OVERVIEW
The Clinical Psychology Internship Program is sponsored by the Department of Behavioral Health Consultation and Education at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Bethesda, Maryland. It is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). The program is an intensive twelve-month period of clinical and didactic experiences designed to meet three broad aims: 1) To provide the trainee with experiences and skills needed to function competently as a broadly-trained clinical psychologist, 2) to equip the intern with additional knowledge and skills needed to practice competently within the Navy (e.g., unique military populations, personnel evaluation skills, etc.), and 3) To meet the overall requirements for continued accreditation as established by the APA in its Commission on Accreditation publications.
The internship is organized around a Practitioner-Scholar model. Day-to-day training emphasizes a sequential increase of knowledge and skill based on the current and evolving body of general knowledge and methods in the science and practice of psychology. Although active participation in research is not required as part of the internship, we expect interns to consistently refer to the psychology literature, and to be able to practically apply empircally supported interventions in their clinical work.
Before starting the internship, applicants who match with the internship are commissioned as Lieutenants in the United States Navy Medical Service Corps. During the internship (and subsequent service as active duty Navy psychologists), interns receive full pay and benefits as Navy officers. At the time of this writing, a new Navy Lieutenant assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center receives an annual salary ranging from $80,604 to $83,004 (base pay + housing allowance for the Washington DC metro area). Annual pay raises occur as determined by the U.S. Congress and the military pay schedule.
The internship has been continuously accredited for over 50 years by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation. The program is scheduled for its next site visit in 2018.
Questions related to the program’s accreditation status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
- Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
- American Psychological Association
- 750 First Street, N.E.
- Washington, D.C., 20002-4242
- (202) 336-5979 E-mail: apaaccred@apa.org Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation
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