Pediatric Psychology Internship Program
About the Internship Program
The Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital Internship in Pediatric Psychology prepares interns for the practice of professional psychology with pediatric populations. Training includes experiences in the psychological assessment, evaluation, consultation, and treatment of infants, children, adolescents, and their families in pediatric inpatient, day treatment, and outpatient settings. Training and supervision are provided for psychological evaluations, therapy, and consultation. In addition to working with children and adolescents, the interns gain experience with adults by conducting family therapy and parent training. There are occasional opportunities to work with young adults as well. Interns work together with trainees in other specialties, including fellows in pediatric neuropsychology, residents in pediatrics, and trainees in social work, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech pathology.
The internship year begins August 31 and ends August 30. The year begins with an orientation week, when faculty members present a description of the activities and requirements of each training setting. In consultation with the faculty, each intern develops his/her individual schedule for the year, including elective rotations. The internship director is responsible for making the necessary logistical arrangements in order to accommodate each intern’s individual training needs. Intern training programs may be modified when necessary, as the training needs of the intern may change.
The pediatric psychology internship core training program consists of required activities for all interns. The program is composed of three required elements and electives chosen by the intern.
The first required element involves direct clinical activities. Clinical training activities are organized so that interns acquire and refine basic skills in assessment, consultation, and intervention with a variety of pediatric populations in the core clinical training settings. Core clinical training settings include testing (psychological testing through MWPH Outpatient Center), outpatient therapy (through MWPH Outpatient Center, Feeding Day Treatment Program, and Childhood Obesity Program), consultation (through inpatient and day treatment programs), and inpatient intervention (through inpatient Consultation and Liaison Program).
The second element of the core training program is attendance and participation in the required seminars and rounds. The final core element of the program is supervision. This includes at least four hours of supervision a week, at least two of which are direct one-to-one supervision. The remainder of the intern’s training time is devoted to elective experiences. Electives may include a mixture of clinical and research activities, chosen by the intern, under the supervision of a faculty psychologist at MWPH.