Site updated: 9/1/22
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.
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The doctoral internship in professional psychology at Indiana University’s Counseling and Psychological Services is designed for qualified doctoral students whose professional goals include:
The internship prepares students for work in university counseling centers and other outpatient settings.
The internship is a one-year (mid-July to mid-July) training program that combines practical clinical experience with mentorship from experienced practitioners and rigorous didactic training. Over the course of the internship, participants progress from a highly structured and supportive experience into positions of increasing autonomy. The doctoral internship in professional psychology is an independent training program from other (Ph.D. in Psychology and Master of Social Work practica) training programs offered at CAPS.
At CAPS, we do not subscribe to a single theoretical orientation. However, we do draw from interpersonal-psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral perspectives to frame clinical problems and guide treatment.
The Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology has been accredited since 1996 by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the APA Commission on Accreditation at:
Office of Program Consultation and AccreditationThe internship follows the recruiting practices outlined by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). In order to be considered for an internship, candidates must fulfill the following qualifications:
Note: Due to dual role conflicts, anyone who has accessed IU CAPS services, beyond an initial intake, during their doctoral career is not eligible for an internship at IU CAPS.
Indiana University and Indiana University Student Health Center CAPS are committed to being open and accessible to clients, staff, and trainees from all ethnic, racial, and personal backgrounds. CAPS and the internship fully abide by Indiana University’s Non-Discrimination/Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action policy.
Learn how to applyThe internship is designed and administered by the CAPS training committee. Its members include:
This training committee meets regularly to discuss trainees’ progress and address problems as they arise.
The doctoral internship in professional psychology includes these components:
Each week, interns will conduct three or four hour-long sessions for initial intake appointments. Interns typically continue to meet with these clients but may also refer them for other services.
Interns will spend approximately 16 hours a week meeting with individual clients or couples. At the start of the internship, all sessions will be recorded via webcam for review by the intern’s primary supervisor, though this requirement may be relaxed as interns progress through the program. Interns will spend four hours a week providing daytime emergent service for patients in crisis. They will assess students, work with them to manage their crisis, consult via phone or in person with family, friends, or other concerned parties, and collaborate with their supervisors and CAPS psychiatric staff to facilitate hospitalization when needed. Interns are encouraged to consult with colleagues as needed, and senior staff members will be available for backup.
Interns will spend at least three hours a week co-facilitating counseling groups with senior staff. Group counseling sessions typically last 1.5 hours a week and meet for 10 weeks over the course of the academic year. In the latter stages of the internship, interns may be asked to co-facilitate a group with another intern. Group counseling is supervised as follows:
CAPS interns will spend 1.5 hours a week supervising predoctoral psychology practicum clinicians. Each supervisory session is recorded via webcam. All practicum clinician notes are signed off by the intern supervisor and the practicum coordinator. Practicum clinicians also receive one hour of group supervision with the practicum coordinator.
Interns initially “shadow” senior staff in outreach projects of presentations to students and campus groups. As they gain experience, interns will eventually develop outreach projects in line with their own interests and in consultation with the coordinator for consultation and outreach. Each intern is expected to individually facilitate a minimum of three outreach programs per semester, as well as other programs that interns present as a group. Each intern will also co-chair a national screening/awareness day event with a senior staff member.
General: demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with integrating information from the clinical interview; prior treatment history, if available; formal assessment, if available; and formulating a conceptualization of the client, including DSM-5 diagnosis and treatment plan.
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with alliance building, problem definition, symptom reduction, problem amelioration/resolution and termination of psychotherapy with special emphasis on skill development in the areas of interpersonal brief dynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with responding to students in crisis, calming them, consulting appropriately when needed, arranging for appropriate follow-up which might include appointment within a couple of days, psychiatric assessment, involvement with campus police, hospitalization, and/or consultation with parents.
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with:
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with an attitude involving staying abreast of clinical developments, both theoretical and applied, in mental health and related fields over the span of their career.
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with maintaining a working knowledge of APA ethical guidelines and related state law; applying basic ethical principles in clinical practice; consulting appropriately with other professionals; maintaining timely clinical notes and correspondence; keeping a professional demeanor in dress, office enhancements, and in relationship with all clients, CAPS, Health Center, and Indiana University personnel.
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with understanding group process, using group structure and interactions to facilitate change in group members, and facilitating a group culture that is conducive to change in group members in line with their goals.
Demonstrate mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with forming a solid working alliance with the supervisee; creating a safe atmosphere in which the supervisee can expose vulnerabilities as well as strengths; giving helpful feedback.
Mastery at a basic and intermediate skill level, associated with needs assessment, design, implementation/ delivery, and evaluation of outreach programs and consultation efforts.
Each internship cohort will collaborate with CAPS’ Quality–Improvement coordinator to run a brief study on any of a variety of components of the overall function of the counseling center.
Interns are supervised by a licensed psychologist for all individual and couples counseling work. They meet for 2 hours each week with their supervisor to review clinical interviews, webcam recordings of therapy sessions, written reports, and other work related to clinical contact. Interns are expected to notify their supervisor of any emergent issues with their clients, including possible threats to self or others, hospitalizations, or psychosis. Supervisor relationships last for six months. Interns can submit a list of their supervisor preferences among the psychologists available:
CAPS offers three separate yearlong concentrations:
After a thorough orientation to all three concentrations, interns will submit a ranked list of the three options. The training committee will then appoint each intern to one of the concentrations. Because our agency works with many students with a diverse range of presenting concerns, interns will have opportunities to work with clients whose concerns lay outside the scope of assigned concentrations.
Concentrations are supervised conjointly by specialized staff in the area of concentration and by intern’s primary individual licensed psychologist supervisor.
Indiana University recognizes the importance of a diverse student body and of appropriate services for students. The Commission on Multicultural Understanding dates back to 1982 and has led the university's efforts to promote understanding and tolerance within the campus community. More recently, the post of Vice President for Student Development and Diversity and the Office of Academic Support and Diversity were founded as part of a recommitment of the university to selection, recruitment, retention, and graduation of Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, and other underrepresented students. CAPS and the internship program likewise are committed to supporting these goals of the university.
By establishing and developing liaison relationships with campus offices and programs that support the diverse student body, CAPS builds bridges to traditionally underserved populations. Interns can participate in these liaison relationships, expand on current offerings, and develop new ones.
On the Bloomington campus, approximately 9 percent of students identify as African American, Native American, Asian American, or Hispanic. Among our CAPS clientele, nearly 13 percent identify as members of these populations. Approximately 7 percent of Bloomington students are from outside the United States. Approximately 5 percent of CAPS clients are international students.
The annualized salary for psychology interns for 2022–23 is $32,448. Thus far, the interns' salaries have been increased annually. Each intern position is formally titled “Doctoral Intern in Professional Psychology.” Intern positions are full-time (40 hours per week) for 52 weeks. The positions carry with them the benefits listed here and in the APA accreditation Implementing Regulation c-27i.
Interns participate in multidisciplinary team and staff meetings as colleagues on an interdisciplinary staff.
Time for research needs to be discussed with and approved by interns’ supervisors and the Director of Training. Interns may be granted time during periods of low clinical demand, specifically between fall and spring semesters and after spring semester, to pursue the completion of their dissertation or to participate in other research projects.
Limited funding is available to help defray travel and registration expenses for conferences, workshops, or seminars. Educational leave requests are subject to the approval of the Director of Training.
Interns may elect to participate in the university-subsidized health and dental plans and are covered by the university’s group life insurance plan. See Benefits at Indiana University for up-to-date plan information.
The program includes 240 hours of paid time off (sickness and vacation combined) plus university holidays. Time off is subject to the approval of the Director of Training. Use of paid time off during periods of peak training or clinical activity is discouraged. Interns should be aware that states vary in their requirements for the number of internship hours, and utilize paid time off accordingly.
The university contributes an additional 10 percent of the intern’s stipend to a retirement plan. These funds are fully vested to the intern and can be withdrawn (with tax consequences) upon the intern’s completion of the program.
Several features of Counseling and Psychological Services make it a training site that prepares interns to seek careers in a number of settings. These features include:
While the primary focus is on college mental health, interns have exposure to a number of things that could facilitate their moving in other career directions.
Past interns have found postdoc or permanent positions in the following kinds of places:
Each year, CAPS receives 80 to 100 applications for three positions. Because of the high demand, we are looking for applicants whose professional interests align with the needs of our clientele, particularly group psychotherapy, consultation, and outreach, and working in a multidisciplinary setting.
Minimum requirements for internship application include:
Approximately 30 applicants will be invited to participate in phone interviews and to attend a CAPS open house to meet our entire clinical and training staff including our Director of Training and tour the facilities.
You must register with National Matching Services, Inc., to apply for a CAPS internship. There, you can apply to our internship online at the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) portal.
Your application must include:
The IU-CAPS Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology APPIC program code is 128911.
Applications for the 2023–24 academic year must be submitted by midnight November 1, 2022.
APPIC does NOT require its member programs to complete evaluation forms/materials requested by the academic program in addition to those created by the internship program itself.
—From the APPIC Application for Psychology Internships
As an APA-accredited internship, we have demonstrated that our learning objectives and the manner in which we assess them are acceptable by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation. Additional detail about the ten primary goals of our internship, and the manner in which our evaluations are done are available upon emailed request to the Director of Training. Requests to complete additional/supplemental evaluations from students’ home department are redundant and not an appropriate use of our training staff time. Therefore, we will respectfully decline to respond to such requests.
Briefly describe in narrative form important information to assist potential applicants in assessing their likely fit with your program. This description must be consistent with the program’s policies on intern selection and practicum and academic preparation requirements:
Indiana University’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers a 12-month APA accredited Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology. Our internship employs a developmental model to provide interns the experiences and education to become proficient at offering professional-level psychological services to a wide range of clients. Our primary focus is to develop professional psychologists who offer high-level individual therapy and group counseling services. Additionally, we expect our doctoral interns to demonstrate proficiency in providing supervision of professionals-in-training, outreach services, emergent clinical interventions, and consultation. As such, our selection committee is committed to interviewing intern applicants who demonstrate an interest in these core areas. IU CAPS training staff expect our interns to continue developing professional skills and knowledge applicable to a diverse population. We encourage interns to be curious about themselves as agents of change with any therapeutic context and therefore expect interns to explore their own processes as they relate to all clinical interventions. IU CAPS can be a high-paced working environment. Colleagues are always available for consultation and support, but we also expect interns to be responsive and responsible for themselves and their work. We have demonstrated a history of providing supervision, support, and mentoring for interns to thrive in a university counseling center environment. Our internship prepares interns for success in all types of entry-level positions in health service psychology.
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:
Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:
We utilize a complex amalgam of number of adult clinical hours, including number of intakes, individual intervention hours, couples intervention hours, group therapy hours, and substance abuse intervention hours. University Counseling Center hours are privileged over other settings (and we have matched with many superb interns who have had NO UCC hours). Strict adherence to our required clinical practicum hours will likely be relaxed due to the disruptions to training the pandemic has caused.
All Indiana University students, faculty and staff are required to have a COVID-19 vaccine and be fully vaccinated or have an approved exemption. This requirement is part of IU’s ongoing successful response to and management of the COVID-19 pandemic on its campuses and will allow the university to lift most restrictions on masking and physical distancing.
A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after having all doses of a vaccine (2 doses for Pfizer, Moderna; 1 dose for Johnson & Johnson).
For further information and information about exemptions please review IU policy.
Please Note: Programs are not required by the Commission on Accreditation to provide all benefits listed here.
Here we provide an aggregated tally for the preceding three cohorts (2019–22).
| Placement | PD | EP |
|---|---|---|
| Academic teaching | ||
| Community mental health center | ||
| Consortium | ||
| University Counseling Center | 3 | 2 |
| Hospital/Medical Center | 1 | 2 |
| Veterans Affairs Health Care System | ||
| Psychiatric facility | ||
| Correctional facility | ||
| Health maintenance organization | ||
| School district/system | ||
| Independent Practice setting | ||
| Other |
Note: PD=Post-doctoral residency position; EP=Employed position. Each individual represented in this table should be counted only one time. For former trainees working in more than one setting, select the setting that represents their primary position.
