Training Philosophy
Practicum
Internship
The APPIC Internship at the PCOM Center for Brief Therapy
Training Philosophy
The hallmark of PCOM's training program in clinical psychology is that fieldwork occurs once the student has demonstrated mastery of knowledge in assessment and behavioral health interventions. In addition, students gain mastery of the concepts and techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy, a cornerstone of the doctoral training program at PCOM. The learning in the first two years of the program is through didactic courses that cover topics basic to scientific psychology and to the practice of clinical psychology. The concurrence of field components and seminar experiences in years three and four enables the integration of the knowledge of theory and research with practical experience. In addition, students in the doctoral program in clinical psychology are socialized to the norms, mores and customs of the profession of psychology, and are mentored in the values, attitudes, and skills involved in becoming a professional psychologist. The over-arching goal of the program is to train students to be excellent generalist professional psychologists, with specific competencies in cognitive-behavioral therapy and collaboration between psychologist and other health care practitioners.
Practicum
During the third and fourth years of training, students participate in supervised practicum placements for a minimum of 8 hours a week for eight consecutive terms, although 12-16 hours a week are preferred. These experiences provide students with the formative opportunities to acquire and practice many of the skills of the professional psychologist. The practicum provides students with breadth and depth of professional experience at a range of practicum sites. The doctoral program strives to place students in a range of different settings and work with diverse groups of patient populations, including children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Settings typically include: primary health care settings, general hospitals, inpatient psychiatric settings, outpatient clinics or group practices, forensic settings, residential treatment, and private or public schools. The emphasis of practicum is the acquisition and practice of a wide range of assessment, intervention, consultation, and evaluation skills, with an emphasis on the application of cognitive and behavioral methods. The psychology department believes that consistent evaluation and feedback, accompanied by self-reflection, are essential activities that promote the development of core competencies that ultimately lead to the internship.
Internship
The PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at PCOM recognizes the value of full-time APA-accredited internships and as such, expects all of our students to apply to these internships through the APPIC matching program. Students may apply to internships that are active members of the Association of Psychology and Postdoctoral Internship Centers (APPIC), including the on-campus PCOM Center for Brief Therapy, even though not all of these programs have met criteria for APA accreditation. The application for these internship sites is comprehensive and is revised each year. The application is formatted to be downloaded from the APPIC Web site in the section titled "Forms and Document Downloads" at www.appic.org, for completion on the applicant's computer.
While recognizing the value of applying and participating in APA-accredited internships, some students may have occupational and family commitments that preclude the ability to apply for a full-time APA-accredited or APPIC internship. In these exceptional cases, students are required to petition the Clinical Training Committee in writing for an exemption from the APPIC matching program. Students who are approved for an exemption will be afforded the opportunity to apply to an external internship program at a site that strives to match the APPIC criteria as closely as possible, and is approved by and formally affiliated with the PCOM Department of Psychology.
The APPIC Internship at the PCOM Center for Brief Therapy
The predoctoral internship in clinical psychology at the PCOM Center for Brief Therapy is designed to train future psychologists to work in health care settings as providers of comprehensive psychological services that stress multidisciplinary collaboration. The PCOM Center for Brief Therapy strives to fulfill its mission in the on-campus PCOM Family Medical Practice, as well in community healthcare centers in three urban sites: the PCOM Roxborough Health Care Center, the New Lancaster Avenue Health Care Center in West Philadelphia, and the Cambria Health Care Center in North Philadelphia. In each of these centers, interns interact with medical and allied mental health professionals as a fully participatory member of the total health care team. In addition, interns provide mental health services in the Center for Brief Therapy's outpatient clinic at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and in the Center for Academic Resources and Educational Services (CARES) program, a student-focused program designed to lend academic support services to medical students and graduate students who are members of the PCOM academic community. Consistent with the philosophy of the APA accredited PsyD program in Clinical Psychology at PCOM and its supervising faculty, interns are expected to possess advanced skills in behavior assessment and therapy, and empirically supported treatment based on cognitive-behavioral interventions.
Interns receive training and supervision in as broad a range of professional activities as possible, including: behavioral assessment, psychodiagnostics (including cognitive and personality testing); psychoeducational evaluations; clinical interventions (including individual and group psychotherapy, crisis intervention, milieu therapy, and work with families); consultation; applied clinical research (including clinical outcome research); and case management (including serving on treatment teams and developing prescriptive treatment programs), as appropriate. In addition, interns gain experience in supervision of master's level practicum students and multidisciplinary consultation with health care providers in a variety of contexts.
