LETTER FROM THE TRAINING DIRECTOR

Kim Sieber, Ph.D.

Dear Prospective Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in the Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship Program at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (VASLCHCS). The internship year can be one of the most exciting, challenging, and meaningful experiences in your development as a professional psychologist. We are excited about the opportunity to participate in this process, and hope that this Handbook will provide you with an understanding of the experiences offered at our site.  In addition to describing the clinical rotations, training requirements, and application procedure, these materials are meant to depict the overall goals and philosophies of our program and to highlight the characteristics of our facility and surrounding geographical area.

Internship training is one of the highest priorities of our Psychology Service. With the goal of providing psychological services across a wide range of health care settings, interns practice clinical and professional skills under the mentorship of a diverse group of psychologists. We believe it is our privilege to share our clinical and professional wisdom with our interns, and aim to create a positive, collegial atmosphere that is conducive to learning and growth. We are committed to providing high quality generalist training that is based on the awareness and understanding of the interdependence between the application and the science of psychology. We believe that one of the greatest strengths of our program is our commitment to facilitating the "transition from student to professional" and, as such, practice a developmental approach to training and supervision.,

Psychology doctoral students and interns have been training here since 1952, with nearly 500 interns completing the program. We were APA accredited in 1979 and there has been no lapse in our accreditation status since that time. In 2005, we were reaccredited for seven years – the longest survey granted by APA. We are funded nationally through VA Central Office and the Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) in Washington, DC and enjoy excellent support through the VASLCHCS. This past year, we were also awarded two OAA-funded post-doctoral positions in the assessment and treatment PTSD, as well as one GRECC-funded post-doctoral position in Geropsychology. Interns and post-doctoral fellows are provided with the same testing materials, computer access, office space, and other resources as psychology staff, and have access to medical records through a Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) – a system that has received high acclaim in the national media. Finally, interns have the unique opportunity to utilize “state of the art” testing materials, including the Computer Assisted Assessment, Psychotherapy, Education, and Research (CAPER) program and the Mental Health Assistant, which were developed by our own staff psychologists. 

The VASLCHCS is a leading teaching facility for the University of Utah School of Medicine, as well as numerous Associated Health Professions (i.e., Social Work, Nursing, Physical Therapy), which makes it an ideal training site for interns seeking interdisciplinary experiences. Interns play a primary role in evaluation, treatment planning, and intervention across a variety of interdisciplinary teams in both medical and mental health settings. Psychology Services are well respected in this medical center, with interns regarded as valued team members; many will find that their opinions have a significant impact on patient care, and that this experience increases competence in their clinical skills and abilities.

I hope this Handbook reflects our enthusiasm for psychology training, with clinical and professional development of interns being our highest priority. We pride ourselves on creating a friendly, nurturing environment in which trainees develop the foundational and functional competencies to perform in  a wide range of health care settings. Because it is difficult to depict the “character" of a training program in writing, I would encourage you to contact me directly with any questions about these materials or our about our program in general. Finally, if selected for an interview, I highly recommend that you take the opportunity to attend one of our Open House/Interview Days, during which you can personally evaluate whether the VASLCHCS Psychology Internship program is a “good fit” for you.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely

Kimberly O. Sieber, Ph.D.

Director of Psychology Training

VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

(801) 582-1565, ext. 2724