Curriculum

Child and Adolescent Psychology Doctoral Internship Program

Curriculum

The internship program is structured to be a full-time, 12-month experiential training experience. Each internship year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 the following year. Interns work five days per week between the hours of 8am and 5pm, including one late evening per week. Hours worked per week generally range from 40-45. There is no "on-call" coverage. The internship program has an emphasis on clinical child and pediatric psychology and focuses on evidence-based assessment and intervention services. Postdoctoral fellows work with a range of clinical presentations, as well as largely underserved patients and families. Clinical services and training activities are conducted in-person, following safety guidelines, and via virtual/telehealth platforms.

Both brief and longer-term outpatient and day treatment interventions, in group and individual formats, are available. Measurement-based care is emphasized, and interns will gain skills in assessment in several settings. Interns work collaboratively with a team of providers (e.g., medical residents/fellows, nurses, pediatricians, social workers, licensed professional counselors, psychiatrists, etc.), and are actively involved in clinical teaching and supervision. Upon successful completion of the internship program, trainees are expected to have met all doctoral internship requirements (1,750 hours) needed for licensure (as outlined in Texas statutes).

Interns dedicate time to direct service activities related to assessment, intervention, consultation, and inter-professional collaborations. About 80% of time is spent in clinical service-related activities.
Interns may gain experience and expertise with a range of clinical child presenting problems, including disruptive behaviors, anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicide and self-harm.
Interns may gain experience and expertise with a range of pediatric psychology presenting
problems, including primary care, pain, obesity, adolescent medicine, eating disorders, and inpatient consultation/liaison.
The amount of time that is devoted to direct service delivery varies, but ranges from 12-16 hours of face-to-face services per week.
Time for preparation, documentation, phone calls, care coordination, etc. will be built into weekly schedules.

Interns can spend 10% of their time (4 hours per week) in research activities. Interns can work on their dissertation during this time, and they are also expected to complete a scholarly activity during their internship year (e.g., poster or manuscript submission, conference talk, quality improvement project, program development proposal, etc.).
Interns participate in a monthly seminar to support them in meeting their scholarly requirements and receive mentoring from faculty who are engaged in similar scholarly activities.
TTUHSC Lubbock is a part of two state-wide research networks that may be of interest to interns:
- Texas Childhood Trauma Research Network
- Texas Youth Depression & Suicide Research Network

Child and Adolescent Psychology Doctoral Internship Program Didactic Calendar

Didactics occur on Tuesday afternoons (from 1:00 to 5:00pm) each week; there are also monthly Friday afternoon didactics (at 1:00pm). Further, invited speakers occur sporadically throughout the training year. On average, interns receive 4-5 hours of didactics per week. Didactics are interdisciplinary (e.g., fields of psychiatry, psychology) and include trainees at different developmental levels (e.g., students, residents/interns, fellows, faculty members). Interns are encouraged to attend didactics in person in order to facilitate connection and relationships with other learners and faculty members within the department. All Tuesday didactics are focused on child and adolescent populations. When there is a fifth week in a month, the child and adolescent learners and faculty get together to spend quality time with each other and give back to the community. Examples of these events include packaging food donation boxes, making meals at Ronald McDonald House, and serving at Lubbock Impact (focused on free food, clothing, medical, and spiritual care). Friday didactics are for learners across all department training programs.

Didactics focused on evidence-based assessment and intervention:

Child Case Conference: discussion of case presentations, biopsychosocial case formulations, assessments, differential diagnoses, and interventions
Complex Case Conference: discussion of case presentations, biopsychosocial case formulations, assessments, differential diagnoses, and interventions for cases that are complex or need new perspective from colleagues
Psychotherapy Seminar: discussion of theory and mechanisms of action in evidence-based treatments
Disease Specific Topics: a 4-part series focused on one mental health disorder. The first two weeks of the month focus on diagnosis and treatment. On the third week, learners engage in a Problem-Based Learning assignment, where they work in groups to solve an open-ended vignette. The last week of the series is an additional “special topic” related to the mental health disorder.
Grand Rounds: in depth discussion regarding a special topic of expertise
Morbidity and Mortality Conference: a critical examination of system processes related to assessment, treatment, and overall care in order to plan for or avoid trouble-spots in the future

Didactics focused on general competencies related to health service psychology:

Supervision Seminar: development of skills related to consultation, supervision, and teaching
Ethics Seminar: application of ethical principles and decision-making to vignettes
Professional Development Seminar: discussion of relevant topics, such as licensure, career goals, compassion fatigue, and interview preparation
Connections Curriculum: discussion of individual and cultural factors in thoughtful ways to increase our connections with others

Didactics focused on scholarly inquiry:

Journal Club: critical examination of research articles, conclusions, and clinical implications
Research Group: accountability and support for completion of scholarly requirements

Additional Unstructured Didactic Opportunities:

American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/education-career#cetrain
TTUHSC Events: https://events.ttuhsc.edu/
TTUHSC offers monthly Grand Rounds that learners are encouraged to attend as schedules allow.
Guest speakers are scheduled throughout the training year.
Learners are encouraged to participate in workshops and conferences.

Interns receive at least four hours of supervision per week (10% of time) from licensed psychologists (in the state of Texas) who carry professional practice responsibility for the cases being supervised. At least two of those hours are regularly scheduled individual supervision with two separate supervisors. The other two hours of supervision are obtained in a variety of methods, including additional individual supervision, group supervision, live observations, review of video/audio taped sessions, etc. Further, interns have access to consultation and supervision during times they are providing clinical services.

Supervisors are responsible for reviewing with the interns the relevant scientific and empirical bases for the professional services delivered by the interns. Supervisors participate actively in the program's planning, implementation, and evaluation and serve as professional role models to the interns consistent with the program's training aims and expected competencies.

Core TTUHSC supervisors:

Tarrah Mitchell, Ph.D., LP
Natalie Scanlon, Ph.D., LP

Affiliated TTU supervisors:

Caroline Cummings, Ph.D.
John Cooley, PhD
Jonathan Singer, PhD

Informal evaluations are conducted throughout the year. Formal evaluations (i.e., written) are conducted at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months of the internship. Evaluations are based on core competencies and serve to identify strengths and growth areas. Each clinical supervisor rates the intern’s knowledge base and professional practice on structured rating forms. Evaluations are shared with the interns so that goals can be defined and refinements can occur; remediation steps and corrective actions are outlined when needed. Both parties sign the evaluation following review. Additionally, there will be regular opportunities for interns to evaluate supervisors.

Interns will receive and review a document outlining the rights and responsibilities of the program and the interns related to due process and grievance procedures.
Due Process Procedure
Grievance Procedure