Pre-Doctoral Internships in Clinical Psychology

The 12 month 20 hr. rotation at Renaissance Crossroads gives the intern excellent opportunities to work with clients in an inpatient and intensive outpatient setting with dual diagnosis and criminality issues. The Crossroads program is an alternative to prison for non-violent offenders with primarily drug and alcohol related problems and offenses. As the typical chronic offenders who receive the standard 28-day rehab revolve repeatedly in and out of the criminal justice system, this successful 34-month program provides the opportunity for the patient to incorporate long-term behavioral and emotional changes necessary to support life without substance use and crime.

The treatment is designed around a continuum of care comprising a minimum of ten (10) months of inpatient drug and alcohol treatment which includes an education and job skills component. Treatment is intensive, as the clients participate in individual and family therapy, as well as several group meetings daily. About the seventh month, the successful patient continues intensive treatment and begins several months of work release as well. The pre-doctoral intern works intensively with 2 to 3 assigned patients during this inpatient portion of treatment. Thereafter, the client begins intensive case management and partial hospitalization (outpatient) treatment as they begin living in the community again. Partial hospitalization treatment lasts one month, followed by two months of intensive outpatient treatment. Thereafter, 9 months of outpatient therapy while under intensive case management concludes treatment. The intern also will work with residents of this program in these stages of IOP and Partial Hospitalization as well.

The treatment focus is dual diagnosis and allows room for the interns to practice their unique skills in use of psychotherapeutic modalities effective with this population. Furthermore, the component of criminality is an important focus of treatment. The intern works with a multi-disciplinary team and learns how psychologists can positively impact a drug and alcohol treatment facility. Psychological assessment is an important function of this rotation. Twenty two hours of the intern’s experience will be at the inpatient facility, approximately 8 hours will be at the IOP, and the remaining 10 to 15 hours will be doing outpatient therapy, supervision, and educational opportunities. It is a requirement that the prospective intern has prior experience or formal education in treating patients in drug and alcohol or dual diagnosis settings. Prior experience working in forensics or criminality is a plus. Lastly, in the previous 3 years there has been an ongoing post-doctoral position available to the intern as lead therapist at Crossroads.

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