Clinical Psychology Internship in Developmental Disabilities and Pediatric Psychology

Community Placement and Outreach

Interns provide services and/or participate in either community-based or internal OHSU programs, through contracts with local agencies or through branches of the University that focus on activities that complement the internship training goals. The goal of this aspect of the training program is to expose interns to practice, policy/planning, and/or research-related activities in various contexts and to expand the application of one's skills.

Interns will spend approximately six to eight hours per week in these activities, and remain in the same placement for the entire year. Specific placements can change year to year, and thus are not guaranteed; however, it is the goal of the CDRC Division of Psychology to maintain ongoing relationships with community partners to ensure consistency in training.

Recent examples of placements completed by interns include providing mental health services and training through the Neighborhood House (a non-profit, community organization focuses on providing resources to promote self-reliance), providing mental health services through the Kinship House (a non-profit program that services children in all stages of adoption and foster care), and brief behavioral consultation and pediatric resident training through the Doernbecher Children's Hospital General Pediatrics Clinics, to name a few.

In addition to the specific placement as described above, interns also will engage in specific community engagement projects as part of the LEND interdisciplinary training curriculum. Along with trainees of other disciplines, psychology interns will complete 1-2 engagement projects. Examples of projects include developing, organizing, and providing a community-based training to parents of youth with special needs on various topics (e.g., behavioral support strategies, feeding and nutrition issues); assisting in the planning of a community-based celebration event (i.e., "Day of the Child"), emphasizing accessibility for all children regardless of ability; serving on a community-based planning committee that strategizes for increasing inclusive practices and physical settings in the community; and partnering with Doernbecher Children's Hospital Volunteer Services to enhance knowledge and skills of volunteers regarding working with children with complex medical an/or developmental conditions.

Additionally, all psychology interns participate on one day of a 3-day multi-modular preschool screening event held in a rural, underserved county in Oregon. Finally, all interns complete a Family Mentor experience, whereby they are paired with a family with a child with a disability and asked to complete several non-clinical joint activities, with the goal of helping improve understanding and appreciation of day-to-day life for these families.