Psych Internship Program Accredited. The Alaska Psychology Internship Consortium, developed by WICHE’s Mental Health Program, has received accreditation from the American Psychological Association, considered the gold standard in psychology training. WICHE began developing this program in 2008 to fill a critical unmet need for in-state internships for psychology Ph.D. students. An internship is required to earn a doctoral degree in psychology, but prior to the program’s creation, students at the University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks didn’t have any in-state options. The program – which had its first class in 2010 – has allowed nearly all psychology doctoral students from these institutions to complete their training in Alaska. It has graduated 12 psychologists, and 10 have stayed in Alaska to begin their careers. Thanks to a new grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, the program will be able to expand the number of training slots from seven to 10 per year. “This is the first psychology internship program in the nation to be developed within a state-funded technical assistance model,” says Tamara DeHay, senior project director in the Mental Health Program. “The workforce impact in Alaska is apparent, as is the return on investment for the state. This model is worth replicating, especially in states with behavioral health workforce shortages.”
 

April 2013  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook