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Site Name: Milton Hershey School

Department: Psychological Services

Department : Psychological Services

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Member Site Information
APPIC Member Number: 1727
Program Type: Internship
Membership Type: Full Membership
Site: Milton Hershey School
Department: Psychological Services
Address: Psychological Services
P.O. Box 830
Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033-0830
Country: United States
Metro Area: Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Distance from Major City: 90 miles west of Philadelphia, PA
Phone: 717-520-2635
Fax: 717-520-2261
Training Director Email: weilere@mhs-pa.org
Co-Training Director Email:
Web Address: http://www.mhskids.org/careers/psychology-internship/
Brochure Website's Address: https://www.mhskids.org/internship-training-manual/
Primary Agency Type: Child/Adolescent Psychiatric or Pediatrics
Additional Agency Types:
  • Other
Member of APPIC since:
Accreditation
APA Accreditation Accredited
CPA Accreditation Not Accredited
Internship Staff/Faculty Information
Training Director: Erica Weiler-Timmins
Chief Psychologist: Erica Weiler-Timmins
Number of Full-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 9
Number of Part-Time Licensed Doctoral Psychologists on Staff/Faculty 0
Position Information
Start Date: 08/01/2025
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: 43888.00
Part Time Annual Stipend for Next Class: 0
Fringe Benefits: Dental Insurance, Health Insurance, Professional Development Time, Sick Leave, Vacation
Other Fringe Benefits (not indicated above): Major medical health care, dental health care, and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) are provided for the intern and his or her dependents as a part of the internship. MHS offers free meals during the hours when the interns are working on campus through the MHS school cafeteria. Administrative and clerical assistance are provided. Each intern has a private office and computer with Internet access. The interns have access to printing, photocopying, faxing, and scanning equipment, scientific journal articles as well as interlibrary loans. The Department has a large array of psychological and psychoeducation testing kits and equipment for the interns’ use. Online and computer scoring are available for many assessment measures. The interns also have available to them a large selection of therapeutic materials and resources. Payment for student membership in the American Psychological Association (APA) and Time2Track are provided. Interns receive a $200 spending allowance to purchase books and other resources that each intern can keep at the conclusion of the internship. Additionally, interns are provided with up to $300 toward professional conference/workshop expenses and receive up to 5 days of professional development leave. There are additional opportunities for continuing education during the internship year. The intern receives paid 48 hours of vacation time, 16 hours of personal time, 64 hours of sick time (if needed) and 13 school holidays during the internship year. The vacation and personal time can be used for any reason, including parental leave.
Brief description of the typical work day for an intern at this training site The internship is full-time for a year beginning on August 1st and ending on July 31st of the following year. Interns are given credit for a minimum of 2,000 hours of training for the full year, which is designed to meet all state licensure requirements. Interns work a 40-hour week. However, the residential nature of MHS necessitates that there will be times that the workday extends beyond these hours. It is estimated that interns will spend approximately 35 percent of their time in clinical activities, 25 percent of their time in consultation activities, 20 percent of their time in assessment activities, and 20 percent of their time in individual and group supervision.
Does this site have practicum psychology students on site? Yes
Doctoral Psychology Practicum StudentsNo
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: 11/15/2024 11:59 PM EST
Interviews at this site are: Not Offered
A Virtual Interview is: Required
Interview notification date: 12/16/2024
Tentative interview date: 01/02/2025, 01/03/2025, 01/06/2025, 01/07/2025, 01/08/2025, 01/9/2025, 01/10/2025
Interview process description:

The Milton Hershey School is seeking three full-time psychology interns. Our program utilizes the AAPI Online. In addition to a cover letter, applicants are required to submit: 1) a completed AAPI, 2) three letters of recommendation, 3) a current curriculum vitae, and 4) a transcript from all graduate programs attended. No additional materials are required. All application materials for the 2024-2025 year must be submitted through the APPIC portal by midnight EST on November 15, 2024.  

The Milton Hershey School psychology internship program is a participating member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) and adheres to all policies and procedures of the association. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. Application is with the formal APPIC application and interns are identified through the “Match” process.  Information about the Match process and application forms may be downloaded from the APPIC web site at http://www.appic.org.

The MHS internship program offers three intern positions per year. Applications are reviewed by members of the Internship Training Committee (ITC). Our selection criteria are based on a goodness-of-fit model.  We seek interns whose academic and scientific background, clinical experience, and personal characteristics provide them with the knowledge and skills necessary to function well in a residential school setting.  We also seek interns whose professional goals are well suited to the experiences we have to offer, such that our setting would provide them with a productive internship experience.  The ideal candidate has demonstrated strengths in therapy, assessment, consultation, academic preparation, and personal characteristics related to the profession.  Because our training program emphasizes a practitioner-scholar model of training, we prefer applicants who have applied experience in working with children and adolescents.  Experience working with children or adolescents from families of lower income and with children or adolescents with physical or psychological disabilities, are additional plus factors.  In addition to these selection factors, we seek diversity, in a broad sense, in our incoming class of interns: from different programs and different types of training or approaches; from different geographic areas or experience with various cultures; and with diverse demographic characteristics, backgrounds and life experiences.  This approach is a reflection of our commitment to diversity in psychology, just as we have in admissions for students and hiring of staff.

There are no rotations within the internship; rather, each intern receives balanced opportunities to provide individual and group psychotherapy, consultation, psychoeducational and psychological assessment, serve as a member on a multi-disciplinary team, and obtain professional development. 

 Our program utilizes virtual formats for intern recruitment and selection. As a program, it is important that our recruitment and selection process be accessible and equitable for our applicants.  We notify all applicants as to the status of their applications by December 16th.  Applicants with the strongest goodness-of-fit are invited to participate in our virtual interview process. This includes a program overview, interview with the Director of Training (DT), interview with an ITC supervisor and meeting with our current interns.  Applicants who are invited to interview at MHS may request a tour of campus, if desired by contacting Human Resources directly.

Current interns are one of the best sources of information about our program.  We strongly encourage applicants to talk with current interns about their satisfaction with the training experience.  This opportunity is available during the interview process and as requested.  Please contact the DT at the email address provided above, and ask for the contact information for the interns.

 

 

 
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 International University, San Diego Antioch University, New England Bowling Green State University Catholic University of America Duquesne University East Carolina University Florida Institute of Technology George Washington University Illinois State University Immaculata University Indiana University of Pennsylvania James Madison University La Salle University Lehigh University Louisiana State University- Baton Rouge Michigan State University North Carolina State University Northeastern University Oklahoma State University Pacific University Pennsylvania State University Regent University Rutgers University Saint John’s University Temple University Texas A&M University Texas Woman’s University The Chicago School of Professional Psychology University of Indianapolis University at Buffalo University of Maine University of Maryland, Baltimore University of North Dakota University of South Alabama West Chester University
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: No
Dissertation Defended: No
Minimum Number of AAPI Intervention Hours (if applicable): 400
Minimum Number of AAPI Assessment Hours (if applicable): 250
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): No
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 Not Accepted
Ph.D Degree Accepted
Psy.D. Degree Accepted
Ed.D. Degree 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: Requirements listed in the manual: https://www.mhskids.org/internship-training-manual/ Milton Hershey School is committed to providing a safe school environment for its students with adults who serve as role models. There are a number of background checks required to work in a Pennsylvania school, including the Pennsylvania State Criminal History Clearance (Act 34), the Pennsylvania Arrest/Conviction Report (Act 24), the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 151), the FBI Criminal History Clearance (Act 114), Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Release (Act 168) and a Former Employers check (Act 168). A TB test is also required. All employees seeking to work at the School are also subject to additional screening, including background and reference checks, social media screening and post-offer medical screening including a drug test.
Program Description

The purpose of the Milton Hershey School (MHS) Doctoral Internship Program is to provide interns with a variety of clinical, consultation and assessment experiences with children and adolescents from families of lower income within a residential school setting. 

The goal for the MHS internship program is to provide opportunities for all of our interns to demonstrate that they have met each of the required profession-wide competencies in Health Service Psychology (HSP).  At the conclusion of the internship, interns will demonstrate competence in each of the required profession-wide competences: 

  • Research
  • Ethical and legal standards
  • Individual and cultural diversity
  • Professional values, attitudes and behaviors
  • Communication and interpersonal skills
  • Assessment
  • Intervention
  • Supervision
  • Consultation and interpersonal/interdisciplinary skills

Since we provide comprehensive psychological and behavioral health services within a residential school setting, and our goal is to train psychologists to work with children and adolescents.  The internship program adheres to a practitioner-scholar model of training. 

Our program utilizes a competence-based education and training model in professional psychology.  We use evidence base interventions when training and assessing interns. Our training for practice is sequential, cumulative and graded in complexity.  The training method is experiential, which is reflected in the intern work schedule, whereby the preponderance of time is devoted to clinical activity, the majority of which occurs during our extended school year. 

Internship provides a year of intensive, supervised clinical experience intended as a transition between graduate school and entry into the profession of psychology.  HSP competence is primarily achieved through supervised practice over the course of the internship year.  Didactic trainings, professional development opportunities, staff meetings, and professional workshops augment this intensive training experience. Interns are closely involved in treatment in all settings and take greater responsibility for treatment decisions as their skills and knowledge increase. Our experience is that the combination of intensive clinical practice, supervision, didactics, directed readings, and self-reflection provides interns with the necessary foundation to evolve into independent practitioners.

All MHS students are from families of lower income. The average family income for students enrolled during the 2022-2023 school year was $29,845, below the federal poverty guideline of $30,000 for a family of four.  Many students come from the state of Pennsylvania, but 32% percent come from other states.  Fifty-one percent of students are female, and 49 percent of students are male. 

Our students are more likely to be impacted by a variety of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)— traumatic events children experience before the age of 18.  More than half of all new students enrolled during the 2022-23 school year experienced three or more ACEs, and 94% experienced one or more stressors.  While students’ resiliencies often buffer them from adverse outcomes, many students still present with a variety of behavioral, emotional, and learning problems associated with underserved families.  Approximately 40 percent of students are in active psychological or behavioral health services annually.  Many of these students, and others in the population, may also have learning disabilities, education gaps and medical issues. These factors are complicated by the unique home life program.  

Common treatment concerns include anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, adjustment disorders, trauma and stressor-related disorders, bipolar and related disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, disruptive behavior disorders and elimination disorders. Interns have an active role in the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing management of these students to help them be successful at the school.

MHS data indicates that students identify as the following racial or ethnic status: Black (38%), White (34%), Hispanic (17%), Multiracial (9%), Asian (1%), Native American (<1%), and Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander (<1%). 

Internship Training Opportunities

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

(training opportunities continued)

Treatment Modalities
Assessment: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Individual Therapy: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Couples Therapy:
Family Therapy:
Group Therapy: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Community Intervention:
Consultation/Liaison: Experience (21% to 30%)
Crisis Intervention: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Brief Psychotherapy: Experience (21% to 30%)
Long-term Psychotherapy: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Cognitive Rehabilitation:
Primary Care:
Evidenced Based Practice: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Evidence Based Research:
Supervision of Practicum students : Exposure (1% to 20%)
Other:

(training opportunities continued)

Experience
Health Psychology:
Women's Health:
HIV/AIDS:
Eating Disorders:
Sexual Disorders:
Sports Psychology:
Rehabilitation Psychology:
Physical Disabilities:
Learning Disabilities: Experience (21% to 30%)
Developmental Disabilities: Experience (21% to 30%)
Assessment: Emphasis (31% to 49%)
Neuropsychology-Adult:
Neuropsychology-Child:
Serious Mental Illness:
Anxiety Disorders: Experience (21% to 30%)
Trauma/PTSD: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Sexual Abuse: Experience (21% to 30%)
Substance Use Disorders:
Forensics/Corrections:
Sexual Offenders:
Geropsychology:
Pediatrics: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
School: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Counseling: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Vocational/Career Development:
Multicultural Therapy: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Feminist Therapy:
Religion/Spirituality:
Empirically-Supported Treatments: Major Area of Study (50% or Greater)
Public Policy/Advocacy:
Program Development/Evaluation:
Supervision: Exposure (1% to 20%)
Research:
Administration:
Integrated health care - primary:
Integrated health care - specialty:
Other:

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.mhskids.org/careers/psychology-internship/  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: 71 65 77 60 65 85 86 64
Number of applicants invited for interviews: 42 45 41 37 37 37 37 38
Total number of interns: 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total number of interns from APA/CPA accredited programs: 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Total number of interns from Ph.D. programs: 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1
Total number of interns from Psy.D. programs: 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 2
Total number of interns from Ed.D. programs: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number of interns that come from a Clinical Psychology program 2 2 3 1 3 2 1 2
Number of interns that come from a Counseling Psychology program 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Number of interns that come from a School Psychology program 1 1 0 2 0 1 2 1
Range of integrated assessment reports: lowest number of reports written 10 9 11 10 5 1 3 4
Range of integrated assessment reports: highest number of reports written 57 52 15 25 17 19 25 31
Summary of Post Internship Employment Settings of Each Internship Class (1st Placement)
2022-2023 2023-2024
Academic teaching:
Community mental health center: 0 0
Consortium: 0 0
University Counseling Center: 0 0
Hospital/Medical Center: 0 2
Veterans Affairs Health Care System: 0 0
Psychiatric facility: 0 0
Correctional facility: 0 0
Health Maintenance Organization: 0 0
School district/system: 1 1
Independent practice setting: 2 0
Other (Academic Psychology Department): 0 0
Link to Program's Trainee Admissions, Support, and Outcome Data: https://www.mhskids.org/wp-content/uploads/milton-hershey-school-internship-admissions-support-and-initial-placement-data.pdf
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