JCCA’s psychology internship program has been sponsored by JCCA since 1970 and has been approved by the American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation since 1991. The 12-month, full-time psychology internship program is open to advanced pre-doctoral psychology students in clinical, school and counseling psychology programs. Our practice is based on the science of psychology which, in turn, is influenced by the professional practice of psychology.
JCCA accepts six interns each year: three at the Westchester Residential Treatment site in Pleasantville, New York, one at the Brooklyn Foster Home Services site, and two at the Bronx Foster home site. Although there is only one application, we have three separate match numbers, so applicants have the opportunity to rank any number of individual sites, or to rank all three. Applicants may indicate site preference in their cover letter, but if invited for an interview will have the opportunity to be considered for all three sites.
JCCA offers training in a residential treatment center (the Westchester campus) or within an outpatient setting (Foster Home Services). The majority of the youth we work with are in the foster care system. At a residential treatment center, youth live on campus in cottages of approximately 12 similarly-aged youth under 24/7 supervision by milieu staff members. With foster home services, we have the opportunity to work with youth in the foster care system and their caregivers in an outpatient office setting. Interns will provide services in person at the office or via tele-health.
Regardless of site placement, the goal of the internship is to train psychologists to work with children and families to develop and refine a broad set of professional competencies. Our primary training objective is to prepare interns for future clinical practice in child and adolescent psychology. Furthermore, our interns leave their training year with a comprehensive understanding of the child welfare system and the specific needs of the children and families who function within this system. More generally, our graduating interns are fully prepared to recognize, understand and address the impact of the complex trauma that youth and families in underserved populations encounter. We recognize that there is a need for more trained clinicians to address the unique needs of such youth. In addition to the above, JCCA also places high importance on cultural competency and intersectionality as our clients have multifaceted identifies. In recognition of the importance of cultural competency, the internship program has built it into the foundation of individual and group supervision, as well as weekly intern didactics. JCCA’s Westchester Campus offers various residential treatment programs for youth. The campus is located in a suburban town within Westchester County, approximately 30 miles north of Manhattan and outside of the five boroughs, which makes it unique from the other two internship locations. Interns match to the campus as a whole, with Edenwald Center (EC) and Pleasantville Cottage School (PCS) serving as primary placements for campus trainees. Although PCS has school in their name, it is not a school-based program. Trainees are assigned to either EC or PCS for their training year, with strong consideration given to each intern’s preference; this assignment begins in the summer before the internship starts. Edenwald Center serves youth who have diagnoses related to developmental delays and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder and are also experiencing severe emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. PCS serves youth who are generally of low average to average intelligence, with severe emotional and behavioral difficulties.
The Foster Home Services (FHS) Program provides outpatient treatment in two separate offices: a commercial/residential area in the Bronx, and the Flatbush/Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. Both foster programs serve infants, children and teens living in foster homes. As noted previously, the Bronx and Brooklyn sites have two separate match numbers, and interns are matched specifically to either Brooklyn or the Bronx.
Both FHS and residential campus psychology departments exist within a rich multidisciplinary setting, including psychiatric and medical staff, education specialists, social workers and case planners, among others. Interns are highly valued and integrated members of the multidisciplinary team.
Although interns are placed in three separate locations, the intern class comes together weekly for seminars, training, and additional group supervision. In this way, interns benefit not only from their supervisors and the on-site interdisciplinary team, but from one another as well.
JCCA is committed to the safety of all staff and clients, and is adhering to all CDC and local guidelines during the COVID 19 pandemic. Our residential facility offers face-to-face, outdoor interventions and large spaces for socially distanced clinical work. Interns in our foster home facilities have access to large indoor spaces for on-site interventions, as well as remote interventions with some of their therapy cases. While we do not know exactly what the 2023 training year will look like, interns in the Brooklyn and Bronx offices should anticipate being on site at least 3 days per week, and interns on the Westchester campus should anticipate being on site full time. All decisions related to on site work are subject to change, and we anticipate case-by-case exceptions to policy, as our priority continues to be ensuring the safety of all involved.
Please see our brochure for additional information
https://www.jccany.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Psych-Internship-Guide-2020.pdf