Spring Grove Hospital Center: Department of Psychology

Current COVID-19 Requirements: Mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for employees and students unless you have a valid medical or religious vaccine exemption. Masking for vaccinated staff is recommended but not required but could be reinstated if an outbreak should occur. Those employees who are unvaccinated are required to wear a mask.

Psychology Externship

Two-semester, 15-20 hours per week advanced practicum working with patients with serious mental illness. Prerequisites: 1) Current enrollment in a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in Clinical or Counseling Psychology Program (APA-Accredited, preferred); 2) Completion of two (2) full years of graduate study; 3) Completion of at least two (2) courses in psychology assessment and the write-up of at least 2 (two) full batteries, one of which is an adult; 4) Affirmation of Eligibility from the Director of Clinical Training at the student’s home university to participate in the Psychology Externship Program (form included in application packet); 5) A training agreement must be in place between the home university and SGHC (can be arranged by contacting the Coordinator of Psychology Externship Training); and 6) Professional liability coverage. An assessment and therapy (group and individual) element is involved in addition to mandatory lectures and didactics.

Application Procedure: To request an Externship Brochure and an application packet (not available on-line), please contact via email (preferred):

Leila Ford, Ph.D., Coordinator, Psychology Externship Training
Spring Grove Hospital Center, White D Unit
55 Wade Avenue
Catonsville, MD 21228
410) 402-7606
Leila.Ford@maryland.gov ​

Psychology Internship

The internship is a one-year, full-time (40 hours per week) training program for students completing APA-accredited doctoral programs in Clinical or Counseling Psychology. Interns are selected through the APPIC Match process utilizing the AAPI application, a comprehensive sample report and mandatory interview.

Interns at SGHC are currently designated as essential employees. “Essential Employee” has the following definition in the Executive Order entitled, PROCEDURE FOR RELEASE OF STATE EMPLOYEES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS: an employee whose duties are of such a nature as to require the employee to report for work or remain at the work site to continue agency operations during an emergency situation. The appointing authority or designee may excuse emergency essential employees from duty, or require their presence, as circumstances and conditions warrant, to maintain minimum staffing requirements for the affected facilities.

Diversity and Non-Discrimination Statement

The Psychology Internship Training Program at Spring Grove Hospital Center (SGHC) is committed to maintaining and enhancing diversity in ideas, orientation, culture, ethnicity and experience. To that end the program encourages and solicits qualified applications from all localities, schools, minorities and diverse backgrounds to apply.

As an agency of the Maryland Department of Health (MDH), Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), SGHC prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion or belief, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic testing, political affiliation, and mental and/or physical disability in the operation and administration of its services, facilities, programs, benefits, and employment opportunities. The Psychology Internship Training Program at SGHC recruits qualified doctoral interns based upon the individual merits and achievements of applicants. All selection decisions including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, graduation, and termination are made without regard to the race, color, religion, national origin, veteran’s status, sex, age, physical or mental disability, and/or any other characteristics protected by law. The Psychology Internship Training Program does not discriminate on the basis of any factor that is irrelevant to the successful completion of internship training.

THE FOLLOWING IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF SPRING GROVE HOSPITAL CENTER’S APA-ACCREDITED PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM. FOR A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM, PARTICULARLY IT’S OVERALL AND SPECIFIC TRAINING AIMS, COMPETENCIES, TRAINING STAFF, OTHER RESOURCES, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, PLEASE REFER TO OUR INTERNSHIP BROCHURE

The link to our 2025-26 Internship Brochure can found below:

[Spring Grove Hospital Psychology Internship Brochure​]

Overall Program Aims

The 40 hours/week one-year full-time doctoral internship training program in the Psychology Department at Spring Grove Hospital Center is APA-accredited and a member of APPIC. The program It is designed to train and prepare competent, health service psychology practitioners who will deliver clinical psychology services and lead mental health providers in the delivery of services to the public in various settings, with a particular focus on service provision to the seriously mentally ill patient population. The Psychology Internship Training Program strongly encourages the integration of the theoretical and empirical literature in all areas of professional decision-making. The program further trains and develops early career psychologists who are able to critically evaluate and use available literature in the field and who will approach assessment, intervention, and consultation from a scholarly, evidence-based approach. At the same time, the program encourages interns to develop a unique identity consistent with the best practices in the field, professional ethics and values, and the individual’s own personal therapeutic style with a sensitivity towards diversity and individual differences.

Specific Training Aims and Desired Training Outcomes

Over the course of the internship training year, the program employs, along targeted goals and requirements, nine profession-wide competencies as vehicles to build skills and impart knowledge so that each intern will meet the program’s aims and desired outcomes, as well as the intern’s personal training goals and objectives. The Internship Training Program has as its specific training aims the following:

Profession-Wide Competencies

The interns are systematically guided to move from the role of intern to that of professional psychologist by developing required profession-wide competencies and practicing these competencies under the under the supervision of licensed psychology staff.

The nine profession-wide competency areas are:

1) Research;

2) Ethical and Legal Standards;

3) Individual and Cultural Diversity;

4) Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors;

5) Communication and Interpersonal Skills; 6) Assessment;

7) Intervention;

8) Supervision; and,

9) Consultation and Interprofessional/ Interdisciplinary Skills.

Over the course of the training year, the profession-wide competencies are developed through the integration of:

1) A variety of training seminars, didactics and lectures (including a broad-based approach to individual and cultural diversity, evidence-based practices, theories and methods of supervision, professional development issues and topics, and general psychological testing methods and application);

2) The apprenticeship with practicing, professional psychologists and other credentialed/ licensed mental health professional (re: psychological assessments, individual and group therapy, consultations, etc.);

3) Through opportunities to learn to become effective supervisors via peer supervising and mentoring psychology externs; and; 4) through scholarly professional presentations to department staff on current topics and/or research related to health service psychology.

The supervisors, Training Director and psychology department staff guide the interns within and across rotations in a graded sequence of training experiences towards the goal of producing competent early career health service professional practitioners who are capable of functioning independently with minimal supervisory consultation. The overarching aim of the Psychology Internship Training Program at Spring Grove Hospital Center is to produce graduates who are competent beginning health service psychologists who reflect a creative scholarly approach to ameliorating psychological problems, with a variety of patients, particularly with the seriously mentally ill, and who are ready to proceed to obtain licensure (e.g., in Maryland) or a final year of supervised experience in preparation for licensure as independent psychologists.

INTERNSHIP ADMISSIONS, SUPPORT, AND INITIAL PLACEMENT DATA

Date Program Tables are updated: 07/03/2024

Program Disclosures

Does the program or institution require students, trainees, and/or staff (faculty) to comply with specific policies or practices related to the institution’s affiliation or purpose? Such policies or practices may include, but not limited to, admissions, hiring, retention policies, and/or requirements for completion that express mission and values: NO

TABLE 1

Internship Program Admissions

ARE WE A GOOD MATCH?

It is important that both intern candidates and internship training sites carefully evaluate each other to make a good training match. To guide you in deciding whether Spring Grove Hospital Center is a potential site for you to apply to, we are providing this description of what this internship program is looking for in candidates for our internship positions to assure success. This profile is based on our experience over time with individuals we have matched with in the past and the type of student we are best equipped to train. This is meant as a guideline only; if you do not fit all of these parameters, but still feel as though Spring Grove Hospital Center could offer you valuable training experience, we will gladly receive and review your application.

Spring Grove Hospital Center is an applied setting with a diverse inpatient population. We provide a sound generalist clinical training experience to provide future health service psychologists the skills and competencies for working particularly with people with serious and persistent mental illness . While the majority of our patients are forensically involved and a background/ prior experience with forensic population is valued, the role of the unit psychologist (and therefore the psychology intern) is to provide general clinically based intervention and assessment services to this population. Opportunity to be directly involved in the forensic aspects of the patients is available but limited . Therefore, we seek candidates with an interest in a general training experience and who have had some prior experience and/or current interest in serving a seriously and persistently mentally ill population within an inpatient setting.

Additionally, we seek candidates who display a serious commitment to developing a suitable professional identity and competencies, which include the aptitudes, resourcefulness, and flexibility necessary for active participation in the profession. Psychology interns from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply to our program. We are looking for interns with cultural humility who have a desire to understand cultural and individual diversity and how this influences interventions, assessment, and behavioral consultation.

An important part of our program is the Evidence-Based Practice Seminar, which provides psychology interns with an understanding of the ethical implementations of evidenced based treatment and interventions. We expect our interns to have a commitment to understand evidenced based treatment and its ethical use with an inpatient, seriously mentally ill population. While we incorporate a variety of evidence-based treatments with patients throughout the hospital, our training program emphasizes Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as part of our training model, with adaptations utilized for patients with psychosis (CBTp).

Psychological assessment is required and valued at Spring Grove Hospital Center. All newly admitted patients participate in brief initial psychological assessments as well as annual psychological assessments (if they have been at the hospital over a year). While the opportunity has become less available over the past five years (due to the forensic-nature of the majority of the patients), broad comprehensive evaluations are completed on some patients for diagnostic purposes, as well as shorter focused evaluations (e.g., just trauma-related assessment). Therefore, we seek candidates who have taken courses in testing fundamentals and have produced a number of integrated, comprehensive psychological reports based on test results, especially with adult clients/patients. Psychological testing experience includes not only interpretation of tests, but also organization and integration of interview and historical/ background data. While opportunities to participate in forensic pre-trial or other specialized evaluations (e.g., risk assessments) may be available these are not the emphasis of the training program.

The Spring Grove Hospital Center Psychology Internship Program provides a multitude of professional training opportunities for our interns. Interns participate in treatment team meetings, and depending on the unit assigned interns may be able to become involved in the unit’s Performance Improvement project (that involve the design, implementation, and statistical evaluation of patient care initiatives). They are also an integral part of the interview selection process for future interns. Flexibility , adaptability, and a teamwork philosophy are ideals and qualities that coincide with the many training opportunities provided by the internship.

The highly diverse patient population at Spring Grove Hospital Center includes adult and adolescent inpatients. While we also provide pre-trial competency forensic evaluations and other types (e.g., risk assessments, not criminally responsible evaluations- via Office of Forensic Services), the program takes a generalist approach and is not suited for interns who wish to specialize in any one population or area during their training year . There are opportunities to participate in enhanced/specialty training during the second rotation on an approximate one- to two-day per week basis.

Finally, in the interest in being able to take advantage of all of the training opportunities available at Spring Grove Hospital Center during internship, as well as completing the requirements in a timely and less harried manner, we strongly recommend and encourage incoming interns to have completed (or be close to completing) their Clinical Research Projects/Dissertations prior to the start of the internship program . We have found that attempting to complete CRPs/dissertations during the internship year is highly stressful and a significant distraction to the internship program, especially since interns are also developing plans for life after internship (i.e., post-doctoral programs, employment).

Does the program require that applicant have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If Yes, indicate how many^[1]

Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants:

• ➢ Current enrollment in an *APA-accredited Ph.D.orPsy.D. program in Clinicalor Counseling Psychology

• ➢ Completion of *775 Total Hours of practicum work by AAPI deadline for Practicum Hours Accrued (October 1, 2024​).

• ➢ Completion of combined total of 425 direct intervention and assessment

  • ➢ Minimum of 240 direct intervention hours

  • ➢ Minimum of 70 assessment hours (preferred)

  • ➢ preferably at least 50% of those combined hours with adult patients and/or clients (with separate minimums as described above)

  • ➢ If Master’s Hours were from a different University from Doctoral program, these hours must be verified by the DCT to be counted

• ➢ Comprehensive exams passed by application deadline

• ➢ Dissertation or Clinical Research Project proposal accepted/approved by committee by application deadline

• ➢ Experience working with a serious and persistent mentally ill population, particularly adults is highly desirable/preferred, as is prior inpatient psychiatric experience

• ➢ Experience and/or strong interest in the application of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy interventions/techniques is desirable/preferred

*If you do not meet the above minimum pre-requisite criteria by October 1^st, 2024 (as listed on your AAPI application) we strongly recommend that you do not apply as your application will not be considered.

TABLE 2

Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year*

^includes same-sex married partners

Hours/ Days of Annual Paid Personal Time Off

*Note: Programs are not required by the Commission on Accreditation to provide all benefits listed in this table.

Table 3

Initial Post-Internship Positions

Special Requirements – State of Maryland

If you are invited for an interview at Spring Grove Hospital Center, you will need to complete and submit additional application materials required by the State of Maryland prior to your interview. These include the MS-100 State Application , Criminal Conviction Report, and Authority for Release of Information Form .

If you are selected /matched as an intern, you will be required to submit written proof of a student professional liability policy to cover you for the training year by the start of the internship. You will also be required to have a pre-employment physical and TB testing as a newly hired employee. Further, your State of Maryland employment is contingent upon undergoing and passing a criminal background check. Please note- a record of conviction is not an automatic bar to State of Maryland employment and each case is considered on its own merits. Factors such as job-relatedness, age at the time of conviction, nature of the offense, success of rehabilitation, the number of convictions and the recentness of convictions are taken into consideration to determine whether a criminal record disqualifies a candidate for employment. Background and criminal record checks are done routinely for all new appointments. If you, as an applicant, have any concerns or questions about eligibility as a State of Maryland Employee, please contact the Training Director so she may confer with Human Resources to discuss your particular circumstances.

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.

We accept the AAPI application along with required supplemental data (a comprehensive psychological report sample). For further information, please see the APPIC online Directory, Internship Brochure, or contact:

Justine Bradshaw, Psy.D., Director, Psychology Internship Training
Spring Grove Hospital Center, Department of Psychology
55 Wade Avenue- Tuerk Building
Catonsville, MD 21228
Justine.Bradshaw@maryland.gov , (410) 402-7734 ​

For questions related to the program’s accreditation status, please direct your inquiry to the Commission on Accreditation at:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-5979, TDD: (202) 336-6123
Email: apaaccred@apa.org

Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation