Skip to Content

Psychology Training

The Psychology Training Program at the VAIHCS offers a Clinical Psychology Predoctoral Internship as well as training for advanced doctoral trainees as part of the Clinical Psychology Practicum.

The Psychology Training Program is committed to ensuring a range of diversity among our trainees. We select qualified candidates representing diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, geographic locations, and life experiences.
 

Director of Psychology Training
Patricia J. Smithmyer, PsyD
Patricia.Smithmyer@va.gov 

Psychology Predoctoral Internship

Application Deadline: November 3, 2023  At 11:59 p.m. (ET)

Number of positions Available: 5

The Psychology Internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association* and has the aim of assisting interns in the development of the knowledge, skills and techniques necessary to function as professional psychologists. Ours is a practitioner scientist program in that the emphasis is placed upon the various supervised activities an intern might perform. That is, patient care activities, such as assessment and intervention, are typically given a higher priority than more academic pursuits, such as research and teaching. The primary method used to achieve this aim is based on the tutorial-apprenticeship model. Interns work with their primary supervisor to design a clinical experience to meet their unique needs, participating directly in the work of their primary supervisor. We try to individualize training as much as possible and use our resources to meet unique needs. Our tutorial-apprenticeship model is supplemented by a series of seminars, teleconferences, grand rounds, webinars, and consultant contacts. The aim of which is to produce entry-level graduates who can think critically about relevant theoretical and scientific literature and be able to apply this in their clinical work. At this time the VAIHCS does not have an IRB to support research projects.

*Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
701 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 2002
Phone202-336-5979 e-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Internet: http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

Clinical Psychology Practicum

Application Deadline:  Mar 15

VA Illiana HCS offers practicum training opportunities for advanced graduate students working with a wide range of psychological issues across different settings with the veteran population. Practicum placements are based on a match between students' interests and experience and supervisors' expertise and their availability to take on a practicum student for that year. The exact placements vary from year to year; however, our program has offered placements in our Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP), Geropsychology, Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), PTSD Clinic, and our Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in Peoria, IL and Springfield, IL.  The training year typically runs from the beginning of September through May, but this can be flexible.  In terms of hours, practicum students dedicate 1-2 days to on-site practicum training, typically between 8-16 hours per week.

Eligibility Requirements:

For any psychology training track at VA Illiana Healthcare System, we abide by all eligibility requirements as described on this website. Per VA policy, VA Illiana Healthcare System can only offer training positions to United States citizens who are pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA-accredited institution.

VA Psychology Training eligibility requirements