Predoctoral Externships

PREDOCTORAL EXTERNSHIPS
IN CHILD PSYCHOLOGY
The Outpatient Pediatric Psychiatry Department at NYPH Children’s Hospital of New York and the
Department of Child Psychiatry at New York State Psychiatric Institute offer one year externship
training opportunities for graduate students in clinical psychology in a variety of outpatient settings to
conduct psychotherapy and/or psychological assessment under the supervision of licensed
psychologists.

Children's Day Unit

General Outpatient Child and Adolescent Psychology Externship

Herbert Irving Division of Child and Adolescent Oncology

School-based Mental Health Programs

Special Needs Clinic – NOT OFFERING FOR 2012
CHILDRENS DAY UNIT
The Children's Day Unit is an outpatient day hospital program that is a subdivision of the Division of
Child Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, as well as a unit in the New
York State Psychiatric Institute. It is both a clinical and research facility and a comprehensive evaluation
and treatment program for children and adolescents ages 6-18, with a diversity of diagnoses including
anxiety and mood disorders, psychosis, eating disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders. Our clinical
population is determined by open clinical research trials at NYSPI and are subject to change throughout
the academic year. Current and recent research projects have included treatment studies for OCD,
Tourettes Disorder, Major Depression, and Bipolar Disorder in adolescents.
All children and adolescents in the day treatment program receive a comprehensive evaluation,
including psychiatric and psychological assessment, physical examination, and social skills and
educational assessments. They then enter a structured therapeutic program which may include shortterm individual and group psychotherapy, social skills training, recreation, and medication if clinically
indicated. Children and adolescents also attend classes on the unit which are taught by special
education teachers from the NYC Department of Education.
Psychology externs are an integral part of the treatment team and participate actively in the therapeutic
milieu. The extern's responsibilities include conducting individual psychotherapy and leading group
therapy sessions. There is an emphasis on the study and delivery of empirically supported treatments
which have included Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy, as well as Parent
Training. The extern also serves as an integral member of the interdisciplinary treatment team and
participates in daily team and community meetings. The CDU milieu operates on a behavior
modification point level system, clinical team members participate in the delivery, reinforcement, and
monitoring of the point system for patients. In addition to psychotherapy, extern training consists of
conducting comprehensive diagnostic interviews of children and adolescents, and may include the
opportunity for some work in outpatient psychotherapy and/or neuropsychological testing. Externs can
expect to gain proficiency in diagnostic skills, clinical interviewing of children and adolescents with
externalizing and internalizing disorders, and report writing, in addition to building their knowledge and
skills in evidence-based psychotherapies.
The externship for the CDU is a one year (July-July) training experience that requires the extern spend a
minimum of two days (16 hours) per week on the unit.
To Apply to the Child Externship
Applicants to this track must be enrolled in a Ph.D. or Psy.D. psychology program in clinical, counseling,
school, or other relevant area of professional psychology, or in a qualified re-specialization program.
Third and Fourth-Year students are strongly preferred. Candidates who are bilingual (Spanish-English)
are encouraged to apply.
Please email a cover letter, current CV, two letters of recommendation, and a testing report/case report
to Angela Seracini, Ph.D., Coordinator of the Child and Adolescent Psychology Externship at
[email protected]:
(Materials may be faxed to 212-543-6660, to the attention of Angela Seracini, CDU)
New York State Psychiatric Institute
Dept. of Child Psychiatry
1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 74
New York, NY 10032
Applications (preferably with supporting materials) will be accepted starting January 15, 2011 and
deadline for receipt of all materials is January 28, 2011. Applications will be accepted starting January
17th, 2012 and deadline for receipt of all materials is Jan 30th, 2012.
GENERAL OUTPATIENT CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY EXTERNSHIP
This externship is located in Children's Hospital of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Pediatric Outpatient
Psychiatry Service. The Pediatric Outpatient Clinic serves children ages 4 to 18. The externship provides
clinical training in psychiatric diagnosis and interviewing, treatment planning for various psychiatric
disorders, instruction and experience in conducting short- and long-term psychotherapy
(psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal) treatments for anxiety and depressive
disorders as well as externalizing disorders and experience designing and running short-term parenting
and/or socialization groups.
All externs will see patients in the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Clinic and Child Anxiety and Depression
Clinic thereby gaining experience with both affective/internalizing disorders as well as externalizing
disorders such as ADHD and ODD. Externs will also participate for at least 6 months in a once weekly
Diagnostic Intake Service as part of a diagnostic team, where they interview and diagnose pediatric
outpatients and make treatment recommendations. Externs may have the option of engaging in one or
more additional elective rotations, which would include participating as part of a dyadic treatment team
with a psychiatrist/psychiatry trainee in our ADHD Clinic, providing individual therapy and group therapy
to children and adolescents who have experienced abuse or trauma at the NYP Child Advocacy Center
and/or participating in the adolescent Dialectical Behavior Therapy program.
Externs participate in weekly interdisciplinary clinic case conferences and learn case presentation format
and interviewing techniques from senior clinic members. Didactic instruction is provided on selected
issues in psychiatry and psychology including DSM-IV diagnoses, ethics, confidentiality, crisis
intervention, psychopharmacology, current research issues, charting and maintenance of psychiatric
records. Didactics are provided as part of the clinic meetings as well as in once weekly Grand Rounds
presentations. Externs will carry a weekly caseload of at least four individual psychotherapy patients,
one diagnostic patient, one group and a minimum total of 8 hours per week of direct patient care.
Supervision is provided directly by a licensed clinical psychologist in the Children's Anxiety and
Depression Clinic and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Clinic, and indirectly by the Directors of the Clinics,
Diagnostic Intake Service team leaders and the Director of Training. Externs are provided with one to
two hours of supervision for treatment cases, one hour for group, and one hour for diagnostic patients.
This is a one-year externship from July to July, with a weekly maximum of 16 hours per week, Monday
through Friday. Applicants must be enrolled in at least their second year in an APA-accredited doctoral
program in clinical/school-clinical psychology. First-year doctoral students with prior experience in
mental health settings may also apply. A prior hospital-based externship is preferable but not necessary,
as are bilingual skills (English/Spanish).
If you have questions about this externship, please contact:
Colleen Cullen, Psy.D.
Phone: 212.305.2437
To apply, you may either fax or e-mail a curriculum vitae and two letters of recommendation to Colleen
Cullen, Psy.D. at:
Fax: 212.305.6614
E-mail: [email protected]
Clinic location is as follows:
Children's Hospital of New York
Department of Pediatric Psychiatry
CHONY 6 North
New York Presbyterian Hospital
3959 Broadway
New York, NY 10032
HERBERT IRVING DIVISION OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT ONCOLOGY
A psychology externship is available at the Herbert Irving Division of Child and Adolescent Oncology
program. Under the supervision of the Director of Psycho Social Programs, the psychology extern will
provide direct and consultative psychological services to both patients and families in a pediatric
hematology/oncology day treatment setting, as well as pediatric patients admitted to the Children’s
Hospital of NY Presbyterian. Responsibilities can include providing individual, family and group
psychotherapy, implementing cognitive-behavioral interventions, participating in a multidisciplinary
team, and performing neuropsychological and educational assessments.
For more information, please contact :
Stephen Sands, Psy.D.
(212) 305-3649
[email protected]
SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS
The Pediatric Psychiatry Service at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian, in
collaboration with the NYC Department of Education and state and city public mental health authorities,
currently provides school-based mental health services in several elementary schools throughout Northern
Manhattan and Central Harlem.
The School-Based Mental Health Program provides on-site clinical, psychiatric, case management, and
school-consultation services to children from Pre-K to 8th grade coping with a variety of externalizing and
internalizing disorders, and their families. The majority of families are bi-cultural and bi-lingual
(Spanish/English).
All services are provided on-site at the school with the exception of psychological testing, which will take
place in the Department of Pediatric Psychiatry. Externs will be able to expand their experience by providing
individual, family and group therapy, mental health evaluations, teacher/staff consultation, psychological
testing, and linkage to appropriate community-based services.
Externs will be supervised by NYS Licensed Psychologists and Board Certified Child Psychiatrists. Specifically,
supervision will be broken down accordingly:
One hour per week with their primary clinical supervisor regarding evaluation and therapy cases.
One hour per week for multidisciplinary team meetings and case presentations.
One-and-one half hours per week for child and adolescent psychiatry grand round presentations at the NYS
Psychiatric Institute.
As needed with varied supervisors regarding testing cases.
The Externship will run for one public school year from September through the end of June, 2.5 days per
week, 16 hours, with the option to continue throughout summer programming until August. One of the two
days must be Wednesday for grand round presentations, team meetings, case presentations, and
supervision.
Candidates must be enrolled in at least their 2nd year of an APA-accredited clinical or school psychology
Doctoral program, have experience working with children, have a working knowledge of the DSM-IV and child
assessment. Proficiency in Spanish is a plus.
Interested candidates may contact:
Tal Reis, Ph.D.: [email protected]
To apply, please e-mail the following to Dr. Reis: letter of interest, copy of curriculum vitae, 2 letters of
recommendation highlighting clinical skills, and a sample testing report.
Special Needs Clinic Psychology Externship NOT OFFERING THIS YEAR
A psychology externship program is being offered through the Special Needs Clinic at New York
Presbyterian Hospital. The Special Needs Clinic is a subspecialty clinic of the Pediatric Psychiatry
Department at New York Presbyterian Hospital serving an impoverished, inner city, primarily Latino and
African American population. The clinic provides comprehensive, interdisciplinary and family based
mental health services to families affected by HIV. Trauma, mental illness, substance use, educational
difficulties and psychosocial problems are additional issues facing the patient population. The clinic
provides an integrative, supportive training model for staff and trainees. A description of the externship
program follows.
The externship begins in September and runs through the academic year. The extern will conduct
psychoeducational evaluations, co-lead two child psychotherapy groups, participate in weekly case
conferences and specific extern didactic seminars. A commitment of approximately 14 hours is
expected.
Clinical training involves receiving weekly individual testing supervision and weekly supervision for each
group. Ongoing testing cases of children and adolescents are assigned. In addition, the extern will
participate in weekly interdisciplinary staff meetings and extern seminars. Attendance at weekly child
and adult psychiatry grand rounds is optional.