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Site Name: Central Texas Veterans Health Care System

Department: Psychology Service (116B)

Department : Psychology Service (116B)

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Member Site Information
APPIC Member Number: 1591
Program Type: Internship
Membership Type: Full Membership
Site: Central Texas Veterans Health Care System
Department: Psychology Service (116B)
Address: 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive
116B
Temple (& Waco, Austin), Texas 76504
Country: United States
Metro Area: Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Distance from Major City: Temple is 60 miles north of Austin; Waco is 35 miles north of Temple
Phone: 254-297-5217
Fax:
Email: tai.blanscet@va.gov
Web Address: https://www.centraltexas.va.gov/services/Psychology_Internship.asp
Brochure Website's Address: https://www.centraltexas.va.gov/services/Psychology_Internship.asp
Primary Agency Type: Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Additional Agency Types:
  • Academic Health Center
  • Medical School
  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Member of APPIC since: 01/01/1995
Accreditation
APA Accreditation Accredited
CPA Accreditation Not Accredited
Internship Staff/Faculty Information
Training Director: Tai Blanscet
Chief Psychologist: Frederick Willoughby Suffix
Number of Full-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 67
Number of Part-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 1
Position Information
Start Date: 07/29/2024
Funded
Number of Full Time Slots Expected Next Class: 6
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, Professional Development Time, Sick Leave, Vacation
Other Fringe Benefits (not indicated above): Psychology interns are eligible for Federal Employee Healthcare Benefits.
Brief description of the typical work day for an intern at this training site Interns spend the majority of their days on their major (usual 4 days/wk for 4 months) and minor (usual half day/week for 6 months) rotations providing supervised service delivery in a variety of programs and clinics. Duties can include consultations, assessments, treatments (individual, group, couple/family), team meetings, and supervision. A half day per week is spent with other interns in group activities, including informal time, didactics, diversity training, peer supervision training, and group supervision.
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: 11/03/2023 11:59 PM EST
Interviews at this site are: Not Offered
A Virtual Interview is: Required
Interview notification date: 11/22/2023
Tentative interview date: 12/08/2023, 12/12/2023, 12/14/2023, 12/18/2023
Interview process description:

In December we hold interviews by invitation. For 2023-24 all of our interviews will be conducted virtually using a virtual meeting program (e.g., MS Teams, WebEx). Email will be used to notify applicants of eligibility to interview . Each interview day is 5.5 hours in duration and includes an overview of the program, individual interviews with the Training Directors and several staff members, and meeting with current interns. The number of attendees at each interview day is limited. We are planning 4 interview days.

Planned interview dates are included in our brochure.

Applicants to any of our sites can interview on any of these dates, subject to availability. 

 
How to obtain application info: Visit Website
Preferred method of contacting the program: Email the Program
We have matched with interns from these programs: Clinical, Counseling and Combined Psychology programs across the U.S.
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 ranking deadline
Dissertation Proposal Approved: Yes, by ranking deadline
Dissertation Defended: No
Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours (if applicable): 400
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours (if applicable): 200
Minimum Number of Combined Intervention and Assessment Hours (if applicable):
Minimum Number of Years of Grad Training Required (if applicable): 3
Accepted / Not-Accepted Program Types
Clinical Psychology Accepted
Counseling Psychology Accepted
School Psychology Not Accepted
APA-Accredited Accepted
CPA-Accredited Not Accepted
PCSAS-Accredited Accepted
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: Our program requires 1200 total practicum hours (assessment + intervention + supervision) prior to the start of internship. This includes desired minimums of 200 assessment and 400 intervention hours, with consideration given to an applicant's overall training background and fit with the program. (See brochure for more information).
Program Description

CTVHCS offers training in a variety of contexts including general medical/surgical hospital, residential/inpatient, a domiciliary, integrated and home-based primary care, and multiple outpatient clinics. Please see our web brochure for further description of the training opportunities within each setting.

Our program places 6 interns annually, two at each of our three primary training sites: Temple and Waco VA Medical Centers, and the large Austin VA outpatient clinic. Our training model is reflective-practitioner, which is a form of scholar-practitioner training. We emphasize the value of reflecting on professional practices through intensive case study, locating and incorporating relevant scientific/professional knowledge and seeking experiential wisdom. Our program focuses on the development of competency in the nine profession-wide competencies, based on the APA Standards of Accreditation. We have been continuously accredited by APA for over 30 years. The internship year is divided into three, four-month major rotations. Interns spend a minimum of 28 hours per week on the major rotation. We offer major rotations in outpatient mental health clinics, substance abuse treatment, integrated primary care, residential and outpatient PTSD and serious mental illness (SMI), neuropsychology, and rehabilitation. Please see our brochure for a complete listing. We provide additional training and exposure to other areas of practice via a minor rotations for 4 to 8 hours per week in a wide range of practice areas (e.g. military sexual trauma, neuropsychological assessment, clinical research, assessment, group therapy, serious mental illness (SMI), compensation & pension exams, blind rehabilitation, etc.). We have over 75 full-time and several part-time psychologists in our health care system.

Please note that availability of specific training rotations varies due to staff availability and other factors. Please contact us via email for updates. In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, our interns returned to primary on-site training in 2021 and are anticipated to continue to be based on-site for the 2024-25 training year.  All interns receive training in, and provide some clinical services via, telehealth modalities (i.e., VA Video Connect and telephone).

Internship Training Opportunities

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

(training opportunities continued)

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

(training opportunities continued)

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

Information about rotation options can be found in our brochure. We offer a 6 to 12 month clinical research minor rotation through the VA VISN17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans in Waco.

 

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.centraltexas.va.gov/services/Psychology_Internship.asp  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: 82 99 77 86 129 67 51
Number of applicants invited for interviews: 44 43 45 46 44 44 42
Total number of interns: 6 7 6 6 6 6 6
Total number of interns from APA/CPA accredited programs: 6 7 6 6 6 6 6
Total number of interns from Ph.D. programs: 5 5 4 5 3 4 2
Total number of interns from Psy.D. programs: 1 2 2 1 3 2 4
Total number of interns from Ed.D. programs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number of interns that come from a Clinical Psychology program 3 5 4 4 6 5 6
Number of interns that come from a Counseling Psychology program 3 2 2 2 0 1 0
Number of interns that come from a School Psychology program 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Range of integrated assessment reports: lowest number of reports written 6 1
Range of integrated assessment reports: highest number of reports written 88 23
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: 0
Hospital/Medical Center: 0
Veterans Affairs Health Care System: 4
Psychiatric facility: 0
Correctional facility: 0
Health Maintenance Organization: 0
School district/system: 0
Independent practice setting: 0
Other (Academic Psychology Department): 0
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