Training in the Core Areas of Psychology Practice
CONTACT US
For inquiries about the internship, please contact:
Allison Smith, PhD
Psychology Training Director
Phone: 801-587-7755
Email: Allison.Smith@hsc.utah.edu
The Psychology Internship Program at Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI) is an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited program that provides comprehensive clinical training for child, adolescent, and adult populations with severe and diverse psychopathology. HMHI currently offers six full-time doctoral-level internship positions. Students eligible for the internship must have completed all coursework in an APA-approved doctoral program in clinical, counseling, or school psychology.
Huntsman Mental Health Institute is the leading provider of inpatient and partial hospitalization programs in the Intermountain West. HMHI's psychiatric hospital is a 170-bed facility with inpatient units for adults, adolescents and children. In addition, there are child-focused and adolescent-focused day treatment programs and an outpatient clinic on site.
Program Experience
The internship provides intensive experiential training in the core areas of psychology practice including:
- Evidence-based interventions, including training in a variety of treatment modalities
- Evidence-based diagnosis and assessment
- Consultation and interdisciplinary communication and collaboration
- Integrating research into clinical practice
- Addressing the unique needs of every individual
- Application of ethical and legal standards to practice
- Supervision
- Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors
All training occurs in an atmosphere of collaborative interactions with supervisors and senior staff members. The breadth and depth of clinical experience combined with our training seminars/activities, and quality supervision creates a unique and excellent clinical internship experience. The goal is to prepare interns for professional practice in a variety of settings.
Internship training is accomplished through:
- Direct clinical experience: The bulk of interns’ day is spent in direct clinical contacts. Interns conduct individual, family and couples therapy with a diverse array of presenting concerns, with a focus on acute and severe psychopathology. In addition to their regular case load, interns also carry a caseload of two outpatient clients. Outpatients are usually selected by the intern to provide addition depth in working with a particular disorder, treatment, or demographic.
- Group therapy: Interns lead group 2 or 3 times per week. Groups are DBT-focused on the inpatient units. In day treatment, groups are focused on social skills and emotion-regulation skills.
- Individual and group supervision: Interns receive a minimum of 2 hours each week of direct supervision with their primary supervisor and an addition 2 hours of group supervision with the Training Director during Psychotherapy Seminar. In addition, interns receive another hour each week of group supervision led by a postdoctoral trainee or early career psychologist on staff.
- Didactic seminars: Interns receive 2 hours of didactic training each week. Presenters include psychologists and psychiatrists from HMHI as well as outside presenters. Interns receive training in administering the ADOS and Rorschach as part of their didactic training.
- DBT consultation group: Interns and other therapeutic staff who utilize Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) as a treatment modality meet every other week in a DBT consultation group.
- Supervision experience: Interns have the opportunity to supervise other trainees including externs who co-lead therapy groups with them and psychiatry residents.
- Treatment team staffing: Interns meet regularly with their multidisciplinary teams to discuss patient progress and coordinate care.
- Continuing professional education: Interns have the opportunity to attend bi-monthly Grand Rounds, staff-education talks, and other trainings and didactics available at HMHI and nearby.
Internship Rotations
All interns complete three full-time, four-month rotations. Interns are involved in selecting their preferred rotations from the four clinical populations that are available: youth day treatment, adolescent-focused inpatient, child-focused inpatient, and adult inpatient.
On each rotation, interns also provide assessment services to aid in differential diagnosis and treatment planning. This allows the intern to gain experience with a wide variety of assessment measures addressing intellectual, cognitive, psycho-educational, affective, personality and/or behavioral functioning. In addition, interns sometimes are asked to develop individualized behavioral management plans when a patient is not responding to the typical unit behavioral structures.
Youth Inpatient Rotation
Psychology interns on the adolescent-focused and child-focused inpatient rotations provide psychological services to patients admitted to the inpatient youth units. On the youth inpatient services, all patients work with a psychologist as part of the team-based care provided at HMHI. Interns are integrated into multidisciplinary treatment teams and participate in daily rounds to coordinate treatment. The intern serve as the primary therapist who provides both individual and family therapy to each patient.
Adult Inpatient Rotation
Psychology interns on the adult inpatient rotation provide psychological services to patients participating in the Adult Inpatient Program. Adult patients are referred by the treating psychiatrist and include patients who would benefit greatly from additional therapy or assessment.
Day Treatment Rotation
The psychology interns on the day treatment rotation work at one of two locations. One intern provides psychological services to children (ages 4-12) in Kidstar and to adolescents (ages 13-18) in Teenscope, and the other works with adolescents (age 13-18) at Teenscope South, located at a site 8 miles away. Interns on the day treatment rotation work closely with parents and guardians, providing parent training and addressing behavioral concerns as the patients transition back and forth on a daily basis between the program and their time at home.
Application Process
HMHI currently offers six full-time doctoral-level internship positions. All internship appointments are of a continuous 12-month period beginning at the end of June. Interns are paid a stipend of $41,600 and receive full benefits including comprehensive health/dental insurance and paid time off. Students of all geographies, cultures, faith traditions, physical abilities and genders are encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline: November 15
Complete internship applications must be submitted to the psychology training director by November 15 or the first business day thereafter. Prospective intern candidates will be contacted in December to schedule a virtual interview.
The following qualities are considered when selecting internship applicants to participate in the interview process:
- Completion of all coursework, in an APA approved doctoral program in clinical, counseling, or school psychology
- Academic excellence
- Minimum of 500 practicum hours
- Minimum of 100 hours of psychological assessment and report writing experience
- Interpersonal maturity and sensitivity
- Diverse practical experiences
- High ethical standards and professionalism
- Good clinical judgment
- Ability to work as a team member
- Appropriate career interests
Application Materials
Required application materials include:
- Letter of application/interest
- Completed APPIC Application for Psychology Internship
- Curriculum vita (CV)
- Official university graduate transcripts
- Minimum of three letters of professional recommendation
- One sample of a psychological or neuropsychological evaluation
Application materials should be addressed to:
Allison Smith, PhD, Psychology Training Director
Huntsman Mental Health Institute
501 Chipeta Way
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Psychology interns at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute are employees of the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. As such, they must meet all University of Utah employee requirements, including policies regarding a Drug-Free Workplace, Criminal Background Checks, and mandatory Immunizations and Vaccinations. A comprehensive list of these policies can be found on the Human Resources Policies page.
For more comprehensive information, please review the Psychology Internship Handbook. For additional information and questions, please contact us.
Internship Staff
HMHI's professional staff includes thirteen licensed psychologists who are direct supervisors for the internship program, and several other licensed psychologists who fulfill other roles related to the internship.
Psychology staff members participate and support the internship training program in a variety of ways. They may provide individual intern supervision and mentoring, participate in didactic training and seminars, provide consultation, contribute to psychology staff meetings and treatment team rounds, provide case conferences, participate as members of the psychology training committee and/or assist with ongoing program evaluation.
Program Leadership
Allison Smith, PhD
Psychology Training Director, Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI)
Dr. Allison Smith received her Ph.D. from Northern Illinois University with a focus on child clinical/developmental psychopathology. Dr. Smith is the Manager of the Inpatient Psychology Program. She trained in a variety of settings, including inpatient, outpatient, group homes, and forensic settings, and she has therapy and assessment experience with both children and adults. She completed her internship and postdoctoral residency at the University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute. Dr. Smith's focus is on youth and families experiencing serious mental illness. Conceptually she works from the perspective of developmental psychopathology and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Clinically she integrates cognitive-behavioral strategies, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills, based on the situation and needs of the patient. Dr. Smith has an adjunct faculty appointment in the University of Utah Department of Psychiatry and is a member of the Psychology Training Committee.
Program Accreditation
Our internship program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) Commission on Accreditation. For questions about the program’s accreditation status, contact:
750 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org
Website: https://www.accreditation.apa.org/
Resources
Contact Us
For additional information, please contact:
Allison Smith, PhD
Psychology Training Director
Huntsman Mental Health Institute
501 Chipeta Way
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Phone: 801-587-7755
Email: Allison.Smith@hsc.utah.edu