Cara A. Miller, PhD, was born deaf, but it never stopped her from pursuing her passion to become a psychologist—until she sought an internship.
Miller was in her fourth year of the psychology doctoral program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., when she interviewed at a well-known internship training site. After the interview, the site's training director told her she was a leading candidate. But shortly afterward, she was informed that she was no longer being considered for the position. The training director told her that because the job responsibilities involved after-hours crisis intervention and required her to wear a pager, they were uncertain whether she would be able to respond effectively.
Miller did not find this explanation acceptable. "This was after a third-round interview in which I had proactively offered up examples of how I had provided successful crisis-intervention services in previous positions, including by training my hearing dog to alert me to the emergency pager beeping and utilizing the video relay system to call back and immediately report in once I was alerted," she says.
Miller's story does have a happy ending: She was welcomed by another site that she describes as "terrifically inclusive," completed her internship and later postdoctoral fellowship at a third site and now oversees services and programs at the LGBTQA Resource Center in Gallaudet's Multicultural Student Development and Mentoring division.
But unfortunately, the prejudice she experienced is not uncommon for students with disabilities. A studyopens in new window by Emily M. Lund, PhD, Erin E. Andrews, PsyD, and Judith M. Holt, PhD, found that most of the 56 trainees and practicing psychologists with disabilities who participated in the study reported experiencing discrimination related to their disabilities at their internship sites (Rehabilitation Psychology, Vol. 59, No. 4, 2014).
The bias is not necessarily intentional, says Andrews, a clinical associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and a VA rehabilitation psychologist, who chairs APA's Div. 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology) Disability Identity Committee. There may be misconceptions about what a psychology student or professional is capable of or how they work around a disability, for example. (See "For psychologists and students with disabilities".)
Training directors and other employers may also make false assumptions about a candidate's abilities based on their own "ablest" orientation, says Alette Coble-Temple, PsyD, chair of APA's Committee on Women in Psychology, who has a spastic form of cerebral palsy that affects her fine and gross motor skills. "For example, if a student is blind, the automatic question may be, ‘How can this individual complete psychological testing? How can they make accurate clinical observations if they cannot see the clients?'" says Coble-Temple, who is also a professor of clinical psychology at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. "The person making these assumptions fails to consider the strength associated with a disability and allows their preconceived ideas about limitations to drive their negative responses."
Similarly, a deaf or hard of hearing student may be asked how they can work with someone who is not deaf or hard of hearing, says Jennifer Linton Reesman, PhD, a pediatric neuropsychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Deaf trainees work with absolutely everyone," says Reesman, former chair of APA's Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology, who has supervised interns who are deaf. In fact, researchopens in new window has shown that deaf psychologists can work well with hearing clients, and that attention to communication can benefit the work of all psychotherapists, says Andrews (Psychotherapy, Vol. 47, No. 2, 2010).
What students can do
How can students with disabilities avoid such discrimination or confront it if it happens? Faculty who closely follow these issues recommend that students:
Be selective in applications . Before applying to any internship sites, find out which have proven track records working with students with disabilities. Talk to professors and psychology department chairs, as well as current and former interns with disabilities, says Andrews. You can also contact APA's Disability Issues in Psychology and Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology, which can share information and guidance.
Be clear about the accommodations you need . Applicants are not required to disclose any disability during the application process—and sites are prohibited from asking. Students who decide to disclose should consider whether they will need interpreters, wheelchair access or other supports and determine whether the site will be able to provide such accommodations, says Kim Gorgens, PhD, a clinical professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver and former chair of APA's Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology.
Know your rights. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits the exclusion of people with disabilities from everyday activities such as predoctoral internship training. In 2008, the ADA Amendments Act was signed into law, emphasizing the broadest possible definition of disability. That means employers or internship settings are required to provide "reasonable accommodations" to enable interns to be considered for a position and, later, to enable that intern to perform well in the internship. "Employers cannot legally refuse to consider an applicant because they require a reasonable accommodation to compete for or perform a job," says Gorgens. Navigating incidences of discrimination can be difficult, and identifying allies who can support and assist when warranted is essential.
Consult with professors or peers. Students should consider talking with trusted peers, colleagues, mentors or former professors or supervisors to get input and feedback about how and when to request such accommodations, says Miller. The ADA prohibits internship training sites from asking questions about a disability before making a job offer, but applicants may need to tell the site about their need for an accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter or wheelchair access to the interview location. Sometimes, says Gorgens, applicants may not be aware that they need a reasonable accommodation until they have more information about the requirements of the internship. There may also be a reluctance to disclose the need for accommodation for fear of being unfairly disqualified. "Determining the best moment to tell a site about the need for reasonable accommodation is a personal decision with high stakes for trainees," says Gorgens.
Document any problems. If you feel that you have experienced discrimination during the internship process, be sure to ask in writing why a certain decision was made that you believe is discriminatory in nature, suggests Maggie Butler, PhD, director of APA's Office on Disability Issues in Psychology. You may not get a reply, but you will at least have a record of your attempt(s) to seek clarity of the situation should you decide to file a complaint, says Butler.
Contact your university's officials. Reach out to the internship coordinator, your advisor and the disability resources officer, who can advise you on the next steps. "For applicants, there may not be a formal interviewee grievance procedure, so students should consult with their internship coordinators and advisors," says Butler. The disability office on campus can also be a helpful resource, says Gorgens.
Make your concerns heard. Perhaps the most powerful tool in increasing the number of psychologists with disabilities in the field is raising awareness of the discrimination that people with disabilities face and educating everyone about the unique contributions offered by these colleagues, who tend to possess skills such as extraordinary problem-solving, reframing and persistence. These are just some of the traits that a psychologist with a disability may bring partly because of their disability, says Miller. "Those of us who are nondisabled allies need to be part of that conversation; we need to be part of the solution," says Gorgens. "The more of us who bring that voice, the more we can facilitate a change. With every trainee, each one is a victory."
