Objectives

We strive to provide closely supervised clinical training experiences in the practice of psychology, with gradually increasing independence as competence is achieved. Through a planned, incremental, and progressively challenging series of training experiences, interns will achieve competence as a generalist, with experience in psychological assessment, clinical interventions, and consultative skills necessary for interacting with a variety of clinical disciplines and service systems.

 

MP900387781Interns participate in extensive orientation and education classes, including but not limited to the following topics: History of Western State Hospital, Mission Statement, Confidentiality, The Experience of Mental Illness, Patient Rights and Ethics, Recognition and Prevention of Abuse, Suicide Prevent, EEO/Affirmative Action/ADA, Incident Management, Environment of Care, Hazardous Materials, Cultural Diversity, Age-Specific Competency, Anti-harassment, Infection Control and Employee Health, AIDS Education, Drug Testing 101, and Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Training (Level 1 and 2). Specific orientation to the duties and practice of psychology at Western State Hospital is also provided.

 

Interns may participate in additional hours of community orientation and experiential leadership training based on interest, including but not limited to military immersion training (directly dependent upon offerings from Fort Campbell, cannot be guaranteed), police ride-along, SWAT demonstration, K-9 demonstration, attendance of Drug Court, attendance of civil court for commitment and guardianship proceedings, presentation to high school, community college, and university students interested in psychology careers, and attendance of nursing skills fairs and rural community health fairs. Additional orientation experiences are fully elective, intended to be enrichment experiences to further intern-specific interests, and may not be part of work hour totals. Please note that during the pandemic state of emergency, these opportunities may not be available, or if offered, may be virtual.

 

Clinical training includes extensive shadowing, in-person supervision, graduated independence with intensive individual and group supervision, didactic seminars, and many other training opportunities. Again with respect to the pandemic, these activities may be primarily virtual or via telehealth platforms.

 

Interns learn to build rapport in an inpatient setting, gather thorough historical information, develop detailed impressions of current symptoms, conduct risk assessments, create concise case conceptualizations, make appropriate initial recovery planning and intervention decisions, write clear and objective intake notes and reports, and communicate impressions using current and accurate diagnostic terminology.

 

Interns learn to establish concise diagnostic questions, select measures appropriate to ageTo educate and clinical presentation, form rapport to facilitate testing, accurately score and interpret a broad range of psychometric instruments, and clearly communicate findings in both written and oral formats. Focus is also placed on assessment of strengths, and development of recommendations arising from strengths. While face-to-face testing may be very limited during the pandemic, we plan to increasingly explore and implement assessment measures appropriate to a telehealth format.

 

Interns learn to assess stages of recovery, and to select and provide evidence-based, trauma-informed interventions to assist patients in moving forward with their recovery goals.  Interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of supports available in an integrated community health model, with emphasis placed on sensitivity to cultural differences, and  culturally competent knowledge, skills, and attitudes in all aspects of recovery planning and interventions.

 

Through direct training in program development, leadership skills, professional ethics, and professional presentation, interns develop a strong sense of their own identity as psychologists, career goals, and system-wide issues in the provision of mental health care.