Achieve Behavioral Health is now a member of APPIC and will be participating in the Match for the 2023-2024 Doctoral Psychology Internship year.

Internship Tracks:

• General Clinic Track:

Psychology interns in this track spend the majority of their time providing individual therapy to adults, couples and children, primarily from the Jewish Orthodox and Hassidic community. They will also complete rotations in the following departments: Intake and Assessment (mandatory), Crisis Services (mandatory), Group Therapy (mandatory as available), as well as the Anxiety/OCD Program (optional) and Data Analytics and Clinical Metrics (optional).
*This track is the only track that offers a part-time option.

• School/Child Specialization:

Psychology interns in this track spend the majority of their time providing individual therapy to children and providing parent support at Achieve’s school-based clinics, located in various Jewish Orthodox and Hassidic schools in Rockland and Orange Counties, and/or providing individual therapy to children and parent support in the Achieve BH Child Center. They will also provide individual therapy to a small caseload of adults in the general clinic. Interns in this track will also complete rotations in the following departments: Intake and Assessment (mandatory), Crisis Services (mandatory), Group Therapy (mandatory as available), as well as the Anxiety/OCD Program (optional) and Data Analytics and Clinical Metrics (optional).

• Women’s Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) Specialization:

Psychology interns in this track spend 2 days/week providing group therapy, DBT coaching, case management and crisis management in the Women’s Intensive Outpatient Program. They will also provide individual therapy to adults and children in the general clinic. Interns in this track will also complete rotations in the following departments: Intake and Assessment (mandatory), Crisis Services (mandatory), as well as the Anxiety/OCD Program (optional) and Data Analytics and Clinical Metrics (optional).

Required Rotations for All Tracks:

• Intake and Assessment (6 months)

All interns complete a 6-month rotation in our Intake Department. In this role, the psychology intern is the first clinician in our agency to be meeting with a new client. The psychology intern gathers information pertaining to background and history, and administers various clinical assessments, including the PHQ, GAD-7 and the CSSRS. The intern then formulates a case conceptualization and assigns a DSM-5 diagnosis to each client. The psychology intern is trained in this capacity by one of the intake supervisors and observes intakes conducted by others before conducting them independently. The psychology intern’s written intake assessments are then reviewed by an intake supervisor. Feedback is provided and revisions are suggested when relevant. Upon completion, the intake assessment is signed by both psychology intern and intake supervisor. Recommendations for assignment are then provided to the intake team so that the client is assigned appropriately to a therapist. Interns spend five hours/week in the Intake Department. These hours include three hours of intakes, one hour of intake individual supervision and one hour of participation in the intake team meeting. Part-time interns will also complete this same rotation in the intake department.

• Crisis Services (6 months)

Both full-time and part-time interns are required to complete a 6-month rotation with Crisis Services. On this rotation, interns will reserve 8 hours/week to be available to answer Achieve’s crisis line. As the line has a 3-hour window for crisis clinicians to return phone calls, interns reserve slots within their schedules to respond to these calls. Interns provide support to clients in distress and dispatch mobile crisis when necessary. This rotation includes 30 minutes of group supervision and individual supervision, as needed.

• Group Therapy (2-12 months, as available)

Full-time interns are encouraged to co-lead group therapy with a more senior clinician when there is an available opportunity. Groups range from skills-based groups, such as DBT and social skills groups, as well as support groups, such as support for mothers of clients with SPMI. Opportunities to provide group therapy vary, as the needs for group therapy vary within the clinic. There are fewer opportunities for male than female interns, as our population tends to prefer same-gendered facilitator and single sexed groups (ie. male clinician facilitation and all male group, female clinician facilitating an all female group) due to cultural sensitivities. As Achieve tends to have fewer male clients interested and willing to participate in group therapy, there tends to be limited opportunities for male interns in this area. That being said, we are committed to trying to provide this training opportunity when it is available. For part-time clinicians, this rotation is optional.

Optional Rotations:

• Anxiety/OCD Program (12 months)

Full-time and part-time interns will have the option to participate in a year-long rotation in this track. They will be trained in EBT to treat adults struggling with panic attacks, phobias, social anxiety, GAD, and OCD.

• Applied Clinical Data Analytics and Research (12 months)

Interns Participate in real-time analysis of clinical data. They receive training in clinical data management, and effective dissemination within a research-to-practice pipeline. Interns also collaborate with clinic leadership in data intelligence gathering – formulation of meaningful questions and identifying meaningful data within clinical mental healthcare. Interns also learn methods for using data for practice implementation on data intelligence findings.