Tips for Students Seeking
Internships
Questions you might be asked during an interview
- Why are you interested in this site?
- Rotations of interest.
- Have you worked with client populations similar to those
seen here?
- Status and nature of dissertation (including an explanation
of your research).
- Discussion of a clinical case (past, current, negative
outcome, positive outcome, or hypothetical, i.e., the faculty
may read a client's history to you and ask that you come
up with a case conceptualization, including diagnoses, assessment
instruments that you would use, the treatment strategies
(and, of course, your rationale).
- Types of clients worked with in therapy
- Types of clients seen in assessment
- Strengths in therapy
- Weaknesses in therapy
- Specialized skills
- What skills/attributes do you bring to the internship?
- Description of self as an individual
- What qualities are characteristic of a good clinical
psychologist (or supervisor)?
- Role of the psychologist in a multidisciplinary team
- Cultural awareness and any experience working with diverse
populations.
- Describe your experience with psychodynamic psychotherapy.
- Books or articles read recently
- What group therapy experience(s) have you had?
- Cotherapy experience.
- What do you like/dislike about leading groups?
- What Inpatient experience(s) have you had?
- Experience with child therapy.
- What psychological tests are you familiar with?
- Collaboration with other professionals
- Which styles of supervision facilitate or inhibit your
learning? -- what do you look for in a supervisor?
- Rewarding supervision experience
- Special populations
- Areas of interest not addressed at this internship
- Theoretical orientation
- Primary training goals during internship
- Areas would like to improve on
- Assessment areas that need to work on or further training
- Experience with formal and informal consultations
- How do you describe your therapeutic style?
- Experience with workshops
- What books/articles have inspired you lately?
- What are some of your personal and interpersonal/professional
strengths and weaknesses.
- Describe your clinical strengths as a therapist, diagnostician,
consultant, and member of a team.
- How does you theoretical orientation influence your clinical
work?
- What are your research goals and interests?
- What do you plan to do with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology?
- Assessment questions (e.g., what do you think of the
MMPI? The MCMI?).
Some questions you might ask of the internship
- What career paths do your interns typically take?
- How many go on to do post-docs with you? Is that
a viable option for interns?
- How many hours of individual and group supervision is
provided each week? Is there a difference in the quantity
or quality of supervision across the rotations?
- Do you have assessment scoring and interpretation programs
available on computer? Is there any restrictions on using
them?
- Are most of the seminars and other educational opportunities
held on site, or are there special arrangements for interns
to attend field trips and other didactics?
- How are cases and groups assigned? Do interns have
input in assignments?
- Do interns typically get the rotations they request?
- Do you have some names of past interns that I could contact
regarding their experience?
- What opportunities are there for learning different assessment
instruments and what is expected that I know already?
- Typically, how many hours do interns work per week?
How many clients are seen in a week?
- What specific research opportunities are there?
(if not already known - What time is allocated for research?
Is there money for conferences? Are there opportunities
to collaborate with internship faculty? Have previous
interns pursued these options?
- Which schools do interns usually come from?
- Can you tell me about the ___________ rotation?
- Are there opportunities to work with ___________ populations?
- What other types of treatment modalities are taught?
- In what ways have interns been involved in research?
what opportunities are available?
- Do interns have access to the library? Computers?
- Email? what is the office space like for interns?
Do interns keep the same office for the full year?
- Are there opportunities to work informally with faculty
outside of my official rotations?
- Are there opportunities for training in supervising others?
- What is your style and method of supervision?
- What types of assessment are taught?
- How and when are rotations assigned to interns?
- What types of cases will I be working with?
- Types of seminars and educational opportunities?
- If not known, how many internships positions are available?
- Salary, other benefits, etc.
- Is funding (and/or time off) available for travel to
conferences?
- How are supervisors assigned?
- What kinds of activities would I be involved in each
week?
- How would you describe the relationship between staff
and interns?
- Are there any changes from what was described in the
application package (or published in the brochure)? [this
question has become increasingly important, given the restructuring
within hospital systems].
- Have past interns found jobs? Where?
- How many individuals are you interviewing?
- What do you think are the strengths and limitations of
this program?
Questions that you might ask of interns presently in the
program
- Do you have your own office? Is there good access
to computers and email?
- How many hours per week do you typically work at this
site?
- How many assessments do you conduct during the year?
- Are supervisors generally accessible?
- Do you have any regrets about accepting this position?
- What is the cost of living in this area?
- What is a typical day like for you?
- Which rotations have you found most rewarding?
- Does the site provide everything they promise?
- How are interns treated by staff?
1999-05-25
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