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Site Name: RAMS, Inc.

Department: National Asian American Psychology Training Center

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Department : National Asian American Psychology Training Center

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Member Site Information
APPIC Member Number: 1678
Program Type: Internship
Membership Type: Full Membership
Site: RAMS, Inc.
Department: National Asian American Psychology Training Center
Address: 3626 Balboa Street
San Francisco, California 94121
Country: United States
Metro Area: Not Applicable
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Distance from Major City: located in San Francisco
Phone: 415-668-5960x312
Fax:
Training Director Email: florachan@ramsinc.org
Co-Training Director Email:
Web Address: http://www.ramsinc.org
Brochure Website's Address: https://ramsinc.org/programs/rams-training-institute/national-asian-american-psychology-training-center-doctoral-internship/
Primary Agency Type: Community Mental Health Center
Additional Agency Types:
  • Community Mental Health Center
Member of APPIC since: 12/01/2003
Accreditation
APA Accreditation Accredited
CPA Accreditation Not Accredited
Internship Staff/Faculty Information
Training Director: Flora Chan
Chief Psychologist: Flora Chan
Number of Full-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 3
Number of Part-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 13
Position Information
Start Date: 09/03/2025
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: 39374
Part Time Annual Stipend for Next Class: 0
Fringe Benefits: Comp Time , Dissertation Release Time, Dental Insurance, Disability Insurance, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Professional Development Time, Sick Leave, Vacation
Other Fringe Benefits (not indicated above): Educational Time Off to attend relevant educational activities (subject to supervisor's approval); 10 agency holidays and 2 additional "floating" personal holidays (subject to supervisor's approval)
Brief description of the typical work day for an intern at this training site Daily activities vary greatly; the following is interns' time distribution during an average week. Training and Supervision (about 16 hours per week): 3 hrs - Individual clinical supervision with primary, secondary, and assessment supervisors; 2-3 hrs - Group supervision on outpatient psychotherapy cases, including at least one elective consultation group; 1-2 hrs - Rotation group supervision, and on site hands-on mentorship, training, and team meetings; 2 hrs - Assessment Seminar/Group Supervision on assessment cases; 1 hr - Group supervision on Cultural Competency Project; 3 hrs - Didactic Seminars and Clinical Conferences, conducted jointly with the outpatient services staff; 1 -2 hrs - Weekly Team Meetings, Documentation consultation, and consultation with multidisciplinary staff; 2 hrs - Dissertation support time, Cultural Competency Project work, and professional literature review time. Direct and Indirect Clinical Services (about 19 hours per week): 10 hrs - Outpatient clinical services (psychotherapy & new clinical intakes) 2 hrs - Administration, scoring & interpretation of psychological tests (time for testing at rotations 5 hrs - Clinical Work at Rotation Sites (time for supervision, team meetings & lunch break subtracted) 2 hrs - Clinical charting, treatment plan development, and indirect case work
Does this site have practicum psychology students on site? Yes
Doctoral Psychology Practicum StudentsYes
Masters Psychology Practicum StudentsYes
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: 11/01/2024 11:59 PM EST
Interview notification date: 12/20/2024
Tentative interview date: N/A
Interview process description:

We email invitations to an interview to selected applicants by the end of the day on December 20 and ask candidates to contact RAMS for scheduling within a week. Interviews start the first week in January and are conducted through the end of January.

At present, our plan is to conduct interviews via teleconferencing. A typical interview is conducted by the director of training and one of the clinical supervisors. It takes about an hour, and is rather informal. Interviewers ask applicants about their past training and clinical work, future career goals, experience of working with clients of diversity and applicants' understanding of the role their own culture plays in the clinical encounter. Other topics of the interview may include applicants' experience in working with the severely mentally ill and disenphranchised clients as well as applicants' theoretical orientation and their own ideas about how therapy works. Applicants are expected to be ready to present a clinical case  to illustrate their style of work and to demonstrate clinical and cultural competency. 

Please note that while we give some preference to applicants who have experience with or demonstrated strong interest in working with minority clients and/or are bilingual, the National Asian American Psychology Training Center and RAMS, Inc. are Equal Opportunity Employers and do not discriminate on the basis of race, culture, religion, ethnicity, nationality, class, physical ability, age, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

For a detailed description of our Application Procedure and Selection Criteria, please see our website at https://ramsinc.org/programs/rams-training-institute/national-asian-american-psychology-training-center-doctoral-internship/
How to obtain application info: Visit Website
Preferred method of contacting the program: Email the Program
We have matched with interns from these programs: Alliant University-San Fran Bay Area/California School of Professional Psychology; Argosy University-San Fran Bay Area/American School of Professional Psychology, Biola University/Rosemead School of Psychology; California Institute of Integral Studies; Fielding Graduate University; Fuller Theological Seminary; George Washington University; Georgia State University; JFK University; Long Island University - Brooklyn; NYU; Palo Alto University; PGSP - Stanford Ph.D. Consortium; Rutgers University/GSAPP; The Wright Institute; UCLA; University of Tennessee - Knoxville; University of Utah; Yeshiva University/Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology.
Internship Applicant Requirements
US Citizenship Required: No
If NOT a U.S. Citizen, Authorization to Work or to Engage in Practical Training (CPT or OPT) in the US is Required: Yes
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 start of internship
Dissertation Proposal Approved: Yes, by start of internship
Dissertation Defended: No
Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours (if applicable): 500
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours (if applicable):
Minimum Number of Combined Intervention and Assessment Hours (if applicable):
Does your program require applicants to submit supplemental materials (i.e., an assessment report and/or a case/treatment summary): Yes
Minimum Number of Years of Grad Training Required (if applicable): 3
Accepted / Not-Accepted Program Types
Clinical Psychology Accepted
Counseling Psychology Accepted
School Psychology Accepted
APA-Accredited Accepted
CPA-Accredited Accepted
PCSAS-Accredited Accepted
Non-Accredited 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: RAMS is an Equal Opportunity Employer in San Francisco in compliance with the SF Fair Chance Ordinance. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, to the extent it is not in conflict with state/federal law or policies of state/federal oversight agencies implementing state/federal law. All RAMS staff will be required to comply with San Francisco Dept of Public Health and/or CA Dept of Public Health safety requirements for high-risk and health-care settings: • Full COVID-19 vaccine series and 1st Booster • TB clearance
Program Description

RAMS is a nonprofit mental health agency serving the diverse community of San Francisco, with an emphasis on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as well as on other disenfranchised minorities and immigrants.  RAMS clients - children, adults, seniors, and families - represent San Francisco's rich variety of races, cultures, languages, and sexual orientations. Nearly 50% of the outpatient clients are Asian (primarily Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, and Cambodian); about 15% are Russian-speaking. Most clients are of very low social economic status, including many recent immigrants who face additional difficulties due to the losses of immigration, cultural challenges, and limited English. RAMS services address the full range of diagnoses and a wide array of problems in living, with special attention paid to the needs of more disturbed, unemployed or under-employed patients. RAMS programs include outpatient community mental health, low-fee, and school-based clinics; consultation to preschools and child programs; adult residential treatment; pre-employment counseling & vocational services; and a program that trains and empoys community mental health patients as peer-conselors. Our multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-disciplinary staff includes peer specialists, vocational counselors, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Besides its doctoral internship in clinical psychology, RAMS offers psychology practicum, MFT and social work internships, postdoctoral and psychiatric residency training, and a peer specialist mental health certificate program.

Our doctoral internship is an experience-based training program that aims to provide interns with socialization into the profession of psychology and development of generalist entry-level psychology practice skills: proficiency for the clinical assessment and conduct of psychotherapy (individual, family, group & couples) across the life span, with a variety of patient populations and mental health issues, and in a broad range of clinical settings. The hallmark of training is development of clinical sensitivity to diversity (particularly, in regard to Asian American and Russian-speaking minorities) and skills for intervention with the more disturbed patient.

The theoretical orientation of the NAAPTC internship is Psychodynamic, with emphasis on the Object Relations, Interpersonal and Contemporary Relational Approaches. We train interns to function as participant observers: to avail themselves to input from clients (both verbal and communicated by impact) and to study it. The patient is viewed as a credible interpreter of the therapist's experience in the “bi-personal filed” of clinical work. This helps interns to maximize learning from their patients and allows treatment to be conducted as a co-participant inquiry in order to better meet each client’s unique personal and cultural needs. 

Our training model is that of the Scholar/Practitioner: We teach interns to bring their professional knowledge base and scientific attitudes to their clinical work and to deal with each individual treatment as a unique research project that occurs in the context of the consultation room (to explore their own clinical and cultural biases, to generate clinical hypotheses and to verify them by empirical observations; to select interventions on the basis of case formulations; and to track the outcomes of interventions to support/modify clinical hypotheses). This attitude of informed curiosity and co-participant inquiry enables interns to go beyond the unquestioned use of technique-based or empirically validated approaches to develop treatment strategies that are both rooted in the accumulated body of scientific and clinical knowledge and respectful of clients’ cultural and personal diversity.

As of now, we are utilizing a hybrid model (in-person and virtual) to conduct clinical services and training. We have been gradually returning to office-based work, training, and supervision, with the safety of RAMS staff, interns, and clients being the first priority. This is a developing situation guided by the recommendations from the San Francisco Department of Public Health.This description will be updated regularly to reflect changes.

For a detailed program description, please see our website at https://ramsinc.org/programs/rams-training-institute/national-asian-american-psychology-training-center-doctoral-internship/ 

Internship Training Opportunities

Populations
Infants:
Toddlers:
Children: Yes
Adolescents: Yes
Adults: Yes
Family: Yes
Older Adults: Yes
Inpatients: Yes
Outpatients: Yes
LGBTQ+: Yes
Ethnic minorities: Yes
Spanish-speaking:
French-speaking:
Deaf/Hearing-impaired:
Students: Yes
International Students:
Rural:
Urban: Yes
Low income: Yes
People without housing: Yes
Other: Asian Americans, immigrants, Russian-speaking

(training opportunities continued)

Treatment Modalities
Assessment: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Individual Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Couples Therapy: Experience (21% to 30%)
Family Therapy: Experience (21% to 30%)
Group Therapy: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Community Intervention: Experience (21% to 30%)
Consultation/Liaison: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Crisis Intervention: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Brief Psychotherapy: Experience (21% to 30%)
Long-term Psychotherapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Cognitive Rehabilitation:
Primary Care:
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:

(training opportunities continued)

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

Orientation Program (three weeks at the start of the year): Orientation to the NAAPTC Doctoral Internship Program, RAMS Outpatient Clinic, Clinical Rotations, & the San Francisco Community Mental Health System.

Clinical Work at the RAMS Outpatient Clinics: Individual, group, and family psychotherapy with adult and child clients; clinical case management; new client intakes; initial/ongoing clinical assessment and treatment plan development; comprehensive psychological assessment/testing; clinical charting and billing; multidisciplinary team work. In an average week this includes: 9 therapy hours; 1 hour of clinical intakes; 2 hours of psychological testing; about 2 hours of non-direct casework and charting/paperwork as needed.

Clinical Rotation Training: To develop a better understanding of the different levels of treatment in the community mental health system, each intern is assigned to two external clinical rotations, which are selected from the following options: Vocational Rehabilitation Support Services, Residential Treatment, and School-Based Counseling and Professional Development Support Services. Each intern spends 8 hours per week at a rotation site delivering clinical services, participating in multidisciplinary teamwork, and receiving on-site training and supervision.

Clinical Supervision: 2 hours weekly of individual supervision on outpatient therapy cases (1 hour with director of training/primary supervisor and 1 hour with a staff psychologist who serves as delegated supervisor); 1 hour of group supervision on psychotherapy cases with an external delegated supervisor; 1 hour of group supervision/assessment seminar and 1 hour of individual supervision on assessment cases with assessment supervisor; 1 hour of Cultural Competency Project supervision with the director of training (in the summer, after interns complete their Cultural Competency Projects, this is replaced by 1 hour of Professional Issues Seminar with director of training); 1 hours of rotation group supervision, supplemented by hands-on modeling and treatment team consultation (formats differ at different rotations); choice of one or both elective hour-long supervision groups: Group Consultation/Seminar on Working with Children and Families and Clinical Understanding and Sociocultural Considerations in Working with Community Mental Health Clients.

Teamwork Meetings Monthly hour-long training group meeting with the director of training (includes practicum trainees); monthly 1.5-hour-long Inter-program Clinical Grand Rounds; weekly multidisciplinary team meetings at rotation sites; twice a month documentation training and consultation.

Didactic Seminars: Weekly 1.5-hour-long Intern & Trainee Seminar (includes practicum trainees); weekly 1.5-hour-long In-Service Clinical Training (includes practicum trainees, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical staff); weekly 1-hour-long Assessment Seminar; in-service trainings at rotation sites (formats vary); All RAMS Training Series (format varies; including half-day or full-day events).

Clinical Case Conferences: Monthly 1.5-hour-long Adult Clinical Case Conference and monthly 1.5-hour-long Child Clinical Case Conference at the Outpatient Clinic (includes practicum trainees, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical staff from multiple programs); case conferences at rotation sites (formats vary); weekly 1.5-hour-long Intern and Trainee Clinical Case Conference (four months in the second part of the year). 

Scholarly Projects and Professional Presentation of Work: To facilitate development of interns’ professional identity as psychologists, the program requires three different types of scholarly products that integrate empirical clinical material with the body of professional literature. 

- one individual Cultural Competency Project, including a written treatise and an in-service oral presentation to staff and trainees from multiple RAMS programs 

- three formal clinical case presentations, including a comprehensive write-up, an hour of process notes, and an oral presentation/group discussion (one child or adult case is presented to an audience of peers at the Intern and Trainee Case Conference; one adult and one child case are presented to an outside expert discussant and a large audience of clinicians at the RAMS Adult and Child Clinical Case Conferences, respectively) 

- four psychological assessment reports on a comprehensive battery of tests, each to include: integrative case write-up, recommendations to the client and feedback to referral source. Two assessment cases are to be presented in the Assessment Seminar 

Peer Supervision: Interns are expected to co-facilitate the Intern and Trainee Clinical Case Conference and to independently facilitate one case conference session each (under the guidance from the director of training) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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: www.ramsinc.org  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 2024-2025
Number of Completed Applications: 84 85 82 85 96 74 87
Number of applicants invited for interviews: 30 34 35 35 33 42 41 45
Total number of interns: 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total number of interns from APA/CPA accredited programs: 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3
Total number of interns from Ph.D. programs: 0 0 1 1 0 0
Total number of interns from Psy.D. programs: 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3
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 3 3 3 3 3 3
Number of interns that come from a Counseling Psychology program 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number of interns that come from a School Psychology program 0 0 0 0 0 0
Range of integrated assessment reports: lowest number of reports written 4 3 1 7 1 2 3
Range of integrated assessment reports: highest number of reports written 15 5 8 27 8 11 9
Summary of Post Internship Employment Settings of Each Internship Class (1st Placement)
2022-2023 2023-2024
Academic teaching:
Community mental health center: 1 1
Consortium: 0 0
University Counseling Center: 0 0
Hospital/Medical Center: 0 0
Veterans Affairs Health Care System: 1 0
Psychiatric facility: 0 0
Correctional facility: 0 0
Health Maintenance Organization: 0 0
School district/system: 0 0
Independent practice setting: 1 0
Other (Academic Psychology Department): 0 1
Link to Program's Trainee Admissions, Support, and Outcome Data: https://ramsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-c-27i-.pdf
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