Doctoral Psychology Internship

Training Philosophy

The Wake Forest University Counseling Center Psychology Internship utilizes a practitioner-scholar model in which research informs practice.  This approach integrates hands-on work in a multidisciplinary setting with scholarly reading, critical thinking, and self-reflection.  We believe that providing both a supportive and challenging environment, as well as ongoing and reciprocal feedback from staff and peers creates the optimum space for interns to feel comfortable making and learning from mistakes and to experience personal and professional growth.  We also believe it is important for interns to have the opportunity to tailor their training experience based on areas of interest, and to receive mentorship and guidance in developing a niche as a psychologist.  Training opportunities will be developmentally appropriate for each individual’s level of training and experience, and will be sequential, cumulative and graded in complexity across the training year.

The University Counseling Center (UCC) also utilizes a collaborative, systems approach to working with each other and within a larger campus environment.  Therefore, we believe it is important for interns to learn how to navigate administrative processes, provide referrals to on and off-campus agencies, develop case management skills, collaborate with other departments on campus, coordinate crisis response, and manage multiple roles within the University, such as consulting with staff, students, and parents while maintaining confidentiality.

The UCC is committed to providing multiculturally competent services and believes it is important for interns to be competent in working with clients, colleagues, and community members holding diverse intersecting identities.  We foster this competence by providing training on identity and culture, encouraging interns to consult and collaborate with diverse and multidisciplinary staff members inside and outside of the UCC, and by challenging interns to reflect on their own intersecting identities, experiences of power, privilege, and oppression, and how shared and different identities affect their work with clients.

By the conclusion of the internship year, interns will have accomplished training in the following APA-designated Profession-Wide Competencies for Health Service Psychologists:

1) Evidence Based Practice in Intervention

2) Evidence Based Practice in Assessment

3) Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills

4) Supervision

5) Cultural and Individual Diversity

6) Research

7) Ethical and Legal Standards

8) Professional Values and Attitudes

9) Communication and Interpersonal Skills

The Wake Forest University Counseling Center Doctoral Psychology Internship is not currently accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org

APPIC Membership Status

The Wake Forest University Counseling Center Psychology Internship is a member of APPIC and participates in the annual APPIC Match. Our program’s Match ID code is 2451.

The Wake Forest University Counseling Center Psychology Internship agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person associated with the internship program will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. Internship slot offers will be made through the APPIC National Matching program in compliance with the APPIC policy. WFU is an equal opportunity employer and adheres to APPIC’s nondiscrimination policies.

Direct Service Activities

Walk-In Appointments:  Same day walk-in appointments are made available for students during morning and afternoon blocks of time. Each intern is assigned 5 hours of Walk-In coverage per week which will be dispersed in 1 to 3 hour blocks during the week. Walk-In blocks are utilized for Initial Visit and Crisis appointments. 

• Initial Visit: Students who are seeking services for the first time or returning to reconnect with services complete an Initial Visit appointment. These appointments focus on gathering presenting concerns, symptoms, level of functioning, safety and risk assessment, treatment history, trauma history, substance use, and other factors which are used to determine appropriate disposition and referrals to on and off-campus resources. 
• Crisis: These appointments are for students who ask to be seen or need to be seen immediately based on screening information provided to administrative staff, or are walked over by a WFU staff or faculty member who requests the student be seen the same day. Interns are trained to assess crisis situations and determine and implement a range of crisis interventions. 

Individual Therapy: Interns provide individual therapy, seeing WFU students for both short-term (1-12 sessions) and longer term therapy, providing approximately 13-17 individual therapy hours per week.  This includes therapy for personal, interpersonal, and general mental health concerns.  

Group Therapy: Interns are expected to co-lead a group during both fall and spring semesters, and to exhibit knowledge and understanding of group process and procedures, and to develop their group therapy skills during the internship year. Interns co-lead a group with a staff member during fall semester and receive a half-hour of supervision per week. During spring semester interns may co-lead a group with another intern if approved by their primary supervisor and the Group Coordinator. 

Case Management: Interns schedule case management as needed to make contact with referral sources on behalf of clients, complete documentation for clients, and communicate with providers on and off campus in the interest of taking a treatment team approach and/or facilitating positive continuity of care.

Assessment: Interns receive training in the use and interpretation of commonly used psychological assessment instruments and utilize a variety of assessment measures with clients on an ongoing basis for diagnostic and clinical outcome purposes, as well as to gain further experience with assessment instruments used in a counseling center setting. 

Training Activities

The following is a breakdown of the training activities all interns participate in during the training year.  If interns choose to focus on a special emphasis, some of their time is spent focused on training in that special emphasis area. 

Orientation

Formal orientation takes place for the first three weeks of the internship. This orientation consists of sessions in which interns learn about policies and procedures regarding UCC functions, as well as sessions with each UCC staff member to learn more about their roles within the Center and their areas of specialty. As part of the extended orientation to the UCC and campus, interns attend scheduled meetings with campus partners in order to gain a greater understanding of multidisciplinary collaboration amongst offices.

During the extended orientation to the internship, interns observe Initial Visit and Triage/Crisis Walk-In appointments conducted by UCC clinicians in order to learn the process by which students enter the UCC system. Additionally, interns observe and participate in UCC outreach and training related to orientation of new Resident Advisors and WFU students.  

Individual Clinical Supervision

• Primary Supervision (2 hours per week): The main focus of primary supervision is on interns’ clinical work and their development of clinical skills. Additionally, primary supervision includes review of interns’ clinical documentation, review and feedback of videotaped sessions, development of a professional identity and appropriate professional behavior, development of a solid theoretical orientation, ongoing formal and informal evaluation and feedback, and a safe, supportive environment in which examining biases, privilege, intersecting identities, and ethical concerns can take place. Interns switch primary supervisors at the midpoint of the internship year, by January 15th. This allows interns to learn from multiple supervisor perspectives throughout the internship year.
• Secondary Supervision (1 hour biweekly): Special emphasis areas have set supervisors with specialized knowledge and training in particular areas of practice and who are licensed and/or certified in their area of mental health practice (e.g., psychology, counseling, supervision). Secondary supervision focuses on interns’ development of skills in their chosen area of special emphasis. Interns who choose to forego a special emphasis area in lieu of a more generalist training experience receive secondary supervision from a licensed mental health provider in alignment with the interns’ interests and training goals (e.g., specific clinical issue, specific theoretical approach, modes of therapy). Interns may switch secondary supervisors at the midpoint of the internship year, by January 15th, although some special emphasis areas (e.g. sport psychology may require a full year commitment). 
• Supervision of Group Therapy (0.5 hour per week): Interns receive supervision of group therapy from the staff member with whom they co-lead a therapy group during fall and spring semesters. In the case of two interns facilitating a group together, a half-hour of weekly supervision of group therapy will be provided by the Group Coordinator and consultation is available regularly as needed. This supervision is used to process the group experience, plan for future sessions, and develop interns’ skills in group facilitation.

Group Supervision

• Group Supervision (1 hour per week): Group supervision is led by a licensed psychologist on staff. Group supervision provides an opportunity for interns to discuss ongoing cases and clinical issues, including challenging cases, disposition issues, multicultural or ethical issues salient to a particular clinical situation, and various treatment approaches. Interns are encouraged to participate in discussions and to informally present cases throughout the year. Interns prepare and present a multicultural case presentation each semester in which interns are prompted to reflect on how diversity factors were considered and/or integrated into assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment. An additional component of this case presentation is to share and present an article, book, video (etc) that may help deepen colleagues’ understanding of the multicultural issues attended to in the case.
• Supervision of Supervision (1 hour per week): This group supervision activity begins in the Spring semester when interns begin to provide direct individual supervision to a master’s counseling intern or doctoral practicum trainee. This supervision focuses on interns’ experiences acting as supervisors to master’s counseling interns or doctoral practicum trainees. Interns discuss their experience as a supervisor, learn skills for managing issues that arise in supervision, and review videotapes of their work with their supervisees. Supervision of supervision is led by a UCC staff member with specialized training in the provision of supervision.

Scheduled Consultations

• Clinical Staff Meeting (1 hour per week): This meeting is an opportunity for clinical staff members and interns to present and discuss cases for which they would like consultation, support, and feedback. Interns are encouraged to contribute to the discussion by offering feedback to staff members and by discussing their own cases. This is an opportunity both to consult on cases in order to receive feedback from staff from multidisciplinary backgrounds, and to provide feedback and consultation as part of a treatment team. 

Training Seminars

• Intern Training Seminar (1 hour per week): This weekly seminar is topic-focused.  Seminar topics address multicultural competence, ethics, assessment, treatment models and techniques, issues prevalent in a college population, and professional identity development. Training seminars are evidence based and focused on assisting interns with blending research and practice. 
• In-Service Training Seminar (1 hour per week): All clinical staff members and trainees attend in-service training weekly during the fall and spring semesters. The topics of these trainings rotate to include ethical issues, risk assessment and crisis intervention, visits from colleagues across campus to learn more about their departments and specific roles, and training on specific treatment issues and techniques. 

Professional/Administrative Activities

• Staff Meetings (1 hour per week): All staff members and interns meet weekly to discuss general issues of UCC functioning and to review upcoming outreach and group or workshop opportunities.  Interns are encouraged to actively participate in these discussions to further develop their competence in counseling center administration and leadership.
• Staff Retreats (1 day per semester): All UCC staff members and interns spend a day away from the office for the purpose of planning for an upcoming semester, discussing strategic issues, and bonding with each other in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.  Interns are encouraged to participate in development of the retreat agenda and share thoughts and ideas about the planning items discussed.
• Staff Professional Development Activities (sporadic): Interns have the opportunity to participate in continuing education activities designed for the UCC staff throughout the year. Additionally, there are regular opportunities for professional development offered through the University including workshops on public speaking/group facilitation, diversity and inclusion, motivational interviewing, and leadership.  Interns should discuss professional development opportunities with their supervisor before registering.

Interns’ training experiences differ the most with regard to the special emphasis area they choose. Interns are able to receive additional training in clinical special emphasis areas during the training year. A special emphasis provides interns with in-depth training in identified areas of interest. Interns may choose to forgo a special emphasis in lieu of a more generalist training experience in which they will be matched with a secondary supervisor based on their clinical interests and goals. 

Prior to the start of the internship year, interns have the opportunity to rank the available special emphasis areas, as well as the more generalist option. Because some special emphasis areas can only accommodate one intern per year due to supervisor demands and availability of opportunities in that area, if more than one intern ranks one of these special emphasis areas as their first choice, an open, transparent conversation about special emphasis choices will take place during orientation to the internship. If neither intern volunteers to choose a different special emphasis  area, the Internship Administrative Committee will decide special emphasis  assignments based on interns’ submitted rankings and demonstrated interest in various special emphasis  areas, which may include previous practicum experience in one of our special emphasis  areas or participation in research focused on a special emphasis area.

Available special emphasis areas include focused education, supervision, and provision of service in one of the following areas:

• Sport Psychology: In collaboration with Wake Forest Athletics, the UCC offers opportunities for one intern to receive special emphasis training in sport psychology each training year. The intern selecting this special emphasis will be assigned to two specific sports (one for fall and one for spring) and will track the progression of that team throughout their season, including co-facilitating team sessions, shadowing coach consultations, and observation of practices and games. Additionally, the intern may provide individual sessions focused on clinical and/or sport performance topics with a variety of student-athletes. The intern selecting this special emphasis will have the opportunity to attend  integrated care team meetings including: the Eating Assessment and Treatment (EAT) Team, focused on prevention and treatment of eating disorders on campus; and  the Sports Medicine Behavioral Health Team, focused on consultation, coordination of care, and maintaining best practices. Based on the availability of these opportunities, the intern may also create/plan outreach events, co-lead the SAAC Mental Health group, and co-facilitate trainings, workshops, and groups aimed at improving mental health literacy, wellbeing, and performance for student-athletes, staff, and athletics as a whole.  Lastly, the intern will aid in the assessment and scoring of behavioral health screeners as part of the preparticipation exams and injury protocol. The intern who selects this special emphasis would receive secondary supervision and consultation from a licensed psychologist specialized in sport psychology within Athletics.
• Training and Supervision:  One intern may select to receive secondary special emphasis supervision from the Assistant Director of training in training and supervision.  This special emphasis area helps to provide additional support in training and supervision for an intern who has particular interest in developing a professional niche in training. In addition to providing individual primary supervision, the intern who engages in this SEA will provide group supervision to MA Interns or Doctoral Practicum students engaging in training at the UCC, and will participate in the Internship Administrative Committee. Interns may engage in additional professional development related to training and supervision and apply what they have learned to their supervision practice. 
• Trauma Informed Care: This SEA will focus on providing trauma-informed assessment and treatment for individuals seeking services at the UCC with trauma as their primary presenting concern. The intern engaging in this SEA will maintain at least two individual clients with presenting concerns related to trauma on their caseload throughout the semester. The special emphasis supervisor will provide additional oversight and consultation to the intern on their trauma informed treatment approach. The intern may (depending on interest and appropriateness) have the opportunity to work with the Safe Office which provides crisis response and on-going support services for concerns related to interpersonal violence (including sexual misconduct, relationship violence, and stalking). The intern may also complete additional reading and professional development/training in trauma informed practice.

This sample weekly schedule is an estimation of how interns will spend their time in any given week. A specific breakdown of how interns’ time will be spent will depend upon their chosen special emphasis area and their individual benchmarks, which will be set with the training director and their primary supervisor at the start of each semester. 

This description is an approximation of average hours that may vary based on time of year. 

Wake Forest University is a private, independent, nonprofit, non-sectarian research university founded in 1834. The mission of Wake Forest University is to educate the whole person, graduating students who seek purpose-filled lives while building a community dedicated to serving humanity in the spirit of our motto, Pro Humanitate. The Wake Forest University Counseling Center (UCC) is part of the Division of Campus Life and the Health and Wellbeing Team of offices, which also includes the Safe Office, Deacon Health, and the Office of Wellbeing. 

Wake Forest is a collegiate university offering a vibrant, intellectual community with a rich cultural life, an impressive array of facilities, and a strong athletics program competing in the fifteen-team Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).  Since its founding, the university has adopted the motto “pro humanitate,” which is exemplified by a deep institutional commitment to public service and engagement with the world. Wake Forest has a strong commitment to holistic, eight-dimensional well-being for students, faculty and staff as evidenced in the Thrive initiative.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Wake Forest is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a beautiful, mid-sized city centrally located in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina.  Winston-Salem is a family-friendly city with high quality schools, numerous outdoor recreational activities and events, and is known for its vibrant and thriving arts scene.

Winston-Salem residents enjoy close proximity to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains (1.5 hours) and Atlantic beaches (4 hours), a moderate climate with four distinct seasons, a very reasonable cost of living, and an eclectic variety of restaurants, wine bars, and breweries for dining with friends and family.  Winston-Salem offers many of the amenities of a large city but with the sense of community and quality of life of a smaller town.

The WFUCC Psychology Internship currently offers two full-time internship positions. The WFUCC Psychology Internship participates in the APPIC match, and therefore, applicants are required to utilize the AAPI online applicant portal on the APPIC website (www.appic.org) when applying to the program.  The WFUCC’s APPIC number is: 2451

The following components must be included in a completed application:

• The full APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI)
• Cover Letter including a statement of interest and how the WFUCC Psychology Internship Program fits with your experience, training goals and career plans
• Current Curriculum Vitae
• Transcripts for ALL graduate coursework
• Three letters of recommendation, two of which must be from individuals familiar with your clinical work
• Academic Program’s Verification of Internship Eligibility and Readiness

Requirements

 Minimum Requirements:

• A minimum of 300 intervention hours,
• Successful completion of comprehensive exams prior to applying to the internship program
• Completion of all required doctoral coursework and practica prior to the internship start date
• Formal approval of doctoral dissertation proposal prior to the official APPIC ranking deadline
• Certification of readiness to begin internship from the applicant’s doctoral program
• Strong interest and direct or relevant experience in counseling center work

Additional qualities that the WFUCC Psychology Internship Program values and are desired in internship applicants include:

• We prefer applicants to have accrued 400 intervention hours
• Goals and interests that align with the philosophy and aims of the WFUCC internship program
• Openness to examine intersecting identities and experiences of power, privilege, and oppression
• Self-awareness, self-motivation and self-direction
• Commitment to learn and develop throughout the training year, and to ongoing learning and growth
• Willingness to make mistakes and to learn from challenges 

International students currently enrolled at universities within the U.S., and who are able to obtain work authorization from the institution currently sponsoring their visa status, are eligible to apply.

Drug Test and Background Check Requirement

Please Note: Matched interns become employees of Wake Forest University and are required to complete a pre-employment screening conducted by the Office of Human Resources, including a drug test and background check. As a drug free workplace, we do not tolerate the use of drugs that are not prescribed by a physician or are illegal in the state of North Carolina, including marijuana. Criminal background checks are reviewed to determine eligibility for employment. Failure to satisfactorily complete the pre-employment screening will result in termination of the match agreement.

Selection and Interview Procedures

Interviews will take place via videoconference with telephone as a back-up. Each applicant will have the opportunity to interview with members of the Internship Administrative Committee as well as additional UCC staff members, and ask questions that they may have about the program.

Applicants are also encouraged to learn more about the University and surrounding community through the following resources:

www.about.wfu.edu

www.visitwinstonsalem.com

Applicants selected for interviews are also given the opportunity to meet informally for 30 minutes with Dr. Chris Wilson, the Assistant Director of Training, following each interview for a Q&A about the internship program.

Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data

Date Program Tables updated: October 2024

Program Disclosures

Does the program or institution require students, trainees, and/or staff (faculty) to comply with specific policies or practices related to the institution’s affiliation or purpose? Such policies or practices may include, but are not limited to, admissions, hiring, retention policies, and/or requirements for completion that express mission and values.
No

Internship Program Admissions

Briefly describe in narrative form important information to assist potential applicants in assessing their likely fit with your program. This description must be consistent with the program’s policies on intern selection and practicum and academic preparation requirements:

The WFUCC Psychology Internship Program is a one-year, full-time training program for doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology.  Interns will accumulate 2000 total hours, with at least 500 of those hours being in direct, face-to-face service to clients.  The Internship provides psychology interns with supervised clinical experience in a broad range of activities including individual and group counseling, assessment, triage, crisis intervention, provision of supervision, consultation, case management, and outreach activities and programming. Interns have the opportunity to learn from a diverse and multidisciplinary team of professionals who practice a broad developmental and mentor-based training approach and use a combination of experiential, didactic, and practical training experiences to achieve training goals.

Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If Yes, indicate how many: Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:

 Minimum Requirements:

• A minimum of 300 intervention hours,
• Successful completion of comprehensive exams prior to applying to the internship program
• Completion of all required doctoral coursework and practica prior to the internship start date
• Formal approval of doctoral dissertation proposal prior to the official APPIC ranking deadline
• Certification of readiness to begin internship from the applicant’s doctoral program
• Strong interest in counseling center work

Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year

 In the event of medical conditions and/or family needs that require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/residents in excess of personal time off and sick leave?

Yes

Other Benefits (please describe):

Interns are eligible for the same benefits as all full-time staff members at WFU, including medical, dental, and vision (http://hr.wfu.edu/benefits/).  Interns may also elect to cover family members on university-sponsored insurance plans for an additional cost.  Interns are provided with 25 days of paid time off (PTO) for vacation and sick leave and are not required to work on the approximately 13 University-observed holidays (http://hr.wfu.edu/faculty-staff/leaves-and-absences/holidays/).

Initial Post-Internship Positions

(Provide an Aggregated Tally for the Preceding 3 Cohorts) 2019-2022

Total # of interns who were in the 3 cohorts:	6
Total # of interns who did not seek employment because they returned to their doctoral program/are completing doctoral degree:	0

Facility Type	Post-doctoral Residency Position (PD)	Employed Position (ED)
Academic teaching	0	0
Community mental health center	0	0
Consortium	0	0
University Counseling Center	2	1
Hospital/Medical Center	1	0
Veterans Affairs Health Care System	0	0
Psychiatric facility	0	0
Correctional facility	0	0
Health maintenance organization	0	0
School district/system	0	0
Independent practice setting	2	0
Other	0	0

The WFUCC Psychology Internship agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person associated with the internship program will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.  Internship slot offers will be made through the APPIC National Matching program in compliance with the APPIC policy.  WFU is an equal opportunity employer and adheres to APPIC’s nondiscrimination policies.

The WFUCC Psychology Internship also abides by employment guidelines set forth by the larger University. Wake Forest University is committed to diversity, inclusion and the spirit of Pro Humanitate. In adherence with applicable laws and as provided by University policies, the University prohibits discrimination in its employment practices and its educational programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability and veteran status.  Applicants are individually evaluated in terms of quality of previous training, practicum experiences, and match of personal goals with the internship goals.

The full-time internship position (12 months with a minimum of 2000 hours), begins in mid-July and has an annual stipend of $46,000. 

All interns matched to the WFUCC Psychology Internship become employees of Wake Forest University, and therefore must complete pre-employment screenings, including a drug test and background check, in order to be officially hired as an intern.  Interns are eligible for the same benefits as all full-time staff members at WFU, including medical, dental, and vision (http://hr.wfu.edu/benefits/).  Interns may also elect to cover family members on university-sponsored insurance plans for an additional cost. 

Interns are provided with 25 days of paid time off (PTO) for vacation and sick leave and are not required to work on the approximately 13 University-observed holidays (https://policy.wfu.edu/holidays-and-holiday-premium-pay/).