Examining the balance of internship supply and demand: 1999 Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers' match implications.

Abstract

Over the past several yean, students, academic program faculty, and internship training directors havebecome increasingly concerned about the inequity between the demand for predoctoral internship slotsand the limited supply of those placements. This article presents data from the 1999 Association ofPsychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers' (APPIC) Match, along with the results of 2 studiesconducted by the authors. Results indicate that the number of internship positions available in the U.S.and Canada may be nearly balanced with the number of first-time internship applicants and that thecurrent imbalance may result, in large part, from a carryover of unplaced applicants from previousselection processes. Furthermore, approximately % of unmatched applicants are able to find internshippositions subsequent to the conclusion of the matching process, although many of these positions are innon-American Psychological Association-accredited and non-APPlC-member programs. Implications ofthese findings for the profession and for student applicants are discussed.Almost all applied psychologists have experienced applyingto, and subsequently attending, a predoctoral internship. Overthe past several years, concerns have increased over a perceivedshortage in the supply of predoctoral internship training oppor-tunities relative to the number of applicants (Dixon & Thorn,2000; Oehlert & Lopez, 1998). Although a number of studiesW. GREGORY KEILIN received his PhD in counseling psychology fromColorado State University. He is a member of the Association of Psychol-ogy Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Board of Directors andthe coordinator of the APPIC Match. He is also a staff psychologist andpast internship training director at the Counseling and Mental HealthCenter at the University of Texas at Austin.BEVERLY E. THORN received her PhD in psychology from Southern IllinoisUniversity. She is professor and director of clinical training in the Depart-ment of Psychology at the University of Alabama. She also serves as chairof the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology Programsand chair of the Council of Chairs of Training Councils. One of herresearch interests involves issues relevant to the professional education ofdoctoral-level psychologists, including the sequencing of clinical trainingand marketplace demand influences.EMIL R. RODOLFA received his PhD from Texas AM professionadevelopment issues of people of color and counselors in training; and thevocational and psychological issues of underserved populations.NADINE J. KASLOW, PhD, ABPP, is professor and chief psychologist at theEmory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry andBehavioral Sciences at Grady Health System. She also is chair of APPICand a member of the American Psychological Association's Board ofEducational Affairs. Her primary areas of interest are supervision, primarycare public policy, family interventions, and depression and suicide inindividuals across the life span.PORTIONS OF THIS ARTICLE describe a proprietary Matching Program devel-oped by National Matching Services, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Wethank Elliott Peranson of National Matching Services, Inc., for providingsome of the data used in this article.CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed toW. Gregory Keilin, Counseling and Mental Health Center, University ofTexas at Austin, 100A West 26th Street, Austin, Texas 78712. Electronicmail may be sent to gkeilin@mail.utexas.edu.288