Minneapolis VA Health Care System > Education and Training > Psychology

Application Process

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following prerequisites to be considered for our program:

1. Doctoral student in an APA-accredited Clinical or Counseling Psychology program or in an APA approved respecialization training program in Clinical or Counseling Psychology
2. Approval for internship status by graduate program training director 
3. A minimum of 250 direct intervention and 50 direct assessment hours of supervised graduate level pre-internship practicum experience
4. U.S. citizenship

Selection Process

A selection committee composed of psychologists involved in training reviews applications. Applicants may seek consideration for one or both tracks. We seek applicants who have a sound clinical and scientific knowledge base from their academic program, strong basic skills in assessment, intervention, and research techniques, and the personal characteristics necessary to function well in our internship setting. Our selection criteria are based on a "goodness–of–fit" with our scientist-practitioner model, and we look for interns whose training goals match the training that we offer. We prefer interns from university-based programs. Consistent with our APCS membership, individuals with academic interests or aspiration are encourage to apply. The Minneapolis VA Medical Center in which our training program resides is an Equal Opportunity Employer; we are committed to ensuring a range of diversity among our training classes, and we select candidates representing different kinds of programs and theoretical orientations, geographic areas, ages, racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, disabilities, and life experiences. All things being equal, consideration is given to applicants who identify themselves as veterans; as members of historically underrepresented groups on the basis of racial or ethnic status; as representing diversity on the basis of sexual orientation; or as representing diversity on the basis of disability status. These factors may be indicated on their application (see #1 below under Application Procedures). *** The selection process may include information gained from internet and social media searches of applicants' names.

Interview Process

In-person or phone interviews are required of all applicants who make the final selection round. In-person interviews will take a full day (8:00 am to 4:30 pm) and involve an informational session with the training directors, a tour of our facility, an informational session with current interns, two interviews with training staff, and an extended lunch/meeting with staff in your area of interest. They will be conducted on Friday January 4th and Monday January 7th, 2013. Phone interviews will be offered to those applicant who are unable to make an in-peron interview. Whether in-person or on the phone, one of the interviews will involve discussing a clinical vignette presented by staff.

Match Policies

The Minneapolis VAHCS Psychology Internship Program is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Intern ship Centers (APPIC )(*External site-see disclaimer below). Over the years, APPIC has developed guidelines for procedures used in student-internship matching, and these guidelines continue to evolve over time, as APPIC remains responsive to the varied concerns around this issue. The guidelines in effect for this application year are available from APPIC. This internship site agrees to follow APPIC guidelines and to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. The Minneapolis VAHCS will participate in the APPIC Internship Matching Program administered by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS )(*External site-see disclaimer below).

There are two match numbers for our internship program, corresponding to the two training tracks. Applicants may apply to just one or both tracks. The track match number are:

138312 - Standard Track
138315 - Neuropsychology Track

Contact information for APPIC and NMS is available on the "links" page of this web site or by clicking on the hyperlinks above. Applicants must obtain an Applicant Agreement Package from NMS and register for the Match in order to be eligible to match to our internship programs. You can request an Applicant Agreement Package from NMS through the Matching Program web site or by contacting NMS at the locations indicated on the "links" page of the this web site. In accord with the Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program, interns accepted here may be asked to submit a urine specimen at the beginning of the training year. Other branches of the federal government (Office of Personnel Management) may conduct routine background checks at their discretion.

Application Procedures: To apply for our internship:

Contact Information:
Further information regarding the Minneapolis VAHCS Psychology Internship Program may be obtained by e-mail or telephone from these individuals:

Stephanie Cole - Training Programs Coordinator
Telephone: (612) 467-1504
Fax: (612) 629-7596
E-mail: Stephanie.Cole2@va.gov 

Wayne Siegel, Ph.D., ABPP
Director of Training
Telephone: (612) 467-4024
E-mail: Wayne.Siegel@va.gov

 

Thad Strom, Ph.D.
Assistant Director of Training
Telephone: (612) 467-2125
E-mail: Thad.Strom@va.gov

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