gouverneur healthcare services - New York State Psychological ...

values and community service. The primary emphasis of the academic yearlong externship
program is the continued professional development of the psychology extern and solid
preparation for future intensive training, i.e. pre-doctoral internship, and eventual transition from
advanced student to beginning professional.
TRAINING PROGRAM AND TRAINING GOALS
Under close supervision and support, psychology externs may gain clinical experience with a
variety of psychotherapy modalities / approaches (individual, group, family, and couples),
psychological and neuropsychological testing / assessments, while serving a population that
encompasses a broad variety of ages, cultures, illnesses, and levels of functioning. It is important
to note that the externship training staff encourages externs to communicate and pursue their
clinical interests as available in the department.
Further, a key educational component of the training program is the exposure to, as well the
necessity of, working as part of a multidisciplinary team. This approach is vital not only to the
comprehensive care of our patients, but also to the education of the trainee. By the end of the
training year, externs would have acquired / further honed the skills, knowledge and flexibility to
confront – proficiently, ethically and creatively – the challenges of working in an urban
outpatient community mental health clinic and treating patients who present with emotional
concerns that are multi-determined and compounded by various medical, cognitive,
socioeconomic, and social / familial struggles.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Depending on trainees’ particularly clinical interests and training needs, externs may receive
psychological or neuropsychological testing assignments, through which they will refine their
respective skills in clinical observation, interviewing, cognitive testing, personality / emotional
functioning assessment (objective and projective). Further, the dynamics of the testing patients’
problems are explored and integrated in the context of familial, cultural and political factors.
Externs may be assigned testing cases from any of the clinic units, and may have opportunities to
evaluate children, adolescents, adults and older adults. Often, referral questions for assessment
are wide-ranging and complex, including evaluation of a range of neuropsychological problems,
learning disabilities and ADHD, developmental, psycho-diagnostic and psycho-educational
evaluations.
Regarding psychotherapy, externs may be assigned to work with child, adolescent, adult and
geriatric outpatients who present with wide-ranging emotional concerns. Opportunities for
individual, group, family and couples therapy may be available. Externs are encouraged to
express their training needs and interests, as well to communicate any particular projects they
would like to undertake, for example, forming a new group to address a specific problem area /
concern (e.g. relaxation skills group for patients with panic disorder).
Externs participate in weekly, face-to-face individual supervision with their assigned primary
supervisor. Externs’ primary supervisors work closely with each extern to develop and monitor
training goals. Additional supervision, including consultation on particular cases, may be
arranged, as needed, and on a case-by-case basis.
Externs have opportunities, and are strongly encouraged, to present individual cases in monthly