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Psychology Training Program

The North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System Psychology Training Program offers APA-accredited internships and postdoctoral residencies to U.S. citizens who are pursuing (internship) or have completed (residency) a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA-accredited institution.

Internship Program

The predoctoral internship at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The next site visit is expected in the Spring or Summer of 2024. 

To be considered, students must be a US citizen, demonstrate completion of at least three years of graduate course work and a minimum of 520 direct contact hours in assessment and intervention. Applicants must be certified as ready for internship by their Director of Training.

APPIC Match Numbers
General Internship:  120711
Geropsychology Internship:  120712

Application Due
Internship: November 5, 2023

If you have any questions about the application process, please do not hesitate to contact the Director of Training, Dr. Elizabeth Dizney at Elizabeth.Dizney@va.gov for additional information.

Psychology Postdoctoral Residency

The postdoctoral residency at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. The next site visit is expected during the academic year 2023-24. 

Applicants must be a US citizen and have completed all requirements of an APA-accredited doctoral program in clinical or counseling psychology, including an APA-accredited internship, prior to the fellowship start date. Applicants are required to have a strong interest in health psychology, geriatrics, or trauma/PTSD & substance use issues and treatment with a long-term goal to provide service and contribute to these areas in psychology.

Application Due
Postdoctoral Residency: January 6, 2023

All applicants will be notified in a time frame consistent with APPIC guidelines (Postdoctoral Selection Standards [appic.org]). We are adhering to APPIC’s recommendation to follow the APPIC Postdoctoral Selection Standards and Common Hold Date (CHD) for the 2023-2024 postdoctoral selection cycle. The CHD approach mirrors the widely-practiced graduate school admissions process. It allows postdoctoral programs to make offers at any time following the completion of interviews; applicants can then accept, decline, or hold an offer until the designated CHD of Monday, February 27, 2023. Consequently, as the offer and acceptance process naturally unfolds, it is expected most offers and acceptances will occur prior to the CHD.

Please note we will be accepting applications using the APPACAS (APPACAS Psychology Postdoctoral Application system this year). Though this method is the preferred method for submitting applications, we will be accepting mailed applications as well. Applicants who use either method (APPACAS or mailed applications) will be considered equally. If you have any questions about the application process, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Elizabeth Dizney at Elizabeth.Dizney@va.gov for additional information.

Externship/Practicum Program

The predoctoral externship/practicum at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 training year from U.S. citizens who are pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical or counseling psychology from an APA-accredited institution. To be considered, students must be certified as ready for an externship by their Director of Clinical Training. If you are interested, please complete the application below eight (8) weeks prior to the rotation start and send it along with a letter from your Director of Training stating you are ready for a practicum placement to Dr. Elizabeth Dizney at Elizabeth.dizney@va.gov.  

Mailing Address:
Director of Psychology Training
Malcom Randall VA Medical Center
5465 SW 34th Street
Gainesville, FL 32608
x18-1114

For more information about Psychology Training Programs in the VA, please visit https://www.psychologytraining.va.gov/

The internship and postdoctoral fellowship programs at the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. Questions about the accreditation status of our internship and/or fellowship program can be addressed to the American Psychological Association Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation (contact information below). 

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002

Eligibility/Application Requirements

Please follow this link for additional information regarding Eligibility/Application Requirements: https://www.psychologytraining.va.gov/eligibility.asp

Commitment to Diversity: 

Our department is committed to diversity on many different levels, including providing an emphasis in diversity in clinical experiences, didactic trainings, and professional interactions. We have an active Psychology Service Diversity Committee committed to improving educational opportunities for staff and trainees on differences of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability, culture, and intellectual perspective; and how these differences impact mental and physical health issues and delivery of care.

We believe cultural competence is vital to understanding mental illness and essential to provision of care. As such, VA psychologists are obligated to ensure culturally competent services continually evolve in order to better respond to the needs of our increasingly diverse Veteran population.

Over the course of each training year, we offer a variety of diversity-related educational opportunities:

  • Formal Continuing Education for staff and trainees
  • Quarterly journal discussions of recent, scholarly research
  • Didactic trainings for Intern and Post-Doctoral trainees
  • A collaborative Intern special-project or experiential activity

Additional information about the VA’s commitment to diversity can be found at https://www.va.gov/ORMDI/Diversity_Inclusion.asp


Disclaimer: Some links above (apa.org and appic.org) will take you to a non-VA website and are provided for convenience only.  You are leaving the VA Internet and VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the site to which you will be taken.