencies for internship programs as listed in the Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology. These competencies include (a) Research; (b) Ethical and legal standards; (c) Individual and cultural diversity; (d) Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors; (e) Communication and interpersonal skills; (f) Assessment; (g) Intervention; (h) Supervision; and (i) Consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills. A summary of the objectives covered within these competencies can be found in the Appendix at the end of the Doctoral Psychology Internship Program brochure. In addition, the internship also prepares future psychologists to work effectively within multidisciplinary teams in a variety of settings to best coordinate care and treatment for the children and families being served.
The DCAC Doctoral Psychology Internship Program partners with University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), the academic medical center affiliated with Children’s Health, and Children’s Health to provide comprehensive training in the mental health and multidisciplinary treatment of children and families affected by child maltreatment. Supervision follows a developmental model and training is supplemented with weekly didactic/seminar experiences to aid the interns’ development across APA’s profession-wide competencies.
The Program currently retains the status of "accredited, on contingency, inactive" by the American Psychological Associationa (APA) Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation.
Please visit our webpage and download our Doctoral Psychology Internship Program brochure for a complete review of the program and expectations.