Doctoral Internship Overview

The American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (Fall 2025) data suggests significant reported mental health concerns (e.g., anxiety 37.4%, depression 28.3%, Stress 76%) by both undergraduates and graduate students. This survey goes on to show over 35% percent of all university students (undergraduates and graduates/professionals have sought treatment in their current campus health centers in the last 12 months.). These statistics contribute to the decision to co-locate mental and medical health services. Out of necessity, a public mental health model has evolved at MSU and continues to develop to meet the increasing needs of a growing, diverse campus population.

We are a training program that emphasizes interns trained as generalists in Health Service Psychology. At the same time, we are unique in that we offer an Acute Care, Triage, and Stabilization (ACTS) concentration and a Psychological Assessment concentration, all within a multicultural context to all interns who train at our site. These concentrations are not formal rotations, although they are rotated between trainees during the training year. These areas of concentration represent a subsection of the clinical work that is completed both within and alongside the traditional university-based mental health clinical services.

The MSU CAPS Acute Care, Triage, and Stabilization (ACTS) Concentration is a multi-part training experience designed to facilitate the development of well-rounded Health Service Psychologists. During three to four months of your ACTS IMH Concentration, you will have the opportunity to join the Eating Disorder Treatment Team, provide group psychotherapy to students with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI), and participate in a training seminar that focuses on acute and elevated needs within a collegiate mental health environment . In addition, you will consult with interdisciplinary staff (e.g., psychiatry, nursing, etc) as part of the Eating Disorder Treatment Team.

The Acute Care, Stabilization, and Triage (ACTS) concentration represents a collection of competencies that are increasingly important in Health Service Psychology and emphasize integrated health care skills that are valuable in job acquisition and professional promotion.

The MSU CAPS Psychological Assessment concentration focuses on training interns in providing both comprehensive and targeted assessments utilizing evidence-based best practices and Multicultural Assessment Validity. During the training year, doctoral interns are expected to complete no less than two integrated psychological assessment reports within the year.

Training Program Goals:

1. Develop proficiency in individual and group counseling within an integrated mental health system.

• Assess client concerns and develop a diagnosis based on DSM criteria, including cultural formulations.
• Demonstrate the ability to create integrative evidence-based treatment plans based on psychological measures, clinical impressions, and available resources.
• Understand and apply a time-limited therapy model.
• Demonstrate the ability to work within an inter-professional team.
• Demonstrate efficacy as a group leader.
• Demonstrate knowledge and adherence to ethical principles and legal mandates.
   

2. Develop proficiency in providing assessment services within a multicultural context.

• Demonstrate the ability to elicit and integrate relevant cultural information in assessment reports and mood disorder evaluations.
• Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and awareness in the choice of appropriate assessment tools for culturally distinct groups.
• Demonstrate knowledge of relevant APA treatment guidelines, APA code of conduct and other legal mandates related to testing and assessment.
• Demonstrate awareness of your own worldview and how it impacts the assessment process.

3. Develop proficiency in providing clinical supervision.

• Demonstrate awareness of your own values, beliefs, and biases; including how those variables impact the supervisory relationship.
• Gain knowledge of relevant literature regarding methods used to provide clinical supervision within a time-limited/brief therapy framework.
• Demonstrate awareness of your own supervisory preferences, theoretical orientation and power needs within the supervisory dyad and articulate how these factors impact the supervisory process.
• Demonstrate the capacity to provide ethically grounded, developmentally appropriate supervision to a junior trainee.

4. Develop proficiency in outreach and program evaluation (e.g., consultation with Residence Education staff - liaison, crisis debriefing psycho-educational programming within MSU neighborhoods).

• Actively seek out multicultural experiences while providing community interventions or engagements.
• Gain knowledge and community resources.
• Demonstrate skills in designing interventions, developing and delivering services within a community setting and writing program evaluation.

Core training seminars are:

• Professional Practice
  • Emphasis on understanding self as a developing psychologist
  • Developing an understanding of current issues in the field
  • Career trajectory and development
• Supervision of Supervision Seminar
  • Supervision of Supervision
    • Theory and Practice
    • Supervisor Development
      • Case Management
      • Group Sup– developing identity as a supervisor
  • Professional Practice
• Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology
  • Evidence-Based Practice
    • Emphasis on application of Evidence based practices and techniques as well as integration within a multicultural framework.
• Cultural Humility and Racial Responsiveness Seminar (CHARRS)
  • Emphasis on multiple ways of knowing, reflective practice and community engagement, as well as exploring the intersections of factors that affect treatment access, process and outcome.
  • Group Supervision –developing identity as a health service psychologist serving diverse populations.
• Acute Care, Triage, and Stabilization (ACTS) Seminar
  • Develop skills necessary to identify, assess and manage risk with students in a collegiate mental health setting

o   Develop the skills in providing evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention (e.g., individual and/or DBT) to students with higher risk needs.

• Psychological Assessment Seminar
  • Learn best practices in psychological testing and assessment informed by both ethical decision making and multicultural awareness.
  • Focus on learning various formats (e.g., comprehensive, targeted, therapeutic assessment) to provide a diverse array of testing and assessment experiences
  • This seminar involves a group supervision component, where interns are encouraged to talk about and present their cases, discuss test selection, results, conceptualization, and recommendations.
• Advanced Psychotherapy Seminar
  • Participate actively in discussions and training regarding psychotherapy theory, research, and technique.
  • Focus in on trans-theoretical processes to improve therapy relationship and/or psychotherapy outcomes.
  • Group supervision to receive feedback from peers.

Topic-focused presentations during orientation to the internship and staff development training during the academic year offer a foundation and/or exposure to additional clinical and professional issues.

Major areas of evaluation include the APA’s 9 Professional Wide Competencies: 1. Research; 2. Ethical and legal standards; 3.Individual and cultural diversity; 4. Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors; 5. Communication and interpersonal skills; 6. Assessment; 7. Intervention; 8. Supervision; 9. Consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills, and three program specific competencies: 1. Interpersonal – Professional Relationships; 2. Teaching; 3. Community Engagement/Outreach

Training related to ethical and legal issues is woven throughout each core seminar. While the focus is on time-limited treatment, each doctoral intern has the opportunity to work with two longer-term cases. Opportunities exist to work in the areas of disordered eating, emotional regulation, complex trauma, triage/crisis intervention, disability concerns, sexual orientation, couples, and group treatment.