The Western State Hospital Internship Program (WSHIP) is an APA-Accredited internship located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The internship is undergoing a shift during the 2020-2021 year from a consortium-based training program with inpatient and outpatient components to a single-site training program housed within Western State Hospital, a state psychiatric facility.
Western State Hospital (WSH), founded in 1854, is one of the oldest continually-operating mental health hospitals in the United States. Today, the hospital is an acute care adult psychiatric facility operated by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and accredited by The Joint Commission and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Western State Hospital serves the 34 westernmost counties in the state, providing inpatient crisis stabilization through recovery-oriented practices.
The internship is under the supervision of Dr. Susan Redmond-Vaught and staff of the Psychology Department at Western State Hospital. The program stresses the progressive development of foundational skills needed for the professional practice of psychology across an integrated community health spectrum, and includes a broad range of settings, populations, and challenges.
The program is designed to prepare clinicians for assuming the role of an independent,
Photo Credit: William Battle
innovative, recovery-focused, and competent practicing professional. Through intensive supervision, direct client contact, didactic seminars involving multiple disciplines, and specific leadership training, interns are provided with gradually increasing responsibilities as they progress toward greater autonomy over the course of their 12 months of training. The internship strives for the development of clinical competence, multicultural competence, and strong professional identity.
The internship utilizes a practitioner-scholar model, and emphasizes integrating supervised clinical hours and didactic experiences with emphasis on fostering multicultural and ethical competence. Interns are expected to develop strong clinical skills with patients from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, gain a secure understanding of mental health care across a spectrum reaching from hospital-based services to other clinical and community-based options and organizations. Interns also gain experience with supervision of doctoral-level practicum students, when available.
The internship year begins August 1st and it is a 12-month, full-time program for three interns, with slots filled exclusively through APPIC Match. The stipend for each intern will be $35,500 . In addition, there is an attractive benefit package including health, dental and life insurance, professional liability insurance, holiday leave, paid time off and other appropriate benefits. Boosters and vaccinations, including yearly flu and pneumonia shots, are offered at no cost to interns through Western State Hospital.
The internship accepts applicants for three positions from APA-accredited clinical psychology and counseling psychology programs. Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis, if documented clinical coursework and intervention hours are comparable to those from an accredited clinical/counseling program. Applicants from university clinical and counseling programs on an accreditation track will be considered as well, with prior contact from the university training director explaining the school’s training elements and stage in the accreditation process.
The application deadline is November 22nd. A select number of applicants will be invited for interviews. Practicum requirements must have been completed, with at least 400 hours of AAPI Intervention Hours recorded or projected by the beginning of internship, and at least 100 AAPI Assessment Hours. The doctoral program must certify that the applicant is ready for internship. Due to state policies and regulations governing patient contact in state facilities, we cannot accept applicants with previous felony convictions, or misdemeanor convictions other than traffic offenses. Also, please note that due to current Kentucky state law and state policies, as well as facility and employer policies, WSHIP prohibits the use of marijuana in ALL circumstances, and will refuse to hire students who tests positive for marijuana regardless of medical need, the presence of a prescription, or its legal status. During the COVID-19 Pandemic emergency, the internship is willing to consider applicants who have not been able to complete expected practicum hours, or who have reduced face-to-face experience, on a case-by-case basis.
The internship follows the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s non-discrimination policies.
Pursuant to Executive Order 2008-473 and relevant state and federal laws, it is the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all people in all aspects of employer-employee relations without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, ancestry, age (40 and over), disability, veteran status or genetic information. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad and diverse spectrum of people, including minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
WSHIP is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation [Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation/American Psychological Association/750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 2002/Phone (202) 336-5979/E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org/Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation].