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Selection Process

Psychology Doctoral Internship

Intern Positions

There are two psychology internship openings for the training year. We offer two tracks: one in Pediatric Psychology with an emphasis on consultation/liaison, and the other in Pediatric Neuropsychology. Both interns will receive training in assessment, working with outpatient medical clinics, and outpatient therapy.

Training Period

The psychology internship begins the first week of July and ends the first week of July the following year.

Initial Screening

We will review the completed application and all materials. This includes assessing how well our program meets your needs and how your background and experience fit with our program.

By December 15, you will receive an email:

  • requesting you contact us to schedule an interview, or
  • informing you that you are no longer under consideration

Eligibility

To qualify, applicants must come from APA-accredited programs. In addition, they should have:

  • Completed at least four years of graduate school in psychology
  • Three years post-bachelor, supervised clinical experience
  • Two years post-bachelor supervised experience with children, adolescents and families
  • Completed all doctoral coursework and all qualifying and comprehensive exams before the start internship.
  • Passed the proposal stage for doctoral dissertation.
  • For the Pediatric Psychology Track: 
    • Completed a minimum of 400 hours of supervised clinical experience, which includes practice in child, adolescent, and family therapy. 
    • Completed a minimum of 100 hours of psychological assessment and testing. 
  • For the Pediatric Neuropsychology track: 
    • Completed a minimum of 350 hours of assessment experience. 
    • Preference will be given to those who have completed 300 hours of intervention experience, which includes practice in child, adolescent, and family therapy. 

Selection criteria include many other areas. 

Applicants are evaluated for:

  • Interests and goals appropriate to our internship program 
  • Emotional maturity and stability
  • Appropriate interpersonal skills
  • Skill in translating theory into integrated practice
  • Sound theoretical and academic foundation for effective clinical work
  • Demonstrated sensitivity to and commitment to working with multicultural and diversity issues. 

Reference Checks

We may call some of your references for additional information during December, January and February.

Background Check/ Drug Screen

Phoenix Children’s Hospital requires successful completion of a standard background check, a 12-panel drug screen (including marijuana) and TB Test as part of the new hire onboarding. A positive test for marijuana, even with a medical marijuana card, will prevent hiring or result in termination. 

Criminal or other concerning history identified in a background check will be reviewed by the Training Committee, the Graduate Medical Education Committee and, if applicable, PCH Compliance, on a case-by-case basis to determine if there are mitigating factors that warrant proceeding with the onboarding process. PCH follows all applicable federal and state laws, including the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in conducting any background screening.

  • Full vaccination for COVID-19, among other diseases, is a condition of employment.

Final Decision Making

Each applicant's strengths and weaknesses will be considered to determine if the internship at Phoenix Children’s is a good match. Applicants should consider if our hospital is a good fit for their training needs and professional direction. Consider talking with your advisor for help in the process. 

Match Day

We are hopeful that everyone we interviewed will be placed in the setting they want, and we are excited to find out who our interns are for the training year.

We will contact our matched applicants by telephone after the noon (EST) deadline on Match Day, in accordance with APPIC Guidelines. Within 72 hours, we will send matched applicants confirmation of their appointments.

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