Externship Training

CLINICAL EXTERNSHIPS The clinical externship is an integral part of the Clinical Psychology: Neuropsychology Doctoral Program and was developed to provide students with the opportunity to apply didactic and theoretical training in assessment and intervention in “real-life” clinical settings. Students with the required academic prerequisites complete a sequence of supervised clinical experiences that begins with applied training and experience in a Clinical Psychology setting where the chief activities will include assessment and the application of efficacious intervention techniques, followed by specialized training in Clinical Neuropsychology, where the primary activity will be neuropsychological assessment and evaluation. Students are required to complete 1600 hours (two years of externship) and a third year is optional. For externship purposes, a ‘year’ means 16-20 hours/week for three consecutive semesters (e.g. summer, fall, and spring).

A. Requirements for beginning externships

1. Students may not begin externships until they have taken all of the following courses: Psychodiagnostics-1; Psychodiagnostics-2; Psychopathology; Psychometrics; Systems of Psychotherapy; Clinical Neuropsychology, Ethics, Professional Issues in Clinical Psychology and Diversity Issues in Clinical Psychology.
2. Students may not register for externships for course credit beyond their 45th credit unless they have passed the first doctoral examination.
3. Students taking externships must have practice and liability insurance, which may be purchased from APA as a student member.
4. Students must be familiar with the Law, Rules, and Regulations of NYS Department of Education for licensure as a Psychologist in New York State.
5. Students must complete the NYS Mandated Training Related to Child Abuse. A list of approved providers can be found at the NYS website.

B. Externship assignments

First year of externship

1. During the Fall semester of the second year in the doctoral program, students meet with the Director of Clinical Training (DCT) to review requirements for externship and formulate an externship training plan. Prior to the meeting, students must complete the Readiness for Externship Checklist. During the first year of externship training, students will be assigned to a site that provides training in Intervention techniques (e.g., individual or group psychotherapy or counseling, cognitive remediation or rehabilitation, psychoeducational groups) and where the primary goal of training will be for the student to develop competencies in the following areas: (building rapport, conducting an intake interview, making and implementing treatment plans, recording client/patient progress and evaluating outcome, and dealing with termination issues, if applicable). All students will be required to meet with a supervisor approved by the Clinical committee. This individual must be a licensed, doctoral-level psychologist.
2. The first year of externship consists of a total of 16-20 hours per week of supervised clinical training. Note that some of this work may be conducted “off-site” (e.g., report writing, background reading) and it is important for the student to discuss the workload expectations with the potential supervisor at an initial interview. The externship during the first year can consist of either three semesters with one supervisor or two consecutive semesters with one supervisor followed by a third semester with a different supervisor.
3. The first three semesters of externship are taken for course credit. As the first year of externship training usually begins in the summer before the student’s third year in the program, students register for both 70341 and 70342 in the fall, and for 70343 in the spring of the third year. These courses will be listed in the online course catalog under the name of one of our Clinical faculty (even if you are not being directly supervised by one of these faculty members). Please contact the Subprogram Head or Director of Clinical Training to determine which faculty member you should register with.

Second, and subsequent, years of externship

1. During the second year, students will be assigned to a site that provides specialized training in Clinical Neuropsychology, where the primary goal of training will be for the student to develop competencies in the following areas: conducting a neuropsychological intake interview, devising and administering an assessment battery addressing the referral question(s), report writing and providing feedback to patients and family members, if applicable.
2. All students will be required to meet with a supervisor approved by the Clinical committee. This individual must be a licensed, doctoral-level psychologist.
3. Externships taken in the second and subsequent years do not receive course credit but are noted on the student’s transcript. For this purpose, students are responsible for providing the program with a written statement of satisfactory completion of the externship from the site supervisor.
4. Externships taken after the first two years will take place in sites approved by the Clinical committee and may include training in either intervention or assessment techniques, depending on the students desire or need for additional training.

Externship sites and oversight/evaluation

1. The Subprogram will maintain lists of approved sites, including descriptive materials and contact information.
2. Students who would like to take an externship or practicum at a site not approved by the Subprogram would need to have the site seek such approval. This approval must be obtained before the student commits to working at the site.
3. Faculty reserve the right to consult with externship supervisors with regard to extern performance and evaluation.
4. At the end of each semester of training, externship supervisors will be asked to complete an evaluation of the extern’s performance. Areas of evaluation are related to Program training objectives and include knowledge and application of diagnostic testing and therapeutic techniques, ethical behavior and appropriate interactions with clients/patients and professional staff.
5. Students are required to submit written records at the end of each semester that document contact hours, supervision hours, support hours and number of reports written, if applicable. The reports will serve as documentation of the Program’s requirement to complete 1600 externship hours.

Students can review the current (2008-2009) list of approved externship sites for the first year of externship training here.

Students can review the current (2008-2009) list of approved externship sites for the second year of externship training here.