JPS Doctoral Internship in Health Services Psychology

Both tracks within our Health Services Psychology internship program aim to promote high levels of competence among trainees who will be able to provide:

• Accurate assessments and insightful case formulations: Our interns are exposed to the kinds of clinical situations that hone and sharpen a wide range of technical assessment skills -- including effective interviewing, differential diagnoses, and administration/scoring/interpretation of a broad range of assessment tools. Beyond these technical skills, the goal of this primary training experience is to support the development of case formulations that represent a deep and meaningful understanding of those who seek our help.
• Effective interventions: Our interns learn to utilize a variety of brief and longer-term evidence-based interventions to address a broad range of psychological issues, including mood, anxiety, psychological trauma, and somatoform disorders. They work with patients of varied ages, races, ethnicities, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, and SES levels. Intervention outcomes are monitored via intensive individual and group supervision
• Highly valued consultations: Our interns are embedded within psychiatric and non-psychiatric care teams, where they work with physicians and other providers, nurses, and other associated professionals. They provide consultative services to these medical teams, providing feedback for interdisciplinary team care planning.
• Practical, outcomes-based strategies to enhance the delivery of care: Our interns are trained in a variety of strategies and techniques that help better understand and analyze care delivery processes and protocols and validated methods by which to determine how they might be improved. They develop, implement, and evaluate at least one quality improvement project over the course of the internship year and present their findings to hospital administrators and at a local research symposium.

Generalist Clinical Psychology Track Rotation Structure & Training Sites - [MATCH ID = 246811]

Interns in the General Psychology Track will train in three of four possible primary rotations (4 months each) over the course of the 12-month training experience. Interns are matched to rotations based on interests, training, and service needs.

Major and Minor Rotation Training sites:

• Inpatient acute and longer-term inpatient psychiatric units: JPS houses one of the largest inpatient psychiatric services in Texas, including a 100-bed acute psychiatric hospital and another 40-bed facility for patients who require extended inpatient psychiatric care. Within the acute care hospital, 80 beds are reserved for adult patients (ages 18 and older) while the other 16 beds are dedicated to acute crisis inpatient treatment for adolescents (ages 13-17). Our inpatient units run at 98%+ capacity at all times, serving over 5,000 patients per year. Psychology interns on inpatient psychiatric units provide assessment services and treatment recommendations to primary care teams
• Psychiatric Emergency Center: The Psychiatric Emergency Center (“PEC”) is one of the largest dedicated psychiatric emergency services in the country. With an average of nearly 20,000 patient visits a year, those presenting to the PEC are experiencing an acute mental health crisis – often involving psychosis, mania, suicidal ideation or behaviors, or other significant psychiatric events. In this high-acuity setting, psychology interns work with the multidisciplinary PEC team to triage, evaluate, and address patient needs during their worst moments, and then to address the need for follow-up care.
• Consult-Liaison Services: Our health services psychology team also works on the medical floors of JPS’s 582-bed inpatient service, providing health psychology consultations and other supportive services on behalf of the multi-disciplinary specialty teams who care for medically ill inpatients. Psychology interns work with their supervisors to address consultation requests for capacity evaluations, substance- and acute stress-related issues, and a wide variety of other patient management issues across trauma and medical specialty service inpatient units, ICUs, and the medical emergency department.
• Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinics: The JPS outpatient Behavioral Health Services provide care during over 40,000 outpatient medication management, psychotherapy, and psychological assessment patient encounters annually. In addition, five intensive day treatment programs offer both 5-day and 3-day/weekday treatment as "Partial Hospital" and "Intensive Outpatient” programs, respectively. These programs are designed as short-term, structured, group- and individual care programs for: a) individuals transitioning out of inpatient care and back into the community, or b) community-based JPS patients who require higher levels of care beyond usual outpatient management protocols. In the outpatient clinics, psychology interns provide direct patient care within a busy outpatient neuropsychological/psychological assessment service, a robust outpatient psychotherapy service, and as a participating team member in day treatment programs.

Integrated Primary Care (IPC) Psychology Track Rotation Structure & Training Sites [MATCH ID = 246812]

IPC Interns will train in a longitudinal primary rotation for the duration of their 12-month internship, spending the majority of their time (3 days per week), rotating across 3 different primary care teaching clinics where they work as part of interdisciplinary teams within JPS’s primary care and other outpatient specialty clinics.

Major rotation time involves a combination of supervised direct clinical care, supervision of other psychology trainees (onsite practicum students) and medical residents, and consultation services to enhance interdisciplinary coordination of patient care.

IPC Interns also select 2 minor rotations, spending 1 half day (4 hours/week) on minor rotation activities. Minor rotations operate on a half-year (6-month) rotation structure, allowing interns to change minor rotations halfway during the 12-month internship term. Choices of minor rotations will usually include those listed below. However, the availability of minor rotations may be subject to change based on clinic schedule and other internship duties. In addition to the minor rotations listed here, additional IPC Track minor rotation experiences will continue to be developed.

Major Rotation Training sites: As is the case throughout the JPS Health Network, the Department of Family Medicine provides primary care services to diverse patient populations including urban underserved and international/refugee patients and their families throughout the lifespan. Interns function as part of a cohesive interdisciplinary team in a teaching clinic setting, which includes collaboration with professionals from disciplines including Family Medicine, Pulmonology, Oncology, nursing, clinical pharmacy, social work/case management, and medical interpreters (language services). Clinical service within this setting is highly dynamic and requires significant flexibility. Service delivery may include a mix of scheduled visits (consults, follow-ups), and same-day consults during routine medical visits (“warm hand-off” format). Common referrals include anxiety disorders, depression, addiction, somatization, health anxiety, sleep disorders/insomnia, chronic pain, coping with medical conditions, lifestyle counseling/health behavior change, grief and adjustment, relationship and family issues, treatment adherence, and smoking cessation. Interns will see a diverse range of patients across the lifespan (including children and adolescents) and for a broad range of presenting concerns. Interns also have the option to participate in minor rotations in areas of interest including Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Graduate Medical Education, and/or Practice Management & Operations.

• JPS Family Health Center: A primary care clinic based on the JPS Main Hospital campus. A high-volume clinic that serves mostly urban underserved patients. Also serves as a clinical center for resettled refugee patients from a number of international sites.
• Stop Six-Walter B. Barbour Health Center: Named for the historic community that developed along the Fort Worth-Dallas inter-urban train at the 6th rail stop (hence Stop Six). A community-based primary care clinic serving predominantly African American and Hispanic or Latinx patients from the Stop Six community.
• JPS Oncology & Infusion Center (ONC): An outpatient consultation service for cancer patients. We collaborate with patients at every level of the treatment process, which includes adjustment to diagnosis, pain management, lifestyle and behavior change, coping with treatment, remission/survivorship, and some palliative, end-of-life care.

Didactics and Seminars – Both Tracks

A broad range of educational opportunities are available over the course of the training year. Interns from both tracks participate in a variety of focused didactic experiences that include presentations and discussions covering all American Psychological Association Profession Wide Competencies, including evidence-based interventions; evidence-based assessment; ethical and legal standards; individual and cultural diversity; research; professional values and attitudes; communication and interpersonal skills; consultation/interprofessional/interdisciplinary consultation; supervision; and communication. In addition, they attend bi-weekly psychiatry Grand Rounds and monthly Behavioral Health Journal Club and Case Conference discussions. Other specialized seminars or conferences are made available on an individual basis as relevant to each intern's long-range goals.

Positions Available

For the 2024-2025 academic year, two (2) interns will be accepted to the Generalist Clinical Psychology Track, and one (1) intern will be accepted into the Integrated Primary Care Psychology Track (total of 3 interns in this cohort).

Interns are considered full-time, salaried JPS Health Network employees. The 2024-2025 compensation package includes a salary of $35,880 as well as the opportunity to purchase health, vision, and dental insurance. Interns accrue up to four weeks of vacation/sick leave to use as they wish throughout the year, awarded incrementally with each pay period. Individuals from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. The 2024-2025 internship year will run from August 12, 2024, through August 8, 2025.

Pre-Internship Requirements

As stated by APPIC, internship training is at the post-clerkship, post-practicum, and post-externship level and precedes the granting of the doctoral degree. Successful applicants to our program must have completed adequate and appropriate prerequisite training prior to the internship as stipulated by their graduate programs. Specific applicant requirements are as follows:

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens pursuing a doctoral degree in psychology. Internship applicants must supply evidence of completion of formal academic coursework at a degree-granting program in professional applied psychology (clinical, counseling, clinical health/behavioral medicine). They must also supply evidence of previously completed, closely supervised experiential training in professional psychology activities conducted in non-classroom settings.
• The applicant is enrolled in an American or Canadian Clinical, Clinical Health, or Counseling Psychology doctoral program which is eligible for the Match and/or Post-Match Vacancy Services of APPIC.
• The applicant has completed at least three years of graduate academic coursework, including graduate-level coursework in personality theory, psychopathology/diagnosis, psychotherapy, psychological assessment, multicultural psychology, and professional ethics.
• The applicant has also completed closely supervised practical (experiential training) in both psychotherapy and psychological/neuropsychological testing.
• The applicant's dissertation committee has approved a dissertation proposal prior to the start of the internship in August of 2024. Please note that because the internship is a busy year, there is no protected time during the internship for dissertation completion. Our recommendation is that our interns plan to have completed their proposal and – if possible -- data collection and data analyses prior to arrival for internship.
• The applicant must be fluent in reading, writing, and speaking the English language. Applicants who are earning their doctoral degree from a U.S. or foreign home university are assumed to have sufficient English language proficiency for training at JPS if written and oral English language skills are fluent as observed in the application review/interview process. Applicants whose coursework was conducted in a primary language other than English or whose English fluency is questioned during the application review/interview process may be required to demonstrate English language proficiency on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Successful applicants will have achieved an overall score of 87 or higher, with a minimum score of 25 on writing, 24 on speaking, 21 on reading, and 17 on listening.

The 2024-2025 training year application deadline for consideration as a JPS intern is Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. CST.

JPS abides by the APPIC policy that no person at JPS will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant prior to Match. Applicants are considered for positions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, parenting status, disability, or other legally protected status. JPS and the Division of Psychology are committed to providing a safe and welcoming training atmosphere to all.

APPIC Membership

As part of our commitment to providing high-quality training in health services psychology, we maintain membership in the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).

Accreditation

The JPS internship is not currently APA-accredited.

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

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association
750 1st Street NE,
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-336-5979
E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: apa.org/ed/accreditation

Application deadline: Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. CST.

Applications: Applicants to the program will follow the application and match process outlined at www.APPIC.org. Per the APPIC website, any clinical psychology doctoral candidate who is interested in participating in the APPIC match for psychology internship placement may register for the match at the National Matching Services website. APPIC provides the APPIC Application for Psychology Internships (AAPI), a standardized application form for use by students who are applying to internship programs.

In order to be considered as a candidate for our program, all applicants must submit the following before the application deadline:

• AAPI Online Application, found at appic.org
• A cover letter – In your letter, please clearly indicate the training track (General Psychology or Integrated Primary Care Psychology) to which you are applying. Describe your training goals and how the program will help meet those goals.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation
• An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV)
• Graduate transcripts
• Verification of readiness for internship from the Training Director (via the DCT Portal) at the applicant’s home university graduate program.
• For Generalist Clinical Psychology Track Only: Provide the following supplemental materials:
  • One full psychological/neuropsychological test report on an adult patient (18 or older). Before submission, the applicant must redact the document to remove all patient-identifying information, as defined by HIPAA.
  • One sample of other clinical work in the form of a discharge summary or a case report from a psychotherapy case. Before submission, the applicant must redact the document to remove all patient-identifying information, as defined by HIPAA.

Interviews

For the 2024-2025 training year, invitations for interviews will be made on or before December 15, 2023. Only candidates who submit a complete set of application materials will be considered for an interview. Candidate interviews will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays in January 2024 – specifically: January 9, 12, 16, and 19.

Interviews will be offered virtually for the 2024-2025 internship year. Applicants may request an opportunity to visit the site in person and tour the facility with current interns prior to their scheduled interview date.

During interview days, we will provide an overview of the program, interviews with faculty members, time with current interns, and opportunities to ask questions. More information will be sent to candidates with the invitation to interview.

Selection Process

All applications will be screened by the Training Director and Assistant Training Directors, with the assistance of clinical faculty. Those applicants who are selected for an interview will have been reviewed thoroughly by at least three clinical faculty members, taking into consideration past coursework, letters of recommendation and other paperwork, practicum preparation, areas of clinical interest, career plans, internship goals, and fit with our programs. Once interviewed, the Training Director and Assistant Training Directors will utilize feedback from interviewing faculty and current interns in compiling final rankings for the match.

Post-Match Considerations for Interns Accepted to the Program

In accordance with JPS policies and procedures, all applicants who match with the JPS internship program will be required to undergo a background check (conducted by JPS Human Resources) as well as a 10-panel drug screen (administered by JPS Occupational Health).

Any criminal activity, charges, or convictions discovered during the background check may affect the candidate’s eligibility for internship. If the drug screen returns positive results for any of its components, candidates will not be allowed to start the internship. An offer of internship placement may be rescinded based on the results of either the background check or the drug screen. Please note that marijuana is illegal in Texas, so drug screening includes testing for marijuana and related substances. (Note also that CBD oil with trace amounts of marijuana has potential for returning positive results). At this time, prescriptions for medical marijuana are not considered a “pass” on the drug screen. To help inform decisions about applying to the JPS internship, applicants should consider the potential for their background check or drug screen results to cause JPS to rescind an internship offer. For those who do not match, the APPIC Post-Match Vacancy Service provides information on internship positions that are available at the conclusion of the formal match process.

Please direct any additional inquiries to:

Generalist Clinical Track
Brian Duncan, Ph.D.
Assist. Training Director
Division of Psychology
JPS Health Network
601 W. Terrell Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104
BDuncan03@JPSHealth.org

Integrated Primary Care Track
Adam Guck, Ph.D., ABPP
Assist. Training Director
Department of Family Medicine
JPS Health Network
1500 S. Main Street
Fort Worth, TX 76104
AGuck01@JPSHealth.org