Pediatric Psychology Internship Program

Psychology Internship in Integrated Behavioral Health and Pediatric Psychology

The Michigan Medicine Psychology Internship in Integrated Behavioral Health and Pediatric Psychology is a proud member of the Mid-Michigan Psychology Internship Consortium (MMPIC).  The Michigan Medicine internship site offers training in the delivery of behavioral health services for pediatric populations in medical settings. The majority of training will occur within our Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) Program where interns will learn to function as behavioral health specialists in primary care pediatric settings.  Other rotations available will provide the opportunity to receive training in the areas of inpatient consultation/liaison and multidisciplinary specialty clinics to provide the breadth of training necessary for professional practice within medical settings. Michigan Medicine and the Division of Pediatric Psychology recognize that there is a shortage of well-trained behavioral health experts that have the necessary training to provide evidence-based treatment in primary care pediatric and hospital settings. The focus of this internship is to train interns to become licensed psychologists to function at the doctoral level as behavioral health specialists in primary care and hospital settings.  

Michigan Medicine

Michigan Medicine and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital are among the top rated medical systems in the world. As a teaching facility, the health system is closely affiliated with the University of Michigan Medical School where faculty hold appointments. Psychology interns have the opportunity to train with medical students, medical residents, nursing students and allied health students during their internship at Michigan Medicine.  

Internship Overview

We will be accepting at least 5 interns per year from 2022 – 2025.    We pride ourselves on providing a unique training opportunity for interns to learn the most current empirically-based treatments from faculty who take an active interest in promoting the long-term career goals of trainees. Our goal is train interns in best practice while simultaneous developing lifelong collegial relationships for future clinical and research collaboration.  Formal supervision is continuous throughout the internship year and faculty have an open-door policy for consultation.

Our former interns currently have fellowships or faculty appointments at the following locations:

  • Geisinger Health System
  • Michigan Medicine
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital
  • Kennedy Krieger Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Oregon Health & Science University
  • Western Michigan School of Medicine

Training Model

Interns are provided the opportunity to receive training that is primarily behavioral in orientation that focuses on evidence-based practice, including data-driven decision making and the implementation of empirically derived behavioral treatment technology. Training and supervision is commensurate as interns progress through each of the phase of training. The training program is designed to move the intern toward independence, faculty work to move the interns into primary clinical positions at a rate that is personalized to each intern’s development. Assessment of competencies, completion of learning objectives, and progression toward independence are reviewed continually during formal and informal supervision at regular intervals.  

Internship Structure

Depending on the rotation, an intern’s time may be allocated as follows:

  • Clinical Activities (60-70%) – Activities include time spent in clinic, documenting, conducting observations, and completing necessary clinical phone calls. 
  • Professional Development (10-15%) – This includes formal supervision, didactic training and attending rounds. 
  • Research Related Activities (10-15%) – Interns are required to complete at least one research product during the internship year. This research product can take on many forms, and can range from completing a component of a larger ongoing research project to presenting a poster at a university, regional, or national conference. Opportunities for publication are available to interns who engage in research tasks that meet criteria for authorship. All interns are required to have completed their dissertation proposals. If not completed prior to internship, trainees are supported to actively complete their dissertations during their internship.

Training Tracks

The Department of Pediatrics, the Division of Pediatric Psychology serves infants, children and adolescents in need of psychological evaluation and treatment. Our psychologists, fellows, interns, and practicum students provide care primarily in conjunction with the Division of General Pediatrics in primary care satellite clinics in the surrounding area. Interns also have the opportunity to provide telehealth services to children served by MidMichigan Community Health Services. These children receive primary care through Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), providing interns an opportunity to work with underserved populations. Interns can also serve hospital inpatients and outpatients referred from other ambulatory services of the hospital and outpatient specialty clinics. We offer two training tracks to meet the goals of interns interested in pediatric integrated behavioral health and pediatric psychology.

  • Integrated Behavioral Health Track 

The major rotations in the internship program currently involve training in pediatric primary care settings. These rotations focus on teaching interns outpatient behavioral assessment and treatment techniques for common developmental and behavioral problems encountered by children, adolescents, and their families. These problems include, but are not limited to, noncompliance, tantrums, ADHD, disruptive school behavior, adjustment disorders, anxiety, depression, habit disorders, enuresis, encopresis, academic problems, pain and stress related disorders as well as sleep issues. Interns will learn to assess and treat these issues working alongside physicians and staff in the primary care pediatric setting. Through these experiences, interns can expect to learn how best to integrate into the culture of primary care while providing evidence-based treatment. Interns in these rotations also have monthly integrated behavioral health research lab meetings providing the opportunity to participate in research on behavioral health delivery in the primary care setting. 

  • Pediatric Psychology Track 

Currently, minor rotations are available offering training in inpatient and outpatient hospital-based psychological intervention, assessment and consultation for children and adolescents, and their families. Current minor rotations are available in outpatient specialty clinics including pediatric weight loss/management, sleep, diabetes, cystic fibrosis (CF), congenital heart disease (CHD), disorders of sex development (DSD), solid organ transplant, feeding disorders, and inpatient consultation/liaison. 

Stipend

Interns are paid $28,352 during the 12-month internship.  Employment will be contingent on satisfactory completion of a background check and drug screening.

Eligibility and Selection

This internship is designed for graduate students completing their Ph.D. in Clinical or School Psychology seeking experience in integrated behavioral health and pediatric psychology.  Applicants are required to have passed their doctoral program's comprehensive exam and must provide a letter of internship readiness from their Director of Clinical Training (DCT) by the internship application deadline.  Eligible students are required to have their Temporary Limited License in Psychology (TLLP) prior to the start of the internship.  Interns will be selected based on a thorough review of your submitted application materials.  Of particular interest are your clinical experiences and expertise, understanding of and interest in integrated behavioral health and pediatric psychology, and letters of reference in terms of personal qualities such as maturity and openness to learning.  The presentation and strength of the written and oral aspects of the application are most important; your university program and degree (e.g., Ph.D. or Psy.D.) less so.  We are looking for a good match between your stated goals and background with the training experiences available at our site.

How to Apply

Mid-Michigan Internship Consortium (MMPIC) is a member of the  APPIC Internship Matching Program.  The deadline for applying is November 15th. 

Please visit the MMPIC website http://education.msu.edu/cepse/school-psychology/mmpic/ for more information and for details on how to apply to MMPIC and Michigan Medicine - Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, Division of Pediatric Psychology, Psychology Internship in Integrated Behavioral Health and Pediatric Psychology specifically.  The Match number for the Michigan Medicine Internship is: 244714

Please contact Dr. Jana Aupperlee, internship training director, at [email protected] with questions about the application process.  You may also contact Blake M. Lancaster, PhD at [email protected] with questions about intern experiences here at the Michigan Medicine Psychology Internship in Integrated Behavioral Health and Pediatric Psychology.

Blake M. Lancaster, Ph.D.
Director, Pediatric Psychology Internship Program
University of Michigan Health System
Department of Pediatrics
Division of Pediatric Psychology
1500 East Medical Center Drive
D2204 Medical Professional Building, SPC 5718
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-5718
[email protected]