The mission of the Orlando VA Psychology Internship program is to develop ethical and competent psychologists capable of delivering high quality care through evidence-based practice for the purpose of improving the quality of life and well-being for America’s Veterans. The program provides a generalist training for professional psychologists. Within the generalist training, the internship promotes a scientific attitude and approach to clinical activities through an emphasis on evidence-based practice.
The internship year is divided into three rotations of four months each. As a generalist program, we expect interns to participate in an array of rotations that emphasize core psychologist functions, including psychotherapy and assessment. Rotation selection is based on the individual intern’s preference as well as their identified training needs.
We have a wide array of choices for rotations. Rotations are available in Mental Health Clinic, Trauma Recovery, Inpatient Psychiatry, Psychosocial Rehabilitation in Serious Mental Illness, Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment, Neuropsychology, Substance Use Disorders Treatment, Primary Care Mental Health Integration, Pain Management/Biofeedback, Consultation & Liaison, and Geropsychology. primary rotations are 3-4 days per week for 4 months each.
Interns may also elect to participate in additional training experiences in evidence-based psychotherapies (EBP) or with faculty who serve in non-traditional professional roles or provide nontraditional experiences. Minor rotations are available in Care Transitions and Mental Health Outreach, Couples and Family Therapy, Forensic Topics, Geriatric Assessment, Health Psychology, Pain School, Psychology Administration, and Whole Health and Complimentary/Alternative Medicine. Some of the major rotations are also available as minor experiences for those who want a sampling of the experience without doing the whole rotation. Minor rotations and EBP training/consultation can total up to 8 hours per week and may span across rotations.
EBP training and consultation is available in Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and CBT for Substance Use Disorders. Others EBPs and minor rotations may be available, depending on available faculty.
All clinical activities of interns are supervised by professional clinical staff. At a mininum, each intern will participate in four hours of face-to-face supervision per week. The number of hours spent in direct patient contact performing clinical activities varies across rotations and experience levels.
VA has a renewed focus on measurement-based care. As psychologists, we are committed to taking the lead in using standard measures to demonstrate the effectiveness of our interventions. Applicants should be familiar with common objective and projective personality instruments, as well as measures of cogntive functioning.
Didactic instruction is an essential component of the intern's clinical training experience. Didactic series are intended to supplement and enrich the development of specific clinical skills practiced in the rotations, and increase understanding of pertinent professional and clinical issues.
It is a goal of the program to create a supportive and challenging learning environment that enriches each intern’s professional development while respecting individual differences. At the end of the internship year, interns will be particularly equipped for working with Veterans and prepared for entry into the current health care environment, with generalist training and experience in interdisciplinary approaches to patient management.
