Psychology Internship Program

Program & Accreditation Factsheet
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) Psychology Internship Program
2400 Hospital Road, Tuskegee, AL 36083
Application Deadline: 15 November 2025
Match Number: 1936

Accreditation Status

The predoctoral psychology internship program at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) is a full-time (52-week, 2080 hours) psychology internship program that is funded by the Veteran Health Administration’s Office of Academic Affairs. Our site is accredited by the American Psychological Association. The next site visit is scheduled for 2027. We are also a member of APPIC.

Any questions related to the internship program’s accreditation status should be directed to:
Commission on Accreditation
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation

American Psychological Association
750 First Street NE, Washington DC 20002
Phone:
Email: apaaccred@apa.org
Website: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Any other questions or requests for information about the internship program can be directed to:

Psychology Internship Training Director
Levi Cole, PsyD
Tuskegee Office:
Montgomery Office:
Email: levi.cole2@va.gov

If we are unable to answer your questions to your satisfaction, please feel free to contact:

Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers
17225 El Camino Real, Onyx One – Suite #170, Houston, TX 77058-2700
Phone:
Email: appic@appic.org
Website: https://www.appic.org/contact

Application And Selection Procedures for Prospective Interns

The CAVHCS Predoctoral Psychology Training Program offers a full-time APA-accredited internship to U.S. citizens pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA, CPA, or PCSAS-accredited institution. 
To be considered, applicants must demonstrate completion of at least three years of graduate course work, a minimum of 500 direct contact hours (combined assessment and intervention hours), and a minimum of 3 integrated psychological assessments. We will take into account the impact of clinical hours obtained during COVID-19. Applicants must be certified as ready for internship by their graduate program’s Training Director. Completed internship applications are reviewed by CAVHCS’ Psychology Training Director and must be received no later than November 15, 2025.

The Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System is using the uniform APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI). This form is available on the APPIC website.
Applications should include the following:
•    APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI)
•    Graduate transcripts
•    Cover letter indicating areas of interest
•    Curriculum Vitae (CV)
•    Three (3) letters of recommendation

This internship program participates in the Matching Program administered by the National Matching Service (NMS) on behalf of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Only those interns participating in the Match may be eligible to match with this program. Applicants can request an applicant agreement package from NMS through their website or by mail.

National Matching Services Inc.
20 Holly Street, Suite 301
Toronto, Ontario
Canada, M4S 3B1
Telephone:
Fax:

This internship site will abide by the APICC policy about the match program. No person at this site will solicit, accept, or use ranking information from applicants. APICC Match policies are available on the APICC website. For the Internship Matching Program, the program match number for the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System is: 1936.

Although applications are accepted until 1 November 2025, applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible. Applications will be reviewed by the Training Director to select applicants for interviews. Applicants will be informed of their interview status by e-mail, so please be sure to provide the correct e-mail address. Applicants will be notified no later than 15 December 2025 as to the status of their applications. Once all selected applicants are interviewed, a match list will be generated. 

Interview dates will be virtual interviews and held on January 9th, January 13th, and January 16th. Interviews will take place from 8:30-12:30 CST. Interns will receive an interview schedule by email by 15 December 2025. A welcome and introduction by the training director will occur in the first half hour, followed by three 45-minute interviews with a Central Alabama VA staff psychologist. The final 30 minutes will be used to allow the group of internship candidates to have a "Q&A" session with the internship director and available internship committee staff psychologists.

The APPIC Board of Directors provided a list of virtual interviewing “Dos and Don’ts,” which can be accessed as follows: APPICs Virtual Interviewing Tip Sheet.pdf.

The Department of Veterans Affairs adheres to all Equal Employment Opportunity policies. The VA’s policy on Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Whistleblower Rights and Protection can be found here: Policies - Office of Resolution Management, Diversity & Inclusion (ORMDI) (va.gov).

Once applicants match with our site, they then have to meet several other criteria to be able to work and train at a VA. Interns are Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Health Professions Interns (HPTs) who are appointed as temporary employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and are subject to laws, policies, and guidelines posted for VA staff members. The National VA Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) funds all VA intern positions and directs local training sites regarding onboarding policies. Occasionally, this guidance can change during a training year, and it may create new requirements or responsibilities for HPTs (for example, being required to get a COVID-19 vaccine). If policies change, interns will be provided with an explanation for the change and given a reasonable amount of time to comply. Other requirements to be a Federal employee in the VA system include:
1.    U.S. Citizenship. HPTs who receive a direct stipend (pay) must be U.S. citizens.
2.    U.S. Social Security Number.  All VA appointees must have a U.S. Social Security number (SSN) before beginning the pre-employment onboarding process at the VA.
3.    Selective Service Registration.  Federal law requires that most males living in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 26 register with the Selective Service  System. For additional information about the Selective Service System, and to register or to check your registration status, click here.
4.    Fingerprint Screening and Background Investigation. All HPTs will be fingerprinted and undergo screenings and background investigations. Additional details about the required background checks: Executive Orders | National Archives
5.    Drug Testing. Per Executive Order 12564, the VA strives to be a Drug-Free Workplace.  HPTs are not drug-tested before an appointment; however, they are subject to random drug testing throughout the entire VA appointment period. You will be asked to sign a form acknowledging that you are aware of this practice. Please note that testing includes cannabis, even if the HPT has a valid prescription, the federal government tests for Delta 8 and Delta 9.  For more information, click this link.
6.    TQCVL. The VHA’s Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) requires completion of an Intern Qualifications and Credentials Verification Letter (TQCVL). An Educational Official at the Affiliate (university) must complete and sign this letter. Your appointment cannot happen until the TQCVL is submitted and signed by the leadership from the VA facility. For more information, please visit here.
7.    Health Requirements.  Among other things, the TQCVL confirms that you, the intern, are fit to perform the essential functions (physical and mental) of the training program and immunized following current Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and VHA policy. This protects you, other employees, and patients while working in a healthcare facility. Tuberculosis screening, Hepatitis B vaccines, and COVID-19 vaccines are required. Declinations are EXTREMELY rare. If you decline the vaccine for medical or religious reasons, you will be required to provide completed documentation to Occupational Health and submit the VA Form 10-263 by uploading it to the LEAF System.
8.    Primary source verification of all prior education and training is certified via the TQCVL.  Training and Program Directors will be contacting the appropriate institutions to ensure you have the appropriate qualifications and credentials as required by the admission criteria of the training program in which you are enrolled.
9.    Additional On-boarding Forms. Additional pre-employment forms include the Application for Health Professions Interns (VA 10-2850D) and the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF 306). These documents and others are available online for review. Falsifying any answer on these required federal documents will result in the inability to appoint or immediate dismissal from the training program.
10.    Proof of Identity. VA onboarding requires presentation of two source documents for verification of personal identification (IDs).  Documents must be unexpired, and the names on both documents must match.  For more information, click here.  

For a complete list of these requirements, please review: Am I Eligible?  For additional questions, please direct your inquiries to:

Dr. Levi Cole, PsyD
Psychology Internship Training Director
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System
Tuskegee Office:
Montgomery Office:
Email: levi.cole2@va.gov
 

Psychology Setting

The Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) provides an APA-accredited predoctoral psychology internship located at the East Campus in Tuskegee, AL, formerly known as the Tuskegee VA Medical Center. CAVHCS serves more than 50,000 Veterans in a 39-county area covering Central Alabama and Western Georgia, with clinics in Tuskegee, Montgomery, Dothan, and Fort Rucker, AL, and Columbus, GA. 
The Tuskegee VA Medical Center was established in 1923 to provide long-term care for the 300,000 African American Veterans who served in World War 1. In 1997, the Tuskegee VA Medical Center merged with the Montgomery VA Medical Center to form the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System. The Tuskegee VA Medical Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 and is less than 5 miles from the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, which served as the primary flight training site for African American pilot candidates during World War II.

Depending on the intern's interest, a secondary internship site is available at the West Campus in Montgomery, AL.

Program Philosophy And Training Model
Training In The Practitioner-Scholar Model

Our Psychology Internship Program philosophy is consistent with the Practitioner-Scholar model (Vail model) of academic training and practice. This model “emphasizes the ‘mutuality of science and practice’ and the practical application of scholarly knowledge. Simply put, this means good clinical practice should be influenced by the science of psychology and vice versa. 
We emphasize empirically supported treatments and best practices while acknowledging the complexities of patients and the multitude of variables that must be considered and contended with in clinical settings. Effective clinical practice is built on knowledge of theoretical and empirical literature, critical thinking, and self-reflection. We train interns to implement and promote established efficacious treatments and encourage them to draw upon theoretical and empirical literature to enhance the development of their clinical skills.
Students are trained to be psychologists who think critically and engage in disciplined inquiry focused on the individual and who gain clinical experience rather than conducting laboratory science” (Rodolfa et. al, 2005).  Our pedagogical approach to the application of this model is that of a developmental- apprenticeship process that "nurtures people in making the transition from intern to competent autonomous professional, thus helping them to integrate their personal and professional selves; places a high value on respecting the diversity and uniqueness of every individual; and underscores the importance of supervisory relationship and the mentoring process.

Intern Skills Training And Professional Identity Development Is Our #1 Priority

Internship provides a year of intensive, supervised clinical experience, intended as a bridge between graduate school and entry into the profession of psychology.  The primary purpose of the internship program is to prepare interns for successful entry into postdoctoral or entry-level professional positions, particularly in medical centers, public sector, and private health care settings, and private practice. To achieve this primary purpose, internship training is designed to accomplish two major programmatic aspirations: achieving competence in psychological practice and developing a professional identity.

Competence is primarily developed through clinically supervised practice. Seminars, case conferences, and presentations supplement this clinical experience, encouraging interns to explore new areas and build on their psychological knowledge. Interns are actively involved in patient care, gradually taking more responsibility as their skills grow. This combination of practice, supervision, and instruction provides a strong foundation for future independence.

By the end of the year, interns will have refined their assessment, evaluation, and treatment skills, including group and individual psychotherapy. They will consult effectively in interdisciplinary settings, polish interpersonal skills, and potentially supervise practicum students. Interns will enhance their understanding of cultural, ethical, and legal aspects of practice and strengthen their confidence in decision-making. These skills collectively measure professional competence.

Developing a professional identity is equally important. This includes understanding one's unique contributions as a psychologist, appreciating interdisciplinary collaboration, adhering to ethical guidelines, and transitioning from student to professional. Our internship emphasizes the importance of both the practice and how it is conducted, focusing on evidence-based practice to solidify professional identity.
Service delivery is an essential vehicle through which training occurs, but it is secondary to the educational mission of the internship. Toward this end, interns are encouraged in a variety of ways to make decisions and plan their experiences in a manner that maximizes their learning (for example, interns work collaboratively with staff to develop a training plan for the year to meet their individual training needs).  Supervision is an integral part of the overall learning experience, and staff are committed to providing intensive supervision of the clinical experience, appropriate to the level of the interns' needs.  Modeling is emphasized in that interns observe supervisors in group therapy, interacting with the treatment team, including other psychologists and staff from other disciplines.

Professional Competence Through Generalist Training

Our program is based on the view that a professional psychologist must be broadly competent before she or he can become a skillful specialist. While graduate school prepares students to master the body of knowledge and principles of psychological science, the internship year allows interns to apply this body of common knowledge to new clinical situations and problems. The internship provides the opportunity to work with diagnostically diverse patients, which is an important aspect of development as a generalist. Generalist training provides a broad view of psychological practice, intended to encourage creative problem solving of real-life dilemmas, utilizing good judgment and evidence-based psychological principles. It is intended to help interns think and practice as psychologists and to prepare them for careers in a variety of settings. The acquisition of specific skills, techniques, and conceptual models is considered a means in the service of this aim, rather than as ends in themselves.

Training Prepares Interns For A Variety Of Professional Roles

Historically, assessment and intervention have been the cornerstones of psychology practice. In modern health care, the roles available to psychologists are considerably broader.  While we emphasize generalist training, we balance that by allowing interns to develop specialized interests, including such areas as military sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, health/medical psychology, and primary care/mental health integration.  While assessment and intervention skills remain important competencies, our program additionally provides experience and training in consultation and supervision in emerging areas of practice such as behavioral health in the primary care setting.

Respect For Diversity

The Psychology Internship Program at CAVHCS is committed to fostering and upholding an inclusive community that welcomes and supports interns from all cultural and social identity groups. We believe creating an inclusive and supportive environment within our training programs is essential for fostering mutual respect, promoting unity, and establishing an empowering environment for learning and growth to occur. Our faculty is committed to cultivating and promoting an atmosphere of inclusion and acceptance in which all individuals are supported and included within our work and professional environment. We welcome honest and open discussion about issues in diversity. To that end, we seek to incorporate topics and discussions on diversity as an essential component of our supervision, clinical training, didactics, and case presentations.

Additionally, CAVHCS has a proud history of providing health care services to a largely African American Veteran population and has consistently trained predominantly African American health care providers. African Americans continue to represent the largest ethnic group of individuals served, providing an excellent opportunity for interns to hone their skills in delivering culturally sensitive and competent care to African American Veterans, who are often underrepresented and underserved in other clinical settings and geographic regions. Additionally, CAVHCS serves a largely rural population, who often face barriers to accessing medical and mental health care.

For these reasons, the internship program places high importance on attracting interns with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. We also place a premium on helping interns enhance their competency in therapeutically navigating and addressing clinically salient diversity-related factors that emerge in the clinical setting. The internship program recognizes that attracting a diverse group of interns is important in providing quality patient care, a quality educational environment, and in creating a fair, inclusive, respectful, and empowering work atmosphere.

Preparation For Professional Responsibility

The internship provides an opportunity for full-time involvement in a professional role that requires personal commitment.  Interns are given increasing responsibility for decision-making during the year, eventually approximating that of staff members in many respects.  In turn, they are expected to confront problems professionally, formulate courses of action appropriate to their assessment of situations, follow through on decisions, and keep their supervisors informed.  Decisions must be made in the face of time pressure and very real pragmatic considerations, which include the patient and his/her family, medical center, and community resources, and the preferences of other providers. Understanding and operating within this system in a manner that benefits the patient, making it “patient-centered,” are important aims of this professional training.   
While competency training is a primary goal of the internship, we also strive to build professional identity and responsibility through involvement in the process of the internship program itself.  In addition to assuming responsibility for clinical care, interns are called upon to take responsibility for many decisions that impact their learning experiences.  Most importantly, interns are responsible for selecting the settings in which they work.   As in any professional setting, such decisions are impacted by a myriad of factors: the needs and preferences of other interns and supervisors, institutional opportunities and constraints, as well as the training needs of the individual intern.  We believe that an important part of modern professional training includes just such experiences in decision-making in the context of a complex medical care system. 
Interns are expected to be active participants in shaping their training experiences in a variety of other ways.  Interns are asked to take responsibility for their learning by identifying individualized learning goals, by self-observation and self-evaluation, by participation in continuing education, and by providing feedback and evaluation of supervisors and training experiences.  Interns are also expected to participate in the development and improvement of the training program itself.  They are called upon to take active and responsible roles in their clinical placements, on the Internship Committee that formulates internship policy and procedures, and on various other internship committee functions, including intern selection and seminars.  Interns' attention is also focused on professional standards, ethical issues, and laws bearing on the responsibilities of professional psychologists. Through these means, we intend to approximate full professional functioning for each intern in so far as is possible during the internship year.

Program Structure
Internship Completion Requirements

The 2025-2026 internship year begins on 13 July 2025 and ends on 10 July 2026. Successful completion of the program requires a minimum of 2,080 total training hours, with a minimum of 25% of the intern’s time (520 hours) being dedicated to direct patient care; a minimum of 10% of the interns’ time (208 hours) being dedicated to formal supervision; and a minimum of 5% of the interns’ time (104 hours) being dedicated to formal didactic training throughout the internship year. Additional time will be devoted to professional development, diversity awareness, staff meetings, and administrative duties (e.g., clinical documentation).

Overview Of Internship Activities

During orientation, interns will meet with rotation supervisors and training staff to learn more about the specific rotations, training experiences, and professional development opportunities that are offered.  The training program, clinical rotations, supervision, and training are summarized as:

• Two 6-month major rotations (3 days/week)
• Two 6-month minor rotations (1 day/week)
• Four hours of supervision per week
• 1 hour per week Individual Supervision (Major Rotation)
• 1 hour per week Individual Supervision (Minor Rotation)
• 2 hours per week Group Supervision
• Potential for an additional 1 hour per week of Individual Supervision by EBP supervisor, if not in a rotation with him/her
• Minimum of two hours per week of didactic training
• Minimum of one hour per month with Intern Mentor

Program Rotations
The psychology internship program at CAVHCS comprises two supervised six-month major rotations and two supervised six-month minor rotations. Interns will also be assigned an internship mentor of their choosing for additional training and mentorship on clinically and professionally relevant subjects.

Major Rotations

Our internship program offers three major rotations that are intended to provide interns with clinical experiences that are intended to hone and expand interns’ general clinical skills that can be applied to broad population groups and clinical settings. Interns will complete two of the three six-month major rotations that are offered and participate in their respective major rotation activities three days per week.

Outpatient Mental Health (OPMH) 
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Dennis “Allen” Donahue

The Outpatient Mental Health (OPMH) Clinic contains an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, social workers, counselors, nurses, and peer support specialists serving a diverse population of Veterans. In the OPMH rotation, interns will have the opportunity to provide both in-person and virtual treatment to Veterans experiencing a wide range of presenting concerns, such as depression, anxiety, mood disorders, adjustment disorders, sleep problems, anger, personality psychopathology, relational and other psychosocial stressors, and habit control issues. Although many Veterans with PTSD are treated in OPMH, specialized training in trauma-focused interventions is reserved for the PCT rotation. Interns will be expected to conduct intake evaluations, integrated psychological testing, and assessment to enhance case formulations and treatment planning, and individual psychotherapy. Interns may have opportunities to conduct group psychotherapy, pending interest. Training objectives and responsibilities of the OPMH rotation include, but are not limited to:
•    Develop efficient and proficient interviewing and assessment skills.
•    Display competent clinical judgment and therapeutic skills as applied to the diverse outpatient population and presenting problems served by the OPMH Clinic.
•    Collaborate with interdisciplinary team members and other services, and facilitate care and referrals to specialty services

Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) 
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Dale Sanders

Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) promotes the full incorporation of mental health staff into the Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACTS), allowing for the treatment of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use disorder without the need for a separate mental health consult. PCMHI functions as part of multidisciplinary primary care teams and delivers brief, consultation-based services to Veterans within that setting.
PCMHI participates in a full range of direct patient care, diagnostic and training activities, performs assessments, level of care determinations, evidence-based psychotherapy, as well as treatment planning and program development. Training objectives and responsibilities of the PCMHI rotation include, but are not limited to:
•    Provides a full range of psychological services to Veterans enrolled in the Primary Care clinics, including diagnostic, psychological, and cognitive screening assessments; psychotherapy; psychoeducation and caregiver support; and prevention-oriented services, with an emphasis on the application of time-limited, evidence-based approaches.
•    Utilizes evidence-based and best practice approaches to assist Veterans, caregivers, and staff in managing behavioral factors associated with chronic medical problems and in promoting medical compliance.
•    Functions as a full member of the Primary Care clinic teams and provides ongoing team consultation services to other Primary Care clinic team members.
•    Serves as a consultant to other medical center staff and interns and assists in their formulation of the psychological characteristics and appropriate treatment expectations regarding their patients.
•    Implements process and outcome measures to evaluate the impact of providing specialty mental health services on Primary Care programs and patients.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT) 
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Levi Cole

The PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) is an outpatient specialty care mental health team comprising psychologists and social workers that specialize in assessing, diagnosing, and providing intensive, trauma-focused treatments to Veterans who have been diagnosed with PTSD or another trauma-related disorder due to trauma(s) suffered during or surrounding their military service. The PCT prioritizes personalizing treatments to meet each Veteran’s unique clinical needs, preferences, circumstances, identity and culture, and military background; addressing trauma-related symptoms and conditions, skills building, and improving quality of life, relationships, and functioning within important areas of the Veteran’s life; and accommodating and treating complex and comorbid trauma-related conditions with minimal barriers and interruptions to care. Sessions are typically delivered weekly for 3-5 months. During that time, a focus is put on meeting specific trauma-related goals related to helping the Veteran overcome problematic symptoms, improve functioning, and develop essential skills to maintain and build upon therapeutic gains long after treatment has ended. Our program is not designed to provide services indefinitely, infrequently, or on an as-needed basis.
On the PCT rotation, interns will receive introductory training to and requisite knowledge of evidence-based assessment tools and treatments for PTSD, trauma-related disorders, and co-occurring conditions, such as insomnia, nightmares, and emotional dysregulation. The intern will have the opportunity to screen Veterans for enrollment into the PCT, develop Veterans' treatment plans, conduct initial and follow-up psychological assessments, and compile the pre-post and follow-up assessment data for program evaluation purposes.  On both campuses, interns will have the opportunity to provide individual therapy to Veterans seeking intensive, time-limited PTSD treatment. Training objectives for the PCT rotation include, but are not limited to:
•    Develop requisite working knowledge of and the ability to deliver evidence-based treatment for PTSD and frequently co-occurring conditions.
o    Develop proficiency in the use of psychological assessments, questionnaires, and screeners to conduct diagnostic evaluations, generate a differential diagnosis, determine program eligibility for the PTSD Clinical Team, enhance case conceptualizations, and inform treatment recommendations.
o    Develop requisite knowledge about major military operations in which Veterans have been involved, including familiarity with common deployed locations, military equipment and jargon, and other relevant cultural factors that would improve rapport-building and understanding of Veterans’ experiences.
o    Option to prepare and co-facilitate an 8–12-week group psychotherapy for PTSD (optional)

Minor Rotations

Interns are also required to complete two six-month minor rotations in addition to their major rotations. Minor rotations involve one dedicated day per week and should align with interns’ training goals to increase competency in a specific area of clinical interest. Available minor rotations are indicated below:

Psychological Assessment
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. P. David Whittaker

The minor rotation in Psychological Assessment will help interns develop their skills in the use of objective personality assessment measures (e.g., PAI, MMPI 2-RF, MMPI-3). Interns can expect to gain further experience with objective personality assessment in the High Intensity Psychiatric Unit, Homeless Domiciliary, Substance Use Disorders Clinic, and the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. These assessments will primarily aid in the diagnostic clarifications for complicated psychological conditions, in which interns will be ruling out various comorbid conditions, but may also be used for making treatment recommendations. This minor rotation will also integrate the use of mental status assessments, neurocognitive screenings, and occasional dangerousness to others risk assessments (e.g., VRAI-G, Hare PCL).

Health Psychology
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Jane Liu

Health Psychology is a minor rotation where interns can expect to gain two main experiences: 1) performing presurgical evaluations for potential transplant, spinal cord stimulator, or bariatric candidates; and 2) treating veterans referred for behavioral sleep medicine services. For presurgical evaluations, interns will have the opportunity to conduct diagnostic interviews (including collateral interviews as needed), administer and interpret cognitive and personality assessments, and hone their report-writing skills. For behavioral sleep medicine, interns will learn to assess and diagnose sleep-related disorders and deliver behaviorally focused treatments to address veterans’ sleep problems. Interns can gain experience delivering treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I); Image Rehearsal Therapy (IRT); Exposure, Relaxation, and Rescripting Therapy (ERRT) for nightmares/trauma-related nightmares; behavioral strategies for managing circadian rhythm disorders; addressing PAP adherence issues; and integrating ACT-based approaches to enhance treatment.

Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Katherine Rivers 
The minor rotation in Military Sexual Trauma (MST) offers training and experiences designed to provide interns with the knowledge and skills necessary to support and treat veterans who have experienced MST. Interns can learn and gain experience providing evidence-based psychotherapies, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and COURAGE, within a compassionate and trauma-informed framework. This rotation aims to empower interns with the competencies required to make a meaningful difference in the lives of survivors of MST.

Neuropsychology*
Rotation Supervisor: Dr. Gloria Harris

The minor rotation in Neuropsychology is a *restricted rotation offered only during the second half of the internship year to a single intern. This rotation offers generalized training in the neuropsychological assessment of adult veterans under the supervision of a neuropsychologist with extensive experience in the administration and interpretation of a flexible battery approach, including training in empirically based neuropsychological procedures for diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation purposes. To be selected for this minor rotation, the intern must undergo an interview with the rotation supervisor, Dr. Harris, and have prior coursework, training (i.e., practicum), and/or work experience (e.g., neuropsychology technician) in the administration, interpretation, and writing of assessment reports on neuropsychological evaluations.

Evidence-Based Psychotherapies (Ebp)

Our internship program emphasizes empirically supported treatments and best practices while acknowledging the complexities of patients and the multitude of variables that must be considered and contended with in clinical settings. Effective clinical practice is built on knowledge of theoretical and empirical literature, critical thinking, and self-reflection. We train interns to implement and promote established efficacious treatments and encourage them to draw upon theoretical and empirical literature to enhance the development of their clinical skills.

To enhance their repertoire of clinical skills and interventions, interns will be provided with a variety of opportunities to learn and implement an array of evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs), such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Image Rehearsal Therapy, and more. Some EBPs will be taught and practiced as a part of a specific rotation (e.g., Prolonged Exposure Therapy in the PTSD Clinical Team Rotation), while others might be taught based on the individual interest of an intern (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Pain). Upon arrival, interns will have the opportunity to learn about training and supervision opportunities based on available supervisors and mentors for the EBP or modality of interest.

Intern Mentor Program

The Intern Mentor Program has been established to provide an additional channel for offering support to interns throughout the internship year, facilitate learning, and provide a safe space for interns to discuss important issues related to their professional development (e.g., running a private practice, negotiating work-life conflicts). The faculty member in this role will not have supervisory responsibilities and therefore will have limited evaluation roles in the intern’s progress toward completion of the internship year. The foundation of the Intern Mentor Program is built on the aspirational principles and ethical standards of the APA Ethics Code related to education, training, competence, and the need for appropriate professional development and mentoring for psychology interns. Intern mentors address the intern’s difficulties in ways that match the intern’s priorities and professional development needs through reflective listening and by providing emotional support and assistance with identifying and navigating relevant systems.

The objectives of the Intern Mentors are to provide mentorship around professional growth and identity development, self-care, and self-advocacy (e.g., burnout prevention, how to consult, effective communication, etc.); to provide culturally sensitive and responsive support for professional development, including advocating for the needs of the intern within the Psychology Training Program, Mental Health Service Line and/or CAVHCS; and to assist with finding appropriate resources when interns experience unforeseen circumstances and/or face issues that affect an intern’s ability to succeed.

The time commitment for the Intern Mentor and intern will depend on the needs of the intern. Mentorship will occur at least once per month based on a mutual schedule and collaboratively planned. Interns may choose to stay with their chosen mentor over the entire year. Alternatively, before starting the second half of the internship and their second rotations, interns will be offered the opportunity to change mentors, if desired. Related to the evaluation of interns’ performance, Intern Mentors are limited to projects and assignments in which they are not the sole evaluator, such as psychotherapy and assessment presentations, and temporary supervision coverage of intern clinical cases in the absence of primary supervisors due to brief leave periods.

Didactic Trainings

Didactic trainings are a highlight of the training year and reflect our program’s commitment to helping interns achieve competence in psychological practice, developing their professional identity, and enhancing essential profession-wide competencies needed to function as highly skilled psychologists. To that end, our didactic trainings will seek to cover a wide range of professionally and clinically relevant topics, such as evidence-based treatments for various mental health conditions, psychological testing and assessment, ethical issues, military culture, diversity and multicultural issues, and more. Most didactic trainings will be conducted in person, while others will be conducted virtually through Microsoft Teams, as some of our presenters work remotely, on another campus, or out of state.

Interns will participate in a minimum of two hours per week of didactic training sessions. During orientation, interns will be provided with a full schedule of dates and topics for the didactics. As additional training opportunities arise, the Training Director will notify interns to assess potential interest.
The following is a sample of the didactic topics that will be covered over the internship year:

Evidence-Based Psychotherapies
•    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
•    Prolonged Exposure Therapy
•    Cognitive Processing Therapy
•    Written Exposure Therapy
•    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
•    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares
•    Image Rehearsal Therapy
•    Behavioral Sleep Medicine & CBT-I

Military Culture
•    Field trip to Army Basic Training / National Infantry Museum at Fort Moore, GA
•    Field trip to/observation of USAF Officer Training School / USAF Enlisted Heritage Museum at Maxwell AFB, AL

Clinical and Professionally Relevant Topics
•    Military Sexual Trauma
•    Crisis Response Planning for Suicide Prevention
•    Dangerousness Assessment
•    Psychopharmacology
•    Burnout Recovery and Prevention
•    Integrating Human Factors into Psychotherapy and Case Conceptualization
•    Nutrition and Mental Health
•    Chronic Pain
•    Power & Behavioral Drift
•    Studying for the EPPP

Psychological Testing & Assessment
•    Personality Assessment Inventory
•    Shedler-Weston Assessment Procedure
•    Montreal Cognitive Assessment
•    CAPS-5
•    Presurgical Evaluations

Diversity and Multicultural Issues
•    Field trip to the Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice
•    Enhancing Competency Working with LGBTQ+ Populations