Clinical Psychology Training Sites

Interns who are a part of our exclusively affiliated doctoral internship program will rotate through clinical rotations (typically two primary rotations, 12 months each) at the following facilities, which include UT Southwestern clinical facilities, community agencies, regional facilities, specialized agencies, and area schools.

Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CADD)

The Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CADD) provides outpatient multidisciplinary assessments for children and adolescents suspected of Autism Spectrum Disorders, as well as therapy services for families with children with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Children’s Medical Center Psychological Services

Children’s Health℠ Children’s Medical Center Dallas is a private pediatric general medical and surgical hospital affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center. The hospital has a 12-bed child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient service, along with a day treatment and outpatient psychiatric program. In addition to the psychiatric service, students also have opportunities to work with a broad range of physically ill and disabled children, their families, and other health service personnel through the psychiatry consultation-liaison service at Children’s.

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UT Southwestern

Rehabilitation Psychology is a specialty area focusing on the study and application of psychological knowledge and skills on behalf of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions in order to maximize health and welfare, independence and choice, functional abilities, and social role participation across the lifespan.

The training site emphasizes the biopsychosocial model of assessment, integrating the premorbid functioning with expected and observed impairment, neurological or otherwise, as it relates to current presentation. Assessment and treatment often require adaptation due to sensory and language impairments. Trainees will assess and identify risk factors (e.g., cognitive, emotional, psychiatric, social, substance abuse histories) that are barriers to optimal recovery. They also provide treatment and psychoeducation for patients and family during the inpatient stay, in addition to anticipating their needs for the longer term, coordinating future treatment that may include neurocognitive assessment, individual/family therapy, psychoeducation for the family/caregiver to better understand and care for patients, and groups.

Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics

The Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic is in an outpatient setting housed within the Bright Building at Children’s Health. Clinical opportunities are available in multiple clinics through CMC and UT Southwestern. Student will assist in providing consultative and screening services for children in the Complex Care Clinic at CMC as well as conducting neuropsychological evaluations and behavioral-based therapy (individual and family) through the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic.

John Peter Smith Hospital

The training experience at John Peter Smith Hospital consists of working with a very diverse patient population, both in terms of culture as well as psychopathology. Much of the training consists of personality testing utilizing clinical interview, the Rorschach, as well as self-report measures. The intern has the opportunity to administer a variety of ADHD and neuropsychological batteries as well as be a part of the multidisciplinary team. Furthermore, the intern is a co-facilitator for an inpatient process group and occasionally takes on inpatients for individual psychotherapy as warranted.

Moncrief Cancer Institute

Moncrief Cancer Institute is a nonprofit, community-based cancer prevention and support center serving the social, emotional, and physical needs of individuals with cancer and their support network. Moncrief is an affiliate of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Clinical services involve outpatient psychotherapy for patients, family members, caregivers, and survivors. The focus of therapy typically includes coping with a cancer diagnosis, fear of recurrence, grief and loss, caregiver stress and burnout, pain management, and relationship issues. Students will have the opportunity to provide psychotherapy to such individuals, under the supervision of the two clinical psychologists on staff at Moncrief. They will also learn about various aspects of psycho-oncology, including how to collaborate with oncology treatment providers and a host of other support personnel (e.g., social workers, genetic counselors, registered dietitians) to provide comprehensive treatment. In addition, Moncrief is involved in ongoing quality improvement projects that include mental health screening, breast cancer screening and navigation, colorectal cancer screening, community survivorship.

Neuropsychology Service

The Neuropsychology Service provides neuropsychological evaluations to adult in- and outpatients with a variety of known or suspected brain disorders. Common referrals include Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, intracranial neoplasms, aneurysm, and traumatic brain injury. Referral sources include psychiatric, neurological, neurosurgery clinics, other departments throughout the Medical Center (e.g., Rehabilitation Medicine, Rheumatology), outside physicians, and attorneys.

The approach to neuropsychological assessment blends qualitative (process) and quantitative strategies, using a variety of standard instruments. Evaluations are tailored to specific populations, referral questions, and individual needs. Students are involved in interviews, assessment, feedback, and report preparation. Opportunities are available for participation in various neurology, neurosurgery, and neuropsychology case conferences, and other training experiences. Trainees also interact with Fellows in the Postdoctoral Training Program in Clinical Neuropsychology.

Parkland Hospital Inpatient, Outpatient, and Consult-Liaison Services

The Department of Psychiatry operates a 20-bed acute psychiatric ward in Parkland Hospital, the primary teaching hospital of UT Southwestern Medical School. This is essentially a short-term treatment center that provides opportunities for contact with a wide range of patients with a diversity of disorders. The Department also maintains an outpatient service at Parkland Hospital which serves the psychiatric needs of a large section of the community.

A consultation/liaison service offers consultation to other departments within Parkland and across the Medical School. There are conferences and discussions regarding patients with various physical symptoms or disabilities for which psychological and neuropsychological evaluations are requested, or in which the participation of a mental health professional is desirable.

Parkland Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Room

The Psychiatry Emergency Room of Parkland Hospital is one of the main sources of health care for a very large segment of the population of Dallas County. Its primary function is the care of true emergency psychiatric patients, or acutely distressed and disturbed patients, individuals with rapidly changing health situations, and trauma victims.

Brief intake evaluation, crisis intervention, and appropriate subsequent referral are the primary tasks on this service. All students receive training in the Parkland ER through a shared rotation schedule beginning the third semester of the first year, through the second semester of the third year.

Pate Rehabilitation

Pate Rehabilitation is a comprehensive transdisciplinary inpatient- and outpatient-based post-acute brain injury rehabilitation. Trainees assess neurocognitive abilities among patients with a variety of acquired cognitive deficits, create a multidisciplinary treatment plan to ameliorate impairments, work collaboratively to improve patient functioning, create behavior plans to assist fellow therapists with challenging behaviors (i.e., noncompliance, avoidance, etc), and educate patients and families about neurologic or psychologic issues. It is also a very good opportunity to work with diverse patients and families (SES, ethnicity, culture).

At the conclusion of the internship, the student will have completed a variety of therapeutic activities that will help them build a sense of proficiency, competency, and confidence to work in the brain injury rehabilitation field.

Price, Proctor & Associates, LLP

Price, Proctor & Associates, LLP is a group private practice that focuses primarily on forensic psychological and neuropsychological assessment. Students are introduced to the interface between psychology and the law through didactic training and practical application.

Opportunities for exposure to a variety of forensic psychological and neuropsychological evaluations are available, but in particular, students participate in evaluations of those seeking disability for mental health reasons and of those applying for employment in public safety positions (e.g., police officers, firefighters, detention officers).

The majority of the students’ time is spent interviewing, conducting psychological testing, interpreting psychological or neuropsychological testing, and report writing.

SMU Student Health Services

The Student Health Service of Southern Methodist University provides excellent opportunities to deal with a wide range of young adults. Clients come to this setting with problems ranging from relatively minor academic issues to serious personal and interpersonal situations and/or mental illness. Thus, the student trainee placed in this setting has the opportunity to learn to deal not only with the clinical issues of such a population, but also with the environmental support systems offered by the institution.

The University of Texas at Arlington

The UT Arlington Mental Health Service provides basic psychiatric and psychological services to the campus community (students, faculty, and staff) in a team approach with other health professionals. Clinical services include intake assessments, treatment planning, and brief to extended psychotherapy. Testing services include adult ADD screening and assessment.

The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Metrocare

The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Metrocare (SACMFC) provides quality, accessible, and comprehensive mental health care to veterans (primarily post 9-11) and their families regardless of ability to pay. Clinical training focuses on the assessment and treatment of mental health problems facing Veterans and their family members. The placement offers specialized training and supervision with emphasis on evidence based practice. Interns are exposed to a number of established treatments including trauma focused protocols such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE). In addition, training is offered by the Cohen Veterans Network in specialized approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Interns participate in weekly individual supervision, clinical staff consultation meetings as well as didactic training on topics relevant to working with Veterans and their families. Additionally, interns have the opportunity of co-leading as well as developing groups.

UT Southwestern Clinical Psychology Psychotherapy Program

The UT Southwestern Psychotherapy Clinic is an adult outpatient psychiatric clinic administered through the Department of Psychiatry. The Clinic has two primary functions: to provide low-cost outpatient psychotherapy services to patients who meet admission criteria to the clinic, and to enhance the training of both psychology graduate students and psychiatric residents. Students in the third semester of their first year and through the end of their fourth year are assigned a minimum of two patients in outpatient psychotherapy referred through this clinic.

Each academic year a supervisor is assigned to students for their Southwestern Clinic patients. This training clinic provides independent practice-like experiences for the student, as well as the opportunity to follow patients over a longer period of time if appropriate to patient need. Additionally, this setting facilitates the close collaboration between psychology and psychiatry trainees.