The Doctoral Internship Training Program in Professional Psychology is currently accredited by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation (CoA), having been awarded a 7-year accreditation in 2016. Questions related to this program's accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242 or (202) 336-5979. E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org, Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation
The Internship is located in an urban Community Mental Health Center with 10 sites across Los Angeles county and nearly 500 staff. We offer core mental health services to adults with severe/persistent mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance, crisis intervention and short-term counseling services, and substance abuse treatment and prevention services. Training activities are focused on 10 competency areas: Ethical and Legal Standards; Individual-Cultural Diversity; Scientific Knowledge/Research/Evaluation; Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors; Communication and Interpersonal Skills; Assessment; Intervention; Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills; Supervision-Teaching; and Community Outreach. Interns provide services in mental health clinics at any of our sites, but both training tracks (Child/Family as well as Adult Services) house Interns at a primary office in Inglewood, CA (please also note COVID-19 specific updates below). All Interns participate in individual, group, and family psychotherapy in the office in the field, or remotely, as well as crisis intervention, diagnostic intake assessments, comprehensive psychological assessments, community outreach projects, and a small program evaluation or research project. Interns lead group supervision of practicum students and receive "supervision of supervision." The program provides intensive supervision, weekly didactic seminars, a professional development group, participation on interdisciplinary treatment teams, and bimonthly agency training seminars.
PLEASE NOTE: Per recommendations from the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), we have updated our Program Brochure to reflect potential changes to our training program in response to COVID-19 and Safer at Home Guidelines issued by the Governor of the State of California. Acknowledging that pandemic containment and State/Federal responses are ongoing and fluid, our agency and Internship Program remain dedicated to adhering to the 4 Guiding Principles recommended by APPIC in formulating our response to the pandemic and its impact on Intern training, including 1) Safety of both Interns and Clients, 2) Equity in our selection process and access to services, 3) Ethics in guiding every aspect of our work, and 4) Reliance on Science and best practices recommended by reputable public health entities to inform our agency/Intern program’s pandemic response. Throughout our brochure and public materials, please see COVID-19 specific information demarcated by an IMPORTANT COVID-19 RELATED UPDATE modifier for further information related to adjustments to our program and training opportunities. We will update our program brochure and other public materials frequently and regularly as updates to our program occur.