What does a clinical psychology internship do?
Clinical psychology interns are responsible for assisting the clinical psychology staff by utilizing their academic knowledge to practical applications. A clinical psychology intern observes the daily operations in a health care facility, shadows medical staff, and prepares reports for clinical psychology processes or psychological research. The interns perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, including responding to the patients' inquiries and concerns, joining psychology professionals on conducting counseling and therapies, and interpreting patients' behaviors and practices.
Clinical psychology internship responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real clinical psychology internship resumes:
- Implement multiple curricula including mathematics, social studies, and literacy
- Supervise cognitive behavioral therapy research bringing trend methods in the treatment of patients suffering a variety of anxiety disorders.
- Provide individual prolong exposure therapy, as well as individual and group cognitive processing therapy to veterans with combat-relate PTSD.
- Provide evaluation and treatment for hospitalize and medically ill patients who have developed psychological, psychiatry, or behavioral problems.
- Preform intelligence testing, personality testing, and screenings for depression, autism, anxiety, ADHD, and other disorders.
- Attend weekly seminars addressing issues relate to PTSD, traumatic stress, substance use disorders and other anxiety and mood disorders.
- Provide psycho-education on PTSD, symptom management and coping skills development.
- Plan and implement effective developmentally appropriate mathematics activities for three groups of special needs students.
- Participate in interdisciplinary treatment team meetings to develop effective treatment and discharge plans for acute and/or forensic patients.
- Provide individual psychotherapy to veterans in an all-male inpatient dual diagnosis psychiatric unit, and outpatient therapy to male veterans.
- Provide individual psychotherapy to a diverse adult, inpatient psychiatry population, which include extensive disposition planning and family work.
- Conduct classroom observations, provide individualized counseling to several students in the classroom environment, and participate in IEP meetings.
- Assess adolescents with WISC-IV or WAIS-IV.
- Perform psychological testing and report writing for WAIS-IV and MMPI-2.
- Administer psychological test batteries: Rorschach, BDI-II, BHS, MMPI-2, WAIS-III, and PAI.
Clinical psychology internship skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Clinical Psychology Interns are proficient in Individual Therapy, Patients, and Group Therapy Sessions. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Integrity, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Clinical Psychology Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Individual Therapy, 25%
Conducted individual therapy and psychological evaluation at a secure correctional facility for adolescent girls, and provided testimony in family court.
- Patients, 11%
Created and provided in-service training for oncology nurses about behavioral health integration with cancer patients at the Comprehensive Cancer Institute.
- Group Therapy Sessions, 7%
Led group therapy sessions for individuals with Substance Use Disorders and co-occurring diagnoses using Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills training techniques.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Conducted family therapy, attended meetings with social services representatives, participated in development and management of behavioral plans, crisis intervention
- Mental Health, 5%
Consulted and collaborated with teachers, administrators, and parents regarding mental health, behavioral, social-emotional, and educational concerns.
- Behavioral Interventions, 5%
Conducted comprehensive psychological evaluations and developed behavioral interventions and academic programs.
Common skills that a clinical psychology internship uses to do their job include "individual therapy," "patients," and "group therapy sessions." You can find details on the most important clinical psychology internship responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a clinical psychology internship to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what clinical psychology interns do because "psychologists must examine the information they collect and draw logical conclusions." Additionally, a clinical psychology internship resume shows how clinical psychology interns use analytical skills: "provided short-term individual therapy and participate in research data collection as part of the brief psychotherapy research program. "
Integrity. Many clinical psychology internship duties rely on integrity. "psychologists must keep patients’ problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists’ expertise in treating sensitive problems.," so a clinical psychology internship will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways clinical psychology internship responsibilities rely on integrity: "organized a symposium, entitled ethical considerations for an evolving field of mental health. "
Patience. This is an important skill for clinical psychology interns to perform their duties. For an example of how clinical psychology internship responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "psychologists must demonstrate patience, because conducting research or treating patients may take a long time." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a clinical psychology internship: "interviewed patients and their families to collect full information on patience's case. ".
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what clinical psychology interns do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to clinical psychology internship responsibilities because "psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical clinical psychology internship tasks: "co-facilitated a problem-solving skills group for tbi/polytrauma veterans. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for clinical psychology internship responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of clinical psychology interns all the time, as "psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research." An excerpt from a real clinical psychology internship resume shows how this skill is central to what a clinical psychology internship does: "provided group therapy for the adult developmentally disabled clients to help with anger management, effective communication, and conflict resolution. "
Interpersonal skills. Lastly, "interpersonal skills" is an important element of what a clinical psychology internship does. Clinical psychology internship responsibilities require this skill because "psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals." This resume example highlights how clinical psychology internship duties rely on this skill: "employed interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (ipsrt) in the treatment of adult outpatients with bipolar disorder. "
The three companies that hire the most clinical psychology internships are:
- Chrysalis7 clinical psychology interns jobs
- Wellpath4 clinical psychology interns jobs
- Kaiser Permanente3 clinical psychology interns jobs
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Compare different clinical psychology interns
Clinical psychology internship vs. Eating disorder specialist
A Psychotherapist's responsibility is to help clients who suffer from symptoms like depression, anxiety, and other behavioral problems. They work with individuals, couples, and families.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between clinical psychology interns and eating disorder specialist. For instance, clinical psychology internship responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "group therapy sessions," "mental health," and "behavioral interventions." Whereas a eating disorder specialist is skilled in "rehabilitation," "mental illness," "community organizations," and "community resources." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Eating disorder specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than clinical psychology interns. In fact, eating disorder specialists are 2.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Clinical psychology internship vs. Psychotherapist
Research psychologists are psychology professionals who examine questions and test hypotheses by using scientific methods to understand human thought and behavior. These psychologists must conduct experiments in controlled lab settings as well as out in the field to examine the social behavior of people living in a rural town. They must analyze data and prepare reports to be presented professionally to program managers and administrators. Research psychologists must also supervise staff and interns who are involved in treating and diagnosing mental health.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that clinical psychology internship responsibilities requires skills like "behavioral interventions," "substance abuse," "family therapy," and "clinical interviews." But a psychotherapist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "social work," "diagnostic assessments," "community resources," and "home health."
Psychotherapists may earn a higher salary than clinical psychology interns, but psychotherapists earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $67,081. On the other hand, clinical psychology interns receive higher pay in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $41,391.In general, psychotherapists achieve higher levels of education than clinical psychology interns. They're 25.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for clinical psychology internships in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Jim Sliwinski Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Defiance College
Clinical psychology internship vs. Sports psychologist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, clinical psychology interns are more likely to have skills like "individual therapy," "patients," "group therapy sessions," and "mental health." But a sports psychologist is more likely to have skills like "ncaa," "performance enhancement," "professional athletes," and "athletic association."
When it comes to education, sports psychologists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to clinical psychology interns. In fact, they're 10.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 5.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Clinical psychology internship vs. Research psychologist
Types of clinical psychology internship
Updated January 8, 2025
