Counseling & Psychological Services

Internship in Health Service Psychology

University of California, Riverside
APPIC Member #1726

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is pleased to offer an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited Internship in Health Service Psychology. 

Inquiries regarding the accreditation status of our internship training program may be directed to:

Click through the following topics for more information.

• Internship Admissions, Support and Initial Placement Data

  Program Disclosures

  Date Program Tables are updated: August 29, 2024
  Program Disclosures
  Does the program or institution require students, trainees, and/or staff (faculty) to comply with specific policies or practices related to the institution’s affiliation or purpose? Such policies or practices may include, but are not limited to, admissions, hiring, retention policies, and/or requirements for completion that express mission and values.							Yes
  							NO
  If yes, provide website link (or content from brochure) where this specific information is presented: N/A

  
  Internship Program Admissions

  This a 12-month, full-time APA accredited internship in Health Service Psychology. The program provides supervised training in individual therapy, group therapy, outreach, consultation, and crisis intervention. The program places a strong emphasis on multicultural sensitivity and diversity awareness.
  Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If yes, indicate how many: yes
  Total Direct Contact Intervention Hours					n/a	Y	Amount:500
  Total Direct Contact Assessment Hours					N	n/a	Amount:0
  Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:
  Degree candidacy in a doctoral program in counseling or clinical psychology (APA accredited); completed 3 years of doctoral coursework (500 APPI intervention hours); dissertation proposal approved by start of internship; comprehensive exams passed by APPIC ranking deadline; must pass criminal background check.

  
  Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year

  Annual Stipend/Salary for Full-time Interns	$49,920
  Annual Stipend/Salary for Half-time Interns	n/a
  Program provides access to medical insurance for intern?	YES	No
  If access to medical insurance is provided:
  Trainee contribution to cost required?	YES	No
  Coverage of family member(s) available?	YES	No
  Coverage of legally married partner available?	YES	No
  Coverage of domestic partner available?	YES	No
  Hours of Annual Paid Personal Time Off (PTO and/or Vacation)	192
  Hours of Annual Paid Sick Leave	96
  In the event of medical conditions and/or family needs that require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/residents in excess of personal time off and sick leave?	YES	n/a
  Other Benefits (please describe): ): Professional development time-off, access to campus resources (ie. University library), and other mid-level benefits. https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/eligibility/index.html 40 hours of Professional Development time-off

  
  Initial Post-Internship Positions

  	2020-2024
  Total # of interns who were in the 3 cohorts	12
  Total # of interns who did not seek employment because they returned to their doctoral program/are completing doctoral degree	1
  	PD	EP
  Academic Teaching	0	0
  Community mental health center	0	0
  Consortium	0	0
  University counseling center	3	2
  Hospital/Medical Center	2	0
  Veterans Affairs Medical Center	0	0
  Academic health center	0	0
  Psychiatric Facility	0	0
  Correctional facility	0	0
  Health Maintenance Organization	0	0
  School District/System	0	0
  Independent practice setting	1	2
  Other	0	1

• Qualifications
  • Degree candidacy in a doctoral program in counseling or clinical psychology (APA accredited).
  • Completed three years of doctoral coursework; minimum 500 APPI intervention hours.
  • Dissertation proposal approved by start of internship.
  • Comprehensive exams passed by APPIC ranking deadline.
  • In adherence to UC policy, matched applicants must be able to pass a criminal background check. The background check will be conducted after the match in accordance with the California Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Applicants who match to our program but do not successfully pass this background check will be dismissed from the internship (see APPIC Match Policy 6b)."

  Interns are selected based on their solid grasp of psychological theory, knowledge and applied experience. They are expected to have training experiences and goals that emphasize direct service delivery, college student development, multicultural sensitivity and ethical acuity.

• Philosophy

  The program aim is to train interns who can provide generalist practice in college mental health setting, integrate science and practice, demonstrate commitment to multicultural competency and represent the field of psychology through ethical and professional behavior. The program aim and training activities support the development of the nine profession wide competencies listed below;

  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.

  The guiding principle of our training is that learning is a developmental process that is dependent on support, challenge, feedback, and role modeling. The internship is a crucial experience where the intern transitions from trainee identity to professional psychologist identity capable of providing independent and competent professional level of service. Thus, high importance is placed on providing a setting where an intern’s professional identity is explored and further developed. Another principle of the program emphasizes the importance of applying existing knowledge and skills to clinical situations. Learning is seen as continual, and graded in complexity through clinical practice during the internship year. Philosophically, we view that the intern's development occurs in a matrix of didactic and experiential activities.  Further, the Training Program supports a "mentorship" philosophy that facilitates maximum trainee interactions with staff members of various disciplines through a variety of clinical, training, and outreach/consultative activities.

  Our training aim is put into action through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary training plan that recognizes the intern's professional as well as personal development. Initially, the program provides more structure in intern training and experiences, encouraging more autonomous intern functioning as training progresses. Moreover, the program recognizes an intern's professional development as a continuing process through the timing of clinical seminars, assignment of increasingly challenging client issues, and a developmental approach to supervision.

  An awareness of and respect for differences among professionals, as well as appreciation for client diversity, rounds out the overall training philosophy and value of the program. Diversity and inclusion are core values that are shared in the mission statements of CaPS, Student Affairs division and the University of California, Riverside. These core values are interweaved throughout the training program.

• Program Aims and Competencies

  The doctoral internship expects interns to develop intermediate to advanced competencies by the end of the year in the following areas; 1) research, 2) ethical and legal standards, 3) individual and cultural diversity, 4) professional values and attitudes, 5) communication and interpersonal skills, 6) assessment, 7) intervention, 8) supervision, and 9) consultation and interprofessional/interdisciplinary skills.

  Training Aims

  1: Demonstrate a broad range of clinical skills required for the practice of health service psychology

  • Client assessment, conceptualization and treatment planning
  • Develop competency in counseling and psychotherapy practices that is based on empirical research
  • Client Risk Management/Crisis intervention
  • Group Counseling

  2: Demonstrate competency in outreach and consultation

  • Develop, deliver and evaluate outreach programs
  • Represent the counseling center through consultation
  • Cultivate knowledge of consultation models/theories
  • Integrate diversity considerations in one’s consultation/outreach activities
  • Establish and maintain working relationships with other disciplines and stakeholders

  3. Demonstrate competence in integrating scientific knowledge and practice

  • Develop knowledge and understanding of various theories of supervision
  • Evaluate and disseminate scholarly literature regarding the practice of health psychology
  • Demonstrate application of research in one's practice

  4: Demonstrate multicultural competency, skills, awareness, and values

  • Engage in ongoing self-assessment/awareness (e.g one’s personal/cultural values, experiences, and biases
  • Understand the current theoretical research and literature on how to manage diversity in one’s professional role
  • Incorporate the diversity knowledge and understanding of one’s personal differences in their role as a mental health professional

  5: Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior necessary for the practice of health service psychology

  • Ethical decision making based on legal/ethical guidelines
  • Cultivate a professional identity as a psychologist
  • Illustrate professional  behavior and judgment
  • Approach to supervision and role as an intern
  • Understand personal qualities and impact of self on others in a professional and collegial setting 
• Experiential Learning Activities
  • Intakes: Interns complete 3-5 intakes each week. Intakes are for screening, diagnostic and informational purposes. Interns are expected to assess current problem and risk features, obtain relevant history, and formulate a treatment plan and recommendations. Interns present their intakes at our weekly treatment planning and referral meeting.
     
  • Individual therapy: Interns spend approximately one-third of their time conducting individual counseling. The center utilizes a brief therapy model. Psychology interns may carry up to two long-term clients.
     
  • Crisis assessment and consultation: Interns receive training in risk assessment, consultation and crisis intervention protocols. Each intern is scheduled 4 hours of urgent walk-in coverage each week.
     
  • Group therapy: The center offers a variety of therapy and support groups, as well as theme-oriented groups. Interns will have opportunities to co-lead groups with a senior staff member, and/or serve as group process observer.
     
  • Outreach and consultation: Outreach and consultation services to the university community are considered a highly significant aspect of a trainee's work. Interns will meet with the training director and outreach coordinator to discuss expectations and set learning goals for this portion of the training program. The majority of outreach work involves presentations. Evening and weekend outreach is often necessary. Interns are required to complete a minimum of 12 outreach presentation by the end of internship. Interns also develop and deliver an "innovative outreach project" with a social justice focus to the campus community. A written proposal is shared with the training director at the end of fall quarter and the implementation of the project occurs in winter quart
     
  • Psychological Testing: Psychological testing is often integrated into the therapy process itself. Many tests are available, including the MCCI, MMPI-II, MCMI, 16-PF, among others. Interns are required to complete psychological testing with a minimum of one client during the year.   
• Training Activities

  Clinical/Diversity Seminars: Interns participate in a two hour didactic training on a weekly basis. Seminars cover clinical issues, interventions, diversity, and/or professional/legal/ethical issues. The weekly didactic training topics will rotate from clinical to diversity topics through the internship year. In addition, presenters may use power points, handouts, assigned readings, and or experiential activities. Seminar presenters may be a clinical staff member or other mental health professionals outside of CaPS. Some sample topics include; psychology of immigration, supervision modules, avoiding ableism in your therapy room and beyond, family systems with alcoholism and addiction, racial trauma, loss and grief. 

  Case Conference with Psychiatrist: Interns have a one hour case conference meeting once a quarter with the Student Health Services Lead Psychiatrist to discuss clinical cases. This is an opportunity for trainees to consult with the psychiatrist about medication support for mental health concerns as well as gain a new perspective about mental health issues through a medical model. 

  Small Group Case Conference: Each trainee will be assigned to one of three small group case conferences where they have the opportunity to consult about their cases with other licensed staff but also to observe other supervisors informally present their cases. The case conference meets every two weeks.

  Individual Supervision: Interns receive two hours of face-to-face individual supervision each week. Supervision of all intern work is structured in accordance to California Board of Psychology regulations, which stipulates that supervision provides for 10% of time worked each week. As this is a full-time, 40 hour per week appointment, interns will receive a minimum of 4 hours of supervision each week (this includes 2 hours minimum of individual supervision, and 2 hours of group supervision). All supervision is provided by licensed clinical staff and focuses on psychological services delivered by the intern, as well as on intern professional development. Additional supervision is arranged for psychological testing and outreach. Individual supervisors are assigned in September by the training director. The training director will provide supervision in the interim during the month of August.

  Case Management/Urgent Services Group Supervision: The purpose of this supervision is for interns to debrief and consult about students seen on urgent services. In addition, trainees typically use this time to gain additional support in managing cases with high acuity and/or recent psychiatric hospitalization. Interns will also learn about assessment, intervention, and case management strategies during supervision. The group meets one hour every week.

  Multicultural/Diversity Group Supervision: Interns meet with a group supervisor for one hour once a week and discuss cases that highlight diversity issues. At the heart of the diversity group supervision is the opportunity for trainees to reflect on their own bias, prejudices and other reactions to clients they work with. The supervisor works to facilitate a safe environment that allows for openness and dialogue. 

  Supervision of Group Counseling: Interns are required to co-facilitate a group during their internship year. During the trainee’s co-facilitation of a group with a licensed staff, it is required that the licensed staff and trainee meet for 30 minutes after the group to discuss the group process. This supervision provides the trainee the opportunity to ask questions and reflect on their experiences. Furthermore, the supervisor will provide informal feedback during supervision as well as formal feedback to the individual supervisors during the mid-year and end of the year evaluations.

  Staff Meetings: CaPS have bimonthly staff meetings to discuss any center related concerns or issues. Also, the director will use the time to check in with staff and provide or share information regarding CaPS operation and campus updates. This meeting provides trainees the opportunity to interact with all staff members in a professional manner and as a member of the staff in addressing issues that concern the center and university. 

  Case Management Time: Peer consultation, documentation and reflective case management is an important value and practice for establishing and maintaining individual caseloads (e.g following up on urgent services clients, referrals, no shows) depending on need. All staff including interns have 5 hours of case management time where they can document clinical services, process any countertransference reactions alone or with another staff, and/or research best practices related to their current caseload. For example, interns may use this time to copy psychoeducational materials for clients or research the grief support groups nearby. 

  Meetings with the Training Director: Interns meet with the training director one hour biweekly in the fall quarter and monthly for the remainder of the internship. This meeting addresses any administrative matters related to the training program and/or to address other concerns regarding intern professional development.

  Meetings with the Director: Interns will meet with the CaPS Director once a quarter to address any businesses related to the Counseling Center and university.

  Intern support group: Interns meet together one hour a week for peer support and discussion of issues that relate to the internship.

  Literature Review:  Interns will complete a literature review and present to the supervisory team at the end of Fall quarter. Interns will demonstrate their ability to critically appraise scientific knowledge and disseminate the information to other professionals during a one-hour presentation. 

  • Self-selected topic that relates to UCR, and/or college mental health-need approval from training director
  • Minimum of 5-7 articles (80% of the articles must be within the past 10 years)
  • PowerPoint or Google slide presentation

  Monthly Diversity Brown Bag:  Interns will participate in a monthly brown bag with other clinicians to discuss articles that relates to diversity and inclusion. Interns will be provided with nine articles before Fall quarter, and it is expected they read the article prior to the brown bag. 

  Dissertation/Doctoral Project:  Interns are invited to share their dissertation/doctoral project to the clinical staff during the last month of internship. Interns are highly encouraged to use their professional development time and reach out any licensed psychologist on staff for support and guidance.  

• Service Responsibilities

  Professional involvement takes place throughout all internship activities. This includes, but is not limited to, clinical services, outreach and consultation services, training seminars, staff meetings and administrative tasks. In addition, interns audio record or videotape all intake and therapy sessions.
  
  The following list outlines the amount of time each week, on average, an intern devotes to specific services and training activities.

  • Intakes: 3 - 5 hours
  • Individual Therapy: 14-16  hours
  • Urgent services: 2-4 hours
  • Group Therapy: Up to 2 hours
  • Outreach and Consultation: Up to 2 hours
  • Individual Supervision: 2 hours
  • Group Supervision: 2 hours
  • Group Therapy Supervision: 0.5 hour (if facilitating a group)
  • Training Seminars: 2 hours
  • Small group case conference:  1 hour
  • Staff, administrative meetings: 1-2 hours
  • Intern Support Time: 1 hour
  • Testing, Report Writing: Variable
  • Case management 5 hours
• Licensure Hour

  The 2025-2026 health service psychology internship at UCR is a full-time (40 hours per week), 12-month internship program. Trainees must reach a minimum of 1750 SPE hours by the end of the 12-month internship program in order to graduate from internship. In addition, trainees are responsible to ensure they meet the minimum required number of hours for their home program and respective state licensing board. The 2025-2026 internship begins on August 1, 2025.

• Stipend

  The 12-month funded internship positions will carry an annual salary of $49,920. Interns accrue vacation and sick leave and have 40-hours of professional development time-off.  Mid-level university benefits are provided (e.g., access to the library).

  Also, each intern has a private office  equipped with a computer, printer, and telephone. Trainees  have access to email and the internet. Each intern office has a desk, comfortable chairs, an end table, bookcase, and lamp. Each office is also equipped with Logitech Webcams for supervision purposes. Administrative support staff assists in scheduling appointments, filing, and other office-related duties.

• How to Apply

  Applications are accepted and reviewed via an online application process (See the APPIC website for more details). Please note that we do not offer a part-time or half-time internship. The internship adheres to APPIC Guidelines, and abides by the policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any rank-related information from any intern applicant in our selection process. Applicants to our program must be enrolled in the national internship matching program. The applicant agreement form and materials describing the Internship Matching Program can be found by contacting:

  National Matching Service, Inc.
  595 Bay Street Suite 301, Box 29
  Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G2C2
  Phone: (416) 977-3432 
  Fax: (416) 977-5020

• Evaluation Procedures

  The internship program views evaluation as a collaborative and interactive process designed to assess the strengths and limitations of both the intern and the training program. During initial orientation, interns complete written self-assessments of their skills, which are discussed with their supervisors and linked to goal setting. Intern progress is evaluated biannually by their supervisors and is provided in written and oral format. The training director forwards a copy of these evaluations and a summary progress letter to the academic home program. All evaluations of intern progress are jointly determined via input from supervisors, training director, Counseling and Psychological Services director, and relevant licensed clinical staff.

  To progress satisfactorily through the doctoral internship training program, on the mid-year evaluation, interns must receive 60% of scores at or above the score of "3" or greater. Should an intern fall below this standard, a remediation plan will be implemented. Any score of "1" (indicating performance "unsatisfactory") on any competency area will lead to the immediate implementation of a remediation plan, and be the focus of the mid-year evaluation meeting with the intern and his/her/their supervisors and training director. To successfully complete the doctoral internship training program, on the final intern evaluation, interns must receive a score of "3" or greater on all the elements in the evaluation.

  Interns will also have opportunities to evaluate our internship program. Feedback from interns is a crucial factor in monitoring and enhancing the quality of our training program. Interns complete biannual evaluations of their supervisors, fill out quarterly evaluations of clinical seminars, and evaluate the training program at the end of internship. However, interns are strongly encouraged to provide ongoing feedback to the training director or their supervisors should there been concerns about their training experience.

  Policy on Evaluations and Training Contracts: Internship evaluations are completed twice yearly using both Likert-scale and qualitative items. Our in-house evaluations are competency based and reflect benchmarks established by the profession. Counseling and Psychological Services staff do not complete additional departmental evaluations or sign/enter into training contracts. Please check with your DCT to see if you are eligible to apply to our program.

• Application

  We welcome and encourage applications from diverse individuals. Please see the APPIC website for the online application process. We will not accept any paper materials. Applicants should submit an APPI application and all required documents to APPIC online. Any file with missing application materials will not be reviewed by the Selection Committee. A complete application for our internship program includes the following standard materials:

  • Completed AAPI
  • Curriculum vita
  • Cover letter outlining how your training goals, experience, and qualifications fit with our internship
  • Three letters of recommendation. At least two should be from clinical supervisors. Letters should address strengths and areas for growth.
  • Graduate school transcripts
  • Completed applications must be received by Nov. 11, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. We cannot accept late or incomplete applications.
  • APPIC Match Code: 172612

  Please direct all materials and questions to:

  Jennifer Hung, Psy.D
  Training Director/Assistant Director
  Counseling and Psychological Services
  University of California, Riverside
  Riverside, CA 92521
  Phone: (951) 827-5531
  Email: jennifer.hung@ucr.edu

• Selection Process

  We will notify all invited candidates for either a zoom interview or phone interview by December  13,  2024. All interviews will be scheduled through the doodle poll website that will be emailed out to prospective interviewees. All interviews will take place in the first full week of January and last about 45 minutes. The training director,  3-4 senior staff, and the current intern group will be on the interview panel. 

  We look for applicants who demonstrate a good fit between their training goals and our internship. All applicant data are evaluated using the following criteria: interest and training goals of the applicant appropriate to the internship program; ethical judgment and conduct; strong theoretical and academic foundation for effective clinical intervention, and demonstrated sensitivity to diversity and multicultural issues. Rankings for preferred applicants are submitted to the National Matching Service in accordance with APPIC guidelines, deadlines, and recommendations.

  Counseling and Psychological Services adheres to the University's Personnel Policies for Staff Members, Policy 12 on Nondiscrimination in Employment. Furthermore, Counseling and Psychological Services does not discriminate against clients or staff on the basis of race; color; religion; marital status; national origin; ancestry; sex; sexual orientation; physical or mental handicap; a medical condition; status as a veteran or disabled veteran or citizenship.
   

• 2024-2025 Psychology Interns

  Elise Yin Chun Chan-Fuller Theological Seminary

  Saerom Nam-Biola University Rosemead School of Psychology

  Grace Eunhye Pang-Biola University Rosemead School of Psychology

   

   

• About UC Riverside

  The University of California, Riverside is located approximately 60 miles east of Los Angeles, driving distance to most of Southern California. Enrollment at UCR during Fall quarter 2021 was about 26,847  with 22,866 undergraduate and  3981 graduate students. In 2021, approximately  12.8% of undergraduate UCR students identified as White, followed by  31.5% Asian Pacific Islander,  37.8% Chicano and Latino, and 2.9% African American. Also,  54.7% of students identified as First Generation College Student. 

  Find out more about UCR.

• About UC Riverside Diversity

  The University of California, Riverside recognizes the importance of a diverse student body and making appropriate services available for our students. Some highlights of our commitment to diversity include UCR being listed in the top ten colleges for LGBTQ resources and being one of the five most diverse research universities in the United States.

  UCR values center on creating a culture of open inquiry, pluralism, mutual respect and engagement. The educational benefit of diversity for students, faculty, and staff has long been recognized by UCR's Chancellor, who created the Associate Vice Chancellor, Diversity, Excellence and Equity (AVCDEE). The AVCDEE has created a 2014-2015 affirmative action plan for equal employment opportunities and nondiscrimination for women and minorities, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. In addition, there are many campus-wide initiatives that promote diversity as a means to academic excellence, multicultural understanding and professional competence.  According to UCR's Associate Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Excellence and Equity UCR has made a significant increase in both women and minority academic staff, plus steady progress in diversifying administrative staff.

• About Counseling and Psychological Services

  Counseling and Psychological Services offers programs and services to assist UC Riverside students in psychosocial adjustment and emotional well-being. The Center places strong emphasis on identifying and assisting distressed students, consultation, and outreach. It is dedicated to creating a positive, healthy atmosphere for undergraduate and graduate students, promoting academic, career, personal and social development, and supporting a culturally diverse campus.

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