Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology at Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center

Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC), located in Neptune, NJ, is a not-for-profit healthcare facility. The Department of Psychiatry of JSUMC, in conjunction with Hackensack Meridian Health, offers a one year, full-time (2000 hours) internship in Health Service Psychology. The internship provides an individually tailored sequence of training experiences with the primary focus being on assuring breadth and quality of training. Interns' experience at JSUMC involves a broad range of supervised clinical work with patients across the lifespan in both inpatient and outpatient settings and throughout the medical facility and its affiliate settings. Patients seen within the JSUMC system are from diverse cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds and present with a broad range of diagnoses, mental health concerns, medical needs, and a variety of clinical needs. Interns gain experience providing a variety of clinical services and treatment modalities in a medical setting and acquire assessment experience using a range of assessment tools.

Goals and Competencies of Training

Our goal at JSUMC is to recruit, select, and train qualified interns whose career goals include the provision of clinical services to a diverse patient population in healthcare settings. The Department of Psychology at JSUMC seeks to foster professional competence, develop cultural sensitivity, promote high standards of ethical practice, and encourage a culture of collaboration with other disciplines. Training experiences will enable interns to refine previously acquired skills, facilitate the development of new clinical competencies and skills, and foster personal and professional growth. Specific goals of the internship are to train interns to:

• Develop competence in psychological evaluation and assessment of children and adults who present a wide range of presenting problems and diagnoses
• Develop competence in psychological interventions with children and adults who present a wide range of presenting problems and diagnoses
• Demonstrate sensitivity to individual and cultural differences in order to provide effective psychological treatment for the individuals they serve
• Develop and apply the attitudes and skills needed to support lifelong learning and professional growth
• Develop a skilled interface between science and practice by applying scientific knowledge in clinical settings, be educated consumers of empirical research, and engage in research projects
• Conduct themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards and legal guidelines
• Collaborate with other disciplines and convey psychological knowledge in a professional, appropriate manner

The goals are achieved through a combination of clinical experiences, supervision and didactic trainings. The internship is organized around a core training curriculum that emphasizes the development and enhancement of skills in diagnosis, assessment, treatment, and research in clinical practice in both medical and behavioral health facilities. In addition to the core rotations, interns choose elective training areas for supplementary experiences in specific domains of psychology.

Psychology Internship Benefits and Salary

The interns are provided a full benefit package which includes medical, dental, and prescription coverage. Interns are also provided three weeks paid time off (PTO) and six hospital holidays. Further, interns are granted five Wellness Days to use at their discretion (and approval of the Training Director) throughout the training year. The annual salary for the 12 month training period is $34,590.