Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship at Kaiser Permanente-Fresno
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
4785 N. First Street
Fresno, California 93726-0513
559-448-4620
General Information
Kaiser Permanente, Fresno, provides comprehensive health care to more than 120,000 members residing in the culturally diverse Central San Joaquin Valley. While most mental health services are located at 4785 N. First Street, Fresno, California, there may be some opportunity for minor rotations in the satellite medical offices in Clovis and Selma. Kaiser Permanente also supports a 169-bed hospital and medical office building in Fresno. Overall, Kaiser Permanente, Fresno, has approximately 200 physicians and 2,000 support staff, including allied professionals, providing care to its members of all ages.
As part of California’s largest and oldest non-profit health organization, Kaiser Permanente, Fresno’s Mental Health department provides comprehensive services to a wide range of patients through Adult Psychiatry, Child Psychiatry, Intensive Out-patient Programs (one for adults and one for adolescents), Behavioral Medicine Services, Chronic Pain Clinic, and Chemical Dependency Services.
Our internship program is a member of the Central California Psychology Internship Consortium (CCPIC) which is an APA accredited, on probation program. The CCPIC provides weekly training opportunities and administrative oversight support.
As a non-profit organization, Kaiser Permanente values service to the community. Our chosen service to the community includes the training of future professionals in psychology through service to others. The School of Unlimited Learning (or SOUL) is a Charter High School for adolescents who have been challenged academically and/or socially, and who are often from economically disadvantaged homes. Our interns provide 2-3 hours per week of school-functioning related counseling under supervision during the school year.
The Director of Training and the intern’s Primary Supervisor will work together with the intern to develop a comprehensive training program which will enable the intern to develop the skills and competencies expected at this level of training. We encourage each intern to build on their strengths as well as expand on their areas of interest and needed development. We see the internship year as an exciting, collaborative one between Kaiser Permanente, supervisors, and interns, and one which we hope will provide a solid basis for emerging professionals in the field of psychology.
Goals
The Kaiser Permanente Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship (KPPPI) is a full-time, twelve-month internship in clinical psychology. The goal of KPPPI is to provide comprehensive training opportunities while serving the needs of our members. Kaiser Permanente has a well-established mental health department that can be enhanced by the experiences our interns bring to the program. Together, we strive to continue to improve the services we provide our members in the Department of Mental Health.
To accomplish the goal of personal and professional development of each intern, an individual learning plan is developed by the intern and his or her primary supervisor. The emphasis on the individual plan is to organize training in a sequential, cumulative, and graded manner. The intern and supervisors review the training plan quarterly to ensure that training is meeting the needs of the intern and that the intern is sufficiently guided through the professional development process. Particular emphasis is placed on the following areas:
- Clinical Intervention: To aid the intern in becoming a general practitioner of psychology who utilizes several empirically-based theoretical orientations and interventions in the practice of psychology.
- Psychological Assessment: To aid the intern in becoming a competent practitioner who accurately selects, administers, scores, and interprets a variety of psychological tests. It is expected that the intern will be able to integrate the findings into comprehensive written assessments to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
- Professional Development and Life-long Learning: To aid the intern in developing their personal and professional strengths in current practice, as well as future advancement of their skills. It is expected that the intern will enhance their commitment to lifelong-learning and collaboration with professionals from many disciplines.
- Multi-Cultural Issues: To aid the intern in being aware of diversity and individual differences in their patients and how their own personal cultural background may affect practice.
- Professional Ethics and Standards: To aid the intern in furthering knowledge and application of ethical principles and standards of professional practice, research, self-evaluation, and personal growth.
- Supervision and Consultation: To aid the intern in the development of supervision and consultation models by being both the recipient and provider of such services.
- Scholarly Commitment: To aid the intern to integrate theory and research into clinical practice.
Training Model
KPPPI utilizes the Local Clinical Scientist Model (Striker and Trierweiler, 1995) as the basis of training. We recognize the importance of both science and practice in clinical work as well as attending to the contextual and idiopathic features of the individual in our local setting. The model involves several components, including: 1) “openness and receptivity to a multiplicity of approaches to a problem...,”) ; 2) awareness of “personal biases;” 3) “ethical implications of interventions” particularly as these may result in “unexpected meanings in local settings;” and 4) “collegial interaction and feedback.” Training for practice is also sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity.
Stricker, G. & Trierweiler, S.J. (December, 1995). The local clinical scientist: a bridge between science and practice. American Psychologist, 50, 995-1002.
Supervision
On a weekly basis, interns participate in one hour of individual supervision for clinical work, one hour of individual supervision for assessment, and two hours of group supervision. Twice monthly, interns receive group supervision in neuropsychological testing via conference call with assessment supervisors and two hours of general assessment group supervision. All supervisors are employed by Kaiser Permanente and are licensed by the Board of Psychology of California. Furthermore, all supervisors take mandated supervision continuing education courses every two years to stay current with the latest supervision research and practice.
Research
Kaiser Permanente has various research projects in process. These studies have varied from year to year. Currently, an outcome study is available for the interns’ participation.
Application Process
Kaiser Permanente, Fresno, receives applications through the CCPIC and the APPIC selection process. We adhere to the rules and regulations of the APPIC organization. For APPIC application materials, go to: http://www.appic.org/match/5_3_match_application.html
Staff
- Kathleen Friedland, Ph.D., Supervisor
- Diane Kawagoe, Ph.D., Director of Training
- Laura Lencioni, Psy. D., Supervisor
- Steven Nichols, Ph.D., Supervisor
- Michael Petrovich, Ph.D., Supervisor, Chief of Psychology
- Tamika Sanders-Hayes, Ph.D., Supervisor
- Gary Sunday, Ph.D., Supervisor
Stipend
$13.60 per hour and health benefits
Apply To:
Mental Health Offices
4785 N. First Street
Kaiser Permanente, Fresno
Fresno, CA. 93726Director of Training: Diane Kawagoe, Ph.D.
559-448-4766 E-Mail: diane.kawagoe@kp.org