Clinical Psychology Internship Program
Welcome to the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Clinical Psychology Internship
The University of North Carolina School of Medicine Clinical Psychology Internship, directed by Crystal Schiller, PhD, is a comprehensive, one-year, full-time internship for doctoral students in psychology. The Internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association and holds membership in the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).
The Internship, administered by psychologists within the Department of Psychiatry, provides a broad range of clinical training opportunities across the School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina Hospitals, as well as multiple community-based sites. These inpatient, outpatient, and community settings provide interns with opportunities to work with children, adolescents and adults, in interprofessional teams.
We know the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on training opportunities for internship applicants. As a result, we are adjusting our typical expectations for clinical training hours. Applicants are encouraged to describe the impact of the pandemic on their training hours in their cover letters and/or application materials.
The faculty place a high value on providing excellent clinical training, matched to each intern’s training goals. Internship positions include adult-focused internship tracks in Affective Neuroscience, Behavioral Medicine-Transplant, Primary Care, Addiction Medicine, Eating Disorder, and Reproductive Psychology programs; more child-focused internship tracks in the Clinical Child program, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD), and TEACCH Autism program. The Traumatic Stress track spans all ages.
Interns spend about half of their time in their primary area gaining depth in their chosen area gaining depth of expertise in their chosen area of focus, while having the opportunity to broaden their clinical training through rotations in other areas. Intern also participate in weekly didactic and professional development seminars and engage in clinical research.
The track and clinical training descriptions provide a sense of both the depth and breadth of clinical training available. The faculty recognize the importance of matching clinical training to interns’ training goals, and as such, the program makes every effort to provide clinical training that balances a focus on providing clinical experiences to deepen interns’ expertise with a breadth of training experiences to ensure a broad range of clinical competencies. Interns are guaranteed six months (50% time) of training within their track. Interns interested in building expertise within particular areas of clinical practice (e.g., developmental disabilities, child and family mental health, behavioral medicine, eating disorders, neuropsychology, trauma treatment, women’s mental health, etc.) can gain substantial clinical experience in their chosen areas of focus.
Interns may spend up to 40% of their time engaging in elective rotations outside of their track. The purpose of matching to a specific track is to guarantee the equivalent of 6 months within that track. Intern applicants identify the emphasis areas they wish, and they can apply to as many tracks as they’d like.
Information regarding the APA Commission on Accreditation can be obtained by contacting the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242; https://accreditation.apa.org/contact Phone: (202) 336-5979
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
UNC Chapel Hill is the oldest public university in the United States, with a long tradition of producing highly engaged citizens and leaders, driven by an abiding ethos of service to community. The University is actively engaged in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, as is the School of Medicine, and Department of Psychiatry. The Internship is committed to providing training to interns who reflect diversity with respect to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.
“The UNC Department of Psychiatry has a distinguished history as national leaders and a commitment to excellence in our missions: clinical service, teaching, research and advocacy. We are nationally and internationally recognized in each of these domains and have a passion for innovation, cutting-edge discovery, training the next generation of leaders in psychiatry and advocating for policy that improves the lives of the patients we serve. This is a transformative time for Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, and we are extremely well poised to respond to the significant mental health needs facing our society. We are intentionally fostering diversity, equity and inclusive excellence through our actions, our policies and our culture. Whether you are looking for information about clinical programs, education and training, groundbreaking research, community engagement, or our new initiatives focused on mental health equity, I welcome your interest in our exceptional department.” – Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH,
Policy on Non-Discrimination
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PHILOSOPHY AND MODEL
INTERNSHIP POSITIONS / TRACKS
For 2023-2024, there are fourteen intern positions in twelve tracks. In all positions, interns will:
- Spend, on average, approximately 40% of the time in activities in their specialization area, in each of the six-month rotations.
- Obtain significant experience in the areas of diagnosis and assessment, therapy, consultation, and severe mental illness.
- Elect additional clinical experiences, choosing from almost all of the services offered within the internship, depending on interests and the feasibility of scheduling.
- Participate in the weekly didactic and professional seminar series.
- Elect to engage in research activities, up to one day a week. Research collaboration with a faculty member is required in the research elective.
Intern tracks are as follows:
Affective Neuroscience (one position)
Behavioral Medicine (one position)
Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) (one position)
Eating Disorders (one position)
Child Community-Pediatrics (one position)
Reproductive Psychology (one position)
TEACCH Autism (one position)
Posttraumatic and Acute Trauma Treatment (one position)
Addiction Medicine (two positions)
Primary Care (two positions)
Adult Psychotherapy (one position)
Behavioral Medicine/Transplant (one position)
STARTING DATE
All interns participate in a weeklong orientation program at UNC. The starting date for this orientation will be July 1. All faculty members will be on hand to help orient the new trainees and facilitate a smooth transition.
CERTIFICATE OF INTERNSHIP COMPLETION
Upon successful completion of the internship in clinical psychology, a certificate is awarded by the Department of Psychiatry of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.