INTERNSHIP PROGRAM TABLES

Date Program Tables are updated: 7/28/17

Internship Program Admissions

Applicants must meet the following prerequisites to be considered for our program:

  1. U.S. citizenship.
  2. Doctoral student in good standing at an American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) accredited doctoral program in Clinical orCounseling Psychology.
  3. Approved for internship status by graduate program training director.
  4. A minimum of 250 direct intervention and 50 direct assessment hours of supervised graduate level pre-internship practicum experience. There is a clear focus on quality of training experiences rather than total hours.
  5. Male applicants born after 12/31/1959 must have registered for the draft by age 26.
  6. Matched interns are subject to fingerprinting, background checks, and urine drug screens. Match result and selection decisions are contingent on passing these screens.

Selection Process
Applicants are required to create an application through the AAPI Online Applicant Portal that can be accessed at click on AAPI/APPA on the white bar at the top of the page, then select AAPI Internship Application Information and then Applicant Portal and follow the directions.

Include the following in your application:

  1. In your cover letter, please include a list from 1 to 3, the three placements you believe you would select for your internship year from the following Specialized Training Options: Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP),Geropsychology, Health Psychology, Home Based Primary Care (HBPC), Inpatient Psychology, Neuropsychology, Outpatient PTSD, Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program (SARP), Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (PRRTP), Decatur Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, and Peoria Community-Based OutpatientClinic. (These choices are not binding and merely indicate preferences to be used solely for the purpose of arranging interviews.)
  2. Three letters of recommendation, with at least two of these from clinical/counseling supervisors.
  3. A de-identified treatment or case summary.
  4. A de-identified psychological evaluation report. Students interested in the neuropsychology placement are encouraged to submit a sample neuropsychological assessment report.

All application materials should be sent via the AAPI Online portal by November 15.

A selection committee comprised of psychologists involved in training reviews applications. Applicants may seek consideration for our Standard Clinical track, our Neuropsychology track or both tracks. We are seeking applicants who have a solid clinical and scientific knowledge base, strong basic skills in assessment, intervention, and research techniques, and the personal characteristics necessary to function well in our internship setting. Our selection criteria are based on a "match" with our practitioner/scientist program, wherein we are seeking interns whose training goals match the training we offer. The VA Illiana Health Care System values diversity in our staff. As a Federal employer, the VAIHCS strictly follows EEOC policies on fair recruitment and personnel practices. As an equal opportunity training program, our internship welcomes and strongly encourages applications from qualified candidates from all backgrounds including age, color, ethnicity, gender, language, marital status, parental status, physical capacity, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other minority status. All things being equal, consideration is given to applicants who identify themselves as Veterans or members of historically underrepresented groups.

Interview Process

Top applicants will be invited to participate in a half-day on-site interview and will be notified via email by our interview notification date of December 15. Performance-based interviews will be conducted on four days in January. The dates for this current selection cycle are Friday 1/5, Monday 1/8, Tuesday 1/16, and Friday 1/19., with applicants being interviewed either during the morning or afternoon of each day. Two staff psychologists will interview each applicant, there will be an opportunity to hear about each placement at a group presentation, applicants will be given a tour with current interns, and will meet with the Training Director for an informational session. If an on-site interview is not possible, arrangements may be made for a telephone interview on Monday 1/22. Selections are made on the basis of a match between our resources and the applicant's qualifications and training needs. The Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Match Policies are followed in intern recruitment. We offer all of our internship positions through the APPIC Match program and adhere to the APPIC Match Policies. All applicants must be registered with National Matching Services, Inc. NMS Applicant Agreement packages can be obtained at A review of these guidelines may be found on the APPIC website This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. Please note that we will be taking a group photo of interviewees to use as a visual mnemonic cue to assist our ranking process.

The program requires that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application:

Intervention and Assessment Hours Combined300

Grand Total Practicum Hours1000

Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year

Annual Stipend/Salary for Full-time Interns$24,014 per year

Annual Stipend/Salary for Half-time InternsNot Applicable

Insurance

Program provides access to medical insurance for intern?Yes

Trainee contribution to cost required?Yes

Coverage of family member(s) available?Yes

Coverage of legally married partner available?Yes

Coverage of domestic partner available?Yes (valid common law marriage)

Time Off

Hours of Annual Paid Personal Time Off (PTO and/or Vacation) / Yes / 4 hours every 2 weeks
Hours of Annual Paid Sick Leave / Yes / 4 hours every 2 weeks
In the event of medical conditions and/or family needs that require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/residents in excess of personal time off and sick leave? / Yes / Negotiated on a case-by-case basis

Initial Post-Internship Positions

(Provide an Aggregated Tally for the Preceding 3 Cohorts) 2012-2015

Total # of interns who were in the 3 cohorts12

Total # of interns who did not seek employment

because they returned to their doctoral program/are

completing doctoral degree0

Postdoc Position / Employment Position
Community mental health center / NA / NA
Federally qualified health center / NA / NA
Independent primary care facility/clinic / NA / NA
University counseling center / NA / NA
Veterans Affairs medical center / 2 / 5
Military health center / NA / NA
Academic health center / 4 / NA
Other medical center or hospital / NA / NA
Psychiatric hospital / NA / NA
Academic university/department / NA / 1
Community college or other teaching setting / NA / NA
Independent research institution / NA / NA
Correctional facility / NA / NA
School district/system / NA / NA
Independent practice setting / NA / NA
Not currently employed / NA / NA
Changed to another field / NA / NA
Other / NA / NA
Unknown / NA / NA