Clinical training consists of two required core rotations, Acute Psychopathology & Assessment and Psychotherapy, as well as one primary rotation. The primary rotation is chosen (via the national computer match) from one of the following six clinical areas -- Neuropsychology, Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Geropsychology, Outpatient Treatment, Primary Care Behavioral Health, and Addictive Behaviors.
All three rotations (i.e., a primary rotation, the assessment rotation, and the psychotherapy rotation) run concurrently throughout the year. This training structure provides the intern an opportunity to deepen their understanding, skills and practice in each of these areas of professional activity and practice. On a weekly basis, the primary rotation usually consists of approximately sixteen hours (20 hours for the neuropsychology primary rotation). The psychotherapy rotation consists of approximately twelve hours and the evaluation/acute psychopathology rotation approximately eight hours.
Each rotation draws on the rich array of resources offered at the medical center and specialized staff to support professional training. Typically, multiple sites are combined to support a particular primary rotation, providing a diverse range of clinical situations, patients, and professional contexts in which the intern can develop confidence and proficiencies. Additionally, collegial interaction on a multidisciplinary team is a highly valued component of training. All clinical services, inpatient and outpatient, are built around the team treatment model, allowing psychology interns to work directly with staff and trainees from psychiatry, social work, nursing, neurology, and psychosocial rehabilitation on a regular basis. On a number of the rotations, interns become identified primarily with one particular unit and become a part of that milieu while serving as consultant to other units. Thus, all primary rotations involve activities with multiple sites, while milieu treatment and team functioning occur to varying degrees in different rotations.