The Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center is located in Saginaw, Michigan and offers doctoral psychology internships on a competitive basis to U.S. citizens who are pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical, counseling, or combined psychology from an American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) accredited graduate program or Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS) accredited program in Clinical Science. To be considered, students must demonstrate completion of at least three years of graduate course work and a combined minimum of 400 hours of formal Practicum Training in assessment and intervention. Applicants must be certified as ready for internship by their Director of Training.
The internship program emphasizes Interprofessional Team-Based Care. The internship is structured on a major/minor rotation system. Each intern completes two major rotations 2 days per week, lasting the full year of internship. This ensures intensive, in depth experiences. Each minor rotation is 4-8 hours per week for 4 months, providing the interns the opportunity to complete 3 different minor rotations throughout the course of the internship year. Major rotations include the Mental Health Clinic (Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program), Primary Care-Mental Health Integration, and Pain Resource Team. Minor rotations include Health Behavior, Community Living Center/Palliative Care, and Compensation & Pension.
The psychology staff are embedded in the Mental Health Service Line of the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center alongside psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, clinical pharmacists, nurses, social workers, and peer support specialists. We work together to promote interprofessional team-based care practices within our service and with other services in the Medical Center such as primary care and other specialty clinics.
The Medical Center is conducive to training, and Leadership at the facility values training. The facility is affiliated with a number of universities throughout the state of Michigan and trains medical students, medical residents, psychiatry residents, nurse practitioners, nurses, optometry students, physical therapy students, occupational therapy students, pharmacy residents, and social work interns. The Mental Health Service Line provides training across several disciplines in addition to psychology, including psychiatry residents and social work interns.
Outpatient Mental Health and Medical Center Settings
Internship rotations will take place at either the Health Care Center or Medical Center, both located in Saginaw, MI. The Health Care Center is an outpatient clinic that houses a large number of the services available in the Mental Health Service Line. Mental Health services/programs available at the Health Care Center include: Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP); PTSD Clinical Team (PCT); Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Clinic; Substance Use Disorder Clinic (SUD); Dual Diagnosis; Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO); Homeless Program (HUD-VASH); Compensated Work Therapy (CWT)-Transitional Work (TW) and Supported Employment (SE) Program; Peer Support; and Neuropsychological Assessment. The Saginaw VA Medical Center is home to other Mental Health Service Line programs and services such as Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI), Health Behavior Coordinator, Community Living Center (CLC) Consult/Liaison Psychologist, Urgent Care Clinic crisis intervention services, Transition and Care Management Program, and the Pain Resource Team Psychologist.
The Psychology Internship Program encourages applications from qualified candidates, regardless of age, race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender status, pregnancy, disability, genetic information, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, or other minority status. The internship aims to foster a diverse Psychology workforce and supports an inclusive work environment that ensures equal opportunity. We encourage Psychology trainees of diverse backgrounds, in all of the ways that diversity is expressed, to apply to the Psychology Internship Program.