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Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology
Quick Reference Guide to INTERNSHIP Programs
The accreditation standards summarized below are to be applied within the context of basic “Guiding Principles of Accreditation” summarized on pp. 2-5 of the Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology. The principles emphasize:
- Broad and general preparation for practice at the entry level
- Focused and in-depth postdoctoral preparation for specialty practice
- Integration of science and practice
- The degree to which a program achieves outcomes and goals consistent
with its stated training model and with the Accreditation Guidelines
and Principles.
Thus, accreditation in psychology is intended to “achieve
general agreement on the goals of training… encourage experimentation
on methods of achieving those goals and… suggest ways of establishing
high standards in a setting of flexibility and reasonable freedom.”
DOMAIN A: ELIGIBILITY
A1. Program offers internship education and training in professional
psychology including preparation for practice.
A2. Program sponsored by an institution or agency whose primary functions
include providing services to clientele of sufficient number and variability
to meet training goals and objectives.
A3. The program is:
- An integral part of the mission of the institution in which it resides
- Represented in the institution’s budget and plans
A4. Program requires of each intern the equivalent of 1 year of full-time
training to be completed in no fewer than 12 months (10 months for school
psychology) and no more than 24 months.
A5. Program engages in actions that indicate respect for and understanding
of cultural and individual diversity as reflected in its recruitment
and retention policies for interns and staff, didactic and experiential
training, nondiscriminatory policies and operating conditions, and avoidance
of actions that restrict program access on grounds irrelevant to success.
The definition of diversity includes but is not limited to:
- Age
- Disabilities
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Gender Identity
- Language
- National origin
- Race
- Religion
- Culture
- Sexual orientation
- Social economic status
A6. Formal written policies are available concerning:
- Intern selection
- Practicum and academic preparation requirements
- Financial and administrative assistance
- Intern performance evaluation
- Feedback, advisement, retention, and termination
- Due process and grievance procedures for interns and staff
DOMAIN B: PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY, OBJECTIVES, AND TRAINING PLAN
B1. Program publicly states a philosophy and model of training consistent
with the sponsoring institution’s mission that emphasizes:
- Integration of science and practice
- Training that is sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity
B2. Program specifies training objectives in terms of competencies
expected of graduates consistent with:
- Philosophy and training model
- Substantive area of professional psychology that is represented
B3. Internship is an organized, structured, and programmed sequence
of supervised training experiences of greater depth and intensity than
practicum training that includes the following:
- Training activities are structured in terms of sequence, intensity,
duration, and frequency
- Primary training method is experiential including socialization
into the profession
- Supervision is regularly scheduled, sufficient, and defined as a
minimum of 4 hours/week, at least 2 hours of which is individual supervision
- Training activities address the delivery of psychological services
and include professional conduct, ethics, and standards
- Administrative structure and process which controls and coordinates
training activities and processes
- Designated leader(s) doctoral psychologist licensed in the program’s
jurisdiction who is primarily responsible for the program
B4. Program requires that all interns demonstrate intermediate to advanced
skill, competency, and knowledge in:
- Theories and methods of assessment/diagnosis and effective intervention
including empirically supported treatments
- Theories and/or methods of consultation, evaluation, and supervision
- Strategies of scholarly inquiry
- Issues of cultural and individual diversity relevant to all of above
B5. Program promotes the integration of practice and scholarly inquiry
and takes responsibility for the training experiences of interns including:
- Demonstrating that interns’ service delivery duties are primarily
learning oriented and that training takes precedence over service delivery
and revenue generation
- Ensuring that interns’ prior educational and practicum experiences
are consistent with the program’s training model and goals
Note: Program describes and documents the minimal levels of
achievement required of interns for satisfactory progress and internship
completion
DOMAIN C: PROGRAM RESOURCES
C1. Program has formally designated intern training supervisors who:
- Function as an integral part of the site and have primary responsibility
for service delivery
- Are sufficient in number to accomplish the program’s service
delivery and training goals
- Are doctoral level psychologists who are appropriately credentialed (see
IR C-15, Jurisdiction of Licensure for Supervisors)
- Review with interns relevant scientific/empirical bases for the
services delivered
- Are of appropriate quality for the program’s training model
and goals
- Participate actively in program planning, implementation, and evaluation
- Serve as professional role models consistent with the program’s
training goals and objectives
C2. Program has an identifiable body of interns who:
- Are sufficient in number to ensure meaningful peer interaction,
support, and socialization
- Are in a doctoral program in professional psychology or are certified
for respecialization
- Have completed adequate and appropriate supervised service delivery
practicum training
- Have interests, aptitudes, and prior educational and practicum experiences
appropriate for the internship’s goals and objectives
- Understand the program’s philosophy, goals, and training model
- Have meaningful involvement in activities and decisions that enhance
training
- Have an official title at the site that denotes their psychology
intern status
C3. Program has additional resources necessary to achieve its goals
and objectives including:
- Financial support for intern stipends, staff, and training activities (see
IR C-9, Unfunded Internships and Stipend Equity)
- Clerical and technical support
- Training materials and equipment
- Physical facilities and training settings
- Training settings appropriate to the program’s training model
C4. If the program is a consortium of multiple independent entities
then there is a formal written consortium agreement that articulates:
- Nature and characteristics of the participating entities
- Rationale for the partnership
- Each partner’s commitment to the training program including
philosophy, model, and goals
- Each partner’s obligations regarding contributions and access
to resources
- Each partner’s adherence to central control and coordination
of the training program
- Each partner’s commitment to uniform administration and implementation
of the program’s policies and procedures that address trainee
admission, financial support, resource access, performance expectations,
and evaluations
Note: An individual consortium partner may not publicize itself
as independently accredited unless it also has independently applied
for and received accreditation.
DOMAIN D: CULTURAL AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND DIVERSITY
D1. The program:
- Has made systematic and long-term efforts to attract and retain
interns and staff from differing ethnic, racial, and personal backgrounds
- Ensures a supportive learning environment for training diverse individuals
who represent a broad cultural and individual spectrum
- Avoids actions that restrict program access on grounds irrelevant
to success in internship training (see Footnote 4 for exceptions)
D2. Program has a thoughtful and coherent plan to provide interns with
relevant knowledge and experiences about the role of individual and cultural
diversity in psychological science and practice.
DOMAIN E: INTERN-STAFF RELATIONS
E1. The program:
- Recognizes the rights of interns and staff to be treated with courtesy,
respect, collegiality, and ethical sensitivity
- Informs interns of these principles and of their avenues of recourse
should issues arise
E2. Staff members are accessible to interns, provide guidance and supervision,
and serve as role models who promote interns’ acquisition of relevant
knowledge, skills, and competencies.
E3. Respect for cultural and individual diversity is demonstrated in
accordance with Domain A5.
E4. Upon admission interns are given written policies and procedures
regarding program requirements, expected performance, continuance, and
termination procedures. Interns receive, at least semiannually,
written feedback on the extent to which they are meeting these requirements
and expectations. The feedback should include:
- Timely, written notification of any problems and opportunity to discuss them
- Guidance regarding steps to remediate all problems (if remediable)
- Written feedback on the extent to which corrective actions have or have not been successful in addressing the issues of concern
E5. Program issues certificate of completion to interns who successfully complete internship (see IR C-6[a],Program Names, Labels, and other Public Descriptors)
E6. Programs keep records of all formal complaints and grievances filed since the last accreditation site visit.
Note: Programs must adhere to institutional regulations and
applicable local, state, and federal statutes concerning due process and fair treatment.
DOMAIN F: PROGRAM SELF-ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY
ENHANCEMENT
F1. With appropriate involvement of interns, the program engages in
regular, ongoing self-studies that address its:
- Expectations for the quality of interns’ preparation prior to beginning training
- Effectiveness in achieving goals and objectives in terms of outcome data while interns are in the program and after completion
- Procedures to maintain current achievements or to make changes as necessary
- Goals, objectives, and outcome data in relation to local, regional, state, and national standards of practice and changes in the knowledge base of the profession
F2. Program provides resources and/or opportunities for the continuing professional development of its training staff.
F3. Program and its host institution value and recognize in tangible
ways the internship training and the staffs’ supervisory efforts.
DOMAIN G: PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
G1. Program describes itself accurately and completely in documents
available to current and prospective interns and other “publics” including:
- Goals, objectives, and training model; selection procedures and completion requirements; training staff, interns, facilities, and other
resources; and administrative policies and procedures
- Its accreditation status including the name, address, and telephone
number of the CoA.
DOMAIN H: RELATIONSHIP WITH ACCREDITING BODY
H1. Internship abides by the CoA’s published policies and procedures.
H2. Internship informs the CoA in a timely manner of changes in its
environment, plans, resources, and operations that could affect program quality.
H3. Internship pays necessary fees to maintain accredited status.
Revised September 20, 2005
1 The APA Committee on Training in Clinical Psychology (1947). First report of the new accreditation process in psychology. American Psychologist, 2, 539-558.
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