Abstract

Understanding the professional development needs of psychology interns is essential to maximize the utility of predoctoral internship training; yet, little research has explored the professional development training experiences interns receive. In Study 1, 275 psychology interns from APPIC-listed programs completed a 20-question web-based anonymous survey, assessing experiences of and satisfaction with professional development training obtained on internship. Using a mixed method research design, a series of descriptive and correlational analyses were conduct ed. Results indicated almost 90% of interns reported receiving professional development training on internship, and 60% of interns were satisfied with their professional development training experiences. More comprehensive coverage of relevant professional development topics was associated with greater overall satisfaction and any coverage of a particular topic tended to be associated with greater satisfaction. Multiple linear regression results suggested that perceptions of preparedness for various post-internship positions were associated with satisfaction with professional development internship training experiences. In Study 2, 194 internship training directors completed a modified version of the same survey. Training directors reported more hours of coverage than did interns and tended to perceive interns as more satisfied with professional development training experiences on internship than did interns themselves. Implications for those involved in the training of interns are provided.

Highlights

  • We believe that professional development is one of many important components of the internship training experience

  • Most interns were satisfied with their internship professional development training experiences (60%), though a substantial portion (21.8%) reported some level of dissatisfaction

  • Inclusion of relevant topics and more time devoted to those topics were associated with greater satisfaction with professional development, as was perceived effectiveness of the internship professional development training for preparing respondents for post-degree activities

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Summary

Introduction

We believe that professional development is one of many important components of the internship training experience. As the final formal step in professional psychology (clinical, counseling, school) predoctoral training, internships have the responsibility to ensure that trainees receive education or guidance in professional development. Available research regarding professional development and psychology internships supports the notion that professional development is a critical component of this capstone predoctoral training experience. Sternlicht (1966) identified professional development as eighth among the ten learning areas for clinical psychology internships, suggesting that professional development should be considered a learning objective for the predoctoral internship. The remaining studies found in this literature search involved professional development on internship that was highly specific to a particular patient population, setting, or practice area such as working in counseling centers (Ross & Altmaier, 1990), family psychology (Kaslow, Celano, & Stanton, 2003), and providing services to individuals with severe mental illness (Hoge, Stayner, & Davidson, 2000)

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