VISN 17 Center of Excellence
Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship
The VISN 17 Center of Excellence offers two Minor Rotations focusing on clinical research and leadership in training for students participating in the APA-approved Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship of the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System. These rotations represent excellent opportunities for interns interested in pursuing a research or academic career both within VA or University setting.
About the Internship
As one of the largest healthcare programs in the nation, the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System offers psychology training at their campuses in Waco, Temple, and Austin. To learn more about this internship, click HERE
Clinical Research Rotation
This minor rotation offers 8-hours per week of protected time for research for 6-12 months. Interns will be matched to a research mentor and contribute to on-going research efforts. Interns will have opportunities to participate in clinical research activities (e.g., study therapists in randomized control trials, assessments), as well as learn about the research process within the VA. At the outset of the rotation interns will identify training goals which range from contributing to or leading a research manuscript, participate in grant writing training, or developing a poster presentation or symposia. Specific opportunities available vary on a yearly basis. In recent years, interns have participated in clinical trials testing group interventions for suicide prevention through safety planning, interpersonal violence prevention for veterans with PTSD through Strength at Home – Parenting, and impact of transcranial magnetic stimulation with simultaneous written exposure therapy. Additionally, this rotation offers early access to interns interested pursuing a research fellowship (See details of our fellowship HERE).
Training & Program Development Leadership Rotation
This minor rotation offers 8-hours per week of protected time to actively participate in a variety of training programs available through our Center. Depending on interns training goals, through this rotation interns may choose to be instructors in our weekly didactics, mentor trainees in development of research posters, contribute to program evaluation and/or participate in quality improvement research focused on opportunities for underrepresented communities in the mental health field (See details of our undergraduate research internship and healthcare careers for underrepresented students). Additionally, interns may choose to contribute to the development of education products and provider training, allowing interns to learn about VA training policies. Therefore, the rotation is ideally suited for interns interested in teaching, supervision or pursuing administrative and educational leadership opportunities in the VA or other comparable medical or education institutions that involve management and development of training programs.
