Psychology Internship Overview

Our Psychology Internship Program is a doctoral-level psychology internship program in health service psychology, which serves as an integral part of this academic health center. The internship’s mission is twofold:

• First, to provide clinically and culturally competent behavioral health services to traditionally under-served populations and geographical areas;
• Second, to train future psychologists to provide excellent, integrated care within the medical environment, promoting top-notch patient-centered care.

Overarching Goals & Background

The Psychology Internship Program is part of The University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine. We offer a 2,000 hour, one-year doctoral internship. The internship program provides health service psychology (clinical) training in an academic health center, with an emphasis on the interface between psychology and medicine. The internship program offers opportunities to interface at many levels in a medical setting. Interns learn to collaborate with physicians, physicians-in-training, nurses, dietitians, pharmacy students, and other consultants. They play a vital role in the care of patients with both mental health and physical health needs. As often as possible, experiences are offered longitudinally, to allow interns to develop longer-term professional relationships with treatment team members and patients.

The psychology internship program is housed within the Rogers Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Physician partners in psychiatry, family medicine, and internal medicine are actively involved in supporting the internship.

The psychology internship program is funded in part by the Graduate Psychology Education Program which is grant awarded through the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The patient population of the health science center is uniquely diverse. Located on the northern edge of Tyler, Texas, we are a catchment area that includes the denizens of this mid-sized city to the south as well as the rural inhabitants of the farmlands to the north. Socioeconomic, educational, racial and ethnic diversity characterize this population. With a mental health provider to citizen ratio of 1:25,000, Northeast Texas suffers from a significant shortage of mental health resources. Many patients seen by the psychology interns have never seen a mental health professional before.

Research and scholarly activity opportunities are available throughout the health science center. Interns are welcome to join ongoing projects and encouraged to conduct research of their own. They participate in the annual “Research Day” with the medical residents, often presenting Quality Improvement projects.

Accreditation