Clinical Experience and Internships

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The Psychological Center (“The Clinic”) serves as the primary practicum site for the doctoral student training therapists at The Clinic, students conduct psychological evaluations, treat child and adult patients, conduct group psychotherapy, and administer psychological and neuropsychological assessments. Other clinical experiences, such as externships and clinical fellowships, are optional for students and complement the training they receive at The Clinic. All practicum experiences are integrated into the curriculum through courses, clinic teams, and supervision.

Clinical training at The Clinic

Year 1. All students participate in a Clinic Team, beginning in the first semester (participation in Clinic Teams last for the duration that the students treats patients at The Clinic). In Clinic Teams, students in residence present clinical cases and engage in an ongoing weekly dialogue with each other and the Clinic Directors regarding crisis, clinical emergencies, ongoing treatments, termination of care and disposition of cases. Additionally, beginning in Year 1, students operate the front desk one hour per week. Beginning in the second semester of Year 1, students take either the Child Intake or Adult Intake courses. In these courses, they learn how to conduct comprehensive child or adult evaluations. Upon completion of these courses students begin to treat their first patients for ongoing psychotherapy and simultaneously begin to meet weekly with a different supervisor for each therapy case.

Year 2. Students continue to treat their patients from the previous year. In addition, in the Fall students take a practicum course (e.g. Child practicum if Child Intake was completed in Year 1 or Adult practicum if it was Adult Intake. ) and enroll in the intake course not yet completed (e.g. adult intake if child intake was taken in Year 1). By the Spring semester, students have full caseloads (3 case minimum) and responsibilities in the Clinic.

Years 3 and 4. Students continue to carry a minimum caseload of three ongoing psychotherapy patients. In addition, students may choose to receive training in an empirically supported treatment and/or co-lead a psychotherapy group. Students in their 4th year and beyond are given the opportunity to peer supervise students in Years 1-2. Students complete their mandatory residency at The Clinic at the end of their 4th year and also must have a minimum of 500 direct clinical hours.

Year 5 until Internship. Students may opt to continue treating patients at The Clinic.

Externships

Additional clinical experiences are available through external externships after a student completes the prerequisite hours and courses at The Clinic. These additional clinical experiences complement the in-house clinical work by offering students an opportunity to work with particular populations (i.e. serious mental illness, LGTBQ, school-based, inpatient).

Past externship sites of our students include:

King’s County Medical Center
Ackerman Institute of Family Therapy
Jacobi Medical Center
NYU Post Doctoral Program
Bellevue Hospital
Mt. Sinai/St. Luke's Hospital
Columbia Psychoanalytic Institute
Brooklyn VA Medical Center
St. Barnabas Medical Center
Memorial Sloane Kettering Medical Center
Manhattan School of Music
MIT Counseling Center
North Central Bronx Medical Center
The Addictions Institute
Rikers Island Penal System
Columbia University Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital

Clinical Fellowships

Clinical fellowships offer students the opportunity to work as a therapist within the CUNY system. These experiences increase the range of clinical experiences students can have while in the program by specifically offering training at counseling centers. Students can apply for a fellowship in their 3rd year or beyond.

Current clinical fellowship sites include:

Baruch College Counseling Center
Bronx Community College Counseling Center
Brooklyn College Counseling Center
CCNY Counseling Canter
College of Staten Island Counseling Center
The Graduate Center Counseling Center
Hunter College Counseling Center
John Jay Counseling Center
LaGuardia Community College
Lehman College Counseling Center
BMCC Counseling Center
Queen's College Counseling Center
Hunter High School
Hunter Elementary

Internships

The internship experience normally takes place during the fifth or sixth year of a student’s training.

For further statistics pertaining to our program's internship history, click here to see our student outcomes data. Here is an overview of the sites our students have attended for Internship over the past 3 years:

2022-2023