The Clinical Psychology Internship Program at Loma Linda University School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry offers an integrated training that aims to do the following:
- Foster the development of a primary professional identity as a psychologist, which is congruent with LLU's commitment to "whole-person care," namely a bio-psycho-social-spiritual perspective in clinical care. Emphasis is placed on the scientific underpinnings of the practice of psychology, with special attention given to the biological, social, cultural, and spiritual factors present in clinical situations.
- Train entry-level generalist psychologists who have been exposed to various clinical contexts in which professional psychologists work. We believe a "generalist" should develop core competencies in clinical psychology, and aim to train interns to function competently in psychological assessment and diagnosis, psychological intervention, supervision, professional consultation, and program evaluation/development.
- Expand and extend basic assessment and intervention techniques to meet the needs of diverse settings and problems. In addition to developing "generalist" skills, the program provides the opportunity for each intern to gain some experience in a particular elective concentration.
Infused in all training experiences and rotations are elements of training and professional development which we consider foundational, including enhancing interns’ ability to make sound and scientifically informed professional judgments, to understand and apply professional laws and ethics in a variety of clinical contexts, deepening their appreciation of individual and cultural diversity and the impact of difference and diversity on people’s lives, and developing interpersonal and professional collaborations. We emphasize direct experience with patients at various stages of development, with a wide breadth of presentations and demographic characteristics, in varied contexts and service delivery systems (i.e., outpatient mental health, psychiatric inpatient, medical setting), and employing a variety of modalities or approaches, which we believe prepares interns to enter comfortably into a range of professional roles and settings. Our interns develop core competencies in the general areas of clinical psychology, including assessment and diagnosis, psychological intervention, supervision, professional consultation, and program evaluation/development. Each intern gains experience in a psychiatric setting (being assigned to one of the following units: eating disorders, adolescent partial hospitalization, adult partial hospitalization, adult inpatient, and geropsychology/neuropsychology), as well as in a medical setting focused on health psychology (in specialty settings such as psycho-cardiology, bariatric surgery, diabetes specialty clinic, women’s health, palliative care, smoking cessation). These experiences are meant to serve as a springboard for future professional and clinical development. These placements are assigned based on interns' prior experience and professional aspirations, and provide interns with the opportunity to begin to flexibly transfer and apply the foundational and general skills to working with a range of patients, and across a range of settings.
The parent organization to the internship program, Loma Linda University, has identified its motto as “To Make Man Whole.” As a religiously affiliated organization, it seeks to be congruent with its heritage by translating the ideal of “wholeness” into a bio-psycho-social-spiritually integrated approach to health care. The internship program seeks to assist the intern in the development of competencies in all areas of cultural diversity, and in addition, provide opportunities for more focused theoretical, scientific, and clinical explorations in the area of religion and spirituality as this may pertain to emotional health. The approach is “patient-centered,” in that neither the religion of the parent organization, nor the intern’s, has a central consideration, but the patient’s. This approach is founded on cumulative and significant scientific evidence for the consideration of religion and spirituality as a factor in emotional health, both as a strength and as a source of distress.
Program Structure
Full-Time Predoctoral Position |
Training Period: September 1st- August 31st * Please note, we require your attendance two weeks in advance to your start date for onboarding orientations/trainings. |
Workdays: Monday - Friday |
12-month internship and a minimum of 2,000 hours required for completion. |