CAPS Doctoral Internship Program

At CAPS, we are proud of the rich variety of training experiences that we offer our doctoral interns.  Doctoral interns work on the front lines alongside CAPS staff providing a variety of intervention modalities in a fast-paced, vibrant atmosphere, including individual and group counseling, crisis interventions, ADHD assessments, supervision, and outreach programming.  They are trained in and/or exposed to theoretically driven and evidence-based interventions.  Training staff value the development and integration of doctoral interns’ theoretical approaches as a centerpiece of training.  Doctoral interns are exposed through experience, didactics, and supervision to different theoretical approaches that are trauma informed and include CBT, DBT, ACT, interpersonal process, and more.  Training Activities include clinical supervision, multicultural and didactic seminars, supervision of counseling trainees (part-time trainees from MA or PhD programs), and case conference.  Additionally, each doctoral intern has the opportunity to choose a specialty track (e.g., trauma, eating disorders, athletics, etc.) for their training to gain additional experience and training with a population of interest.

The mission of UR’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) is to enhance the academic and personal experience of all students by providing a variety of counseling and psychological services that facilitate their personal development, assist in the alleviation, remediation, and prevention of distress, and develop and strengthen self-awareness, self-reliance, and self-confidence.  Services are offered with respect for others, appreciation of individual differences, and compassion with an over-arching goal of enhancing well-being and sense of belonging.

UR CAPS staff consists of psychologists, licensed professional counselors, LPC Residents, administrative staff, psychiatric providers, trainees (doctoral and Master’s level), and undergraduate outreach interns. We are a cohesive, dynamic, and fun team that is committed to serving the needs of our community as best as we can. All of us are committed to making training an integral component of that aim and our doctoral internship is the centerpiece of our training program.    

The UR CAPS Doctoral internship in Health Service Psychology is a full-time, 12-month position that adheres to a practitioner-scholar model with an emphasis on the ongoing professional development of doctoral interns to become autonomous clinicians.  This model involves the practical application of scholarly knowledge through the delivery of psychological services taking into account individual, cultural, and societal factors.  The primary goal of all UR CAPS training programs is to provide a generalist training for graduate students as a platform in future training and, ultimately, in their professional career.  The foundation of the training model is based on a program of supervised, sequential, and experiential psychological practices.  Each intern is expected to develop strong clinical skills with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds and gain a secure sense of self as a culturally informed and ethical psychology professional who can practice in a variety of settings. 

Clinical and training activities are structured in a sequential, graded, and cumulative format consistent with the Revised Competency Benchmarks in Professional Psychology (APA, 2012). Through achievement of Profession Wide Competencies, the overarching aims of the training program are to: 1) Develop core counseling and clinical skills for entry level practice in health service psychology, and (2) Foster attitudes and behaviors which promote a professional identity as a psychologist.

By the end of the training year, interns will develop a level of competence, consistent with the following required Profession Wide Competencies (PWC), for entry-level practice in health service psychology:

1. Ethical and Legal Standards
2. Intervention
3. Assessment
4. Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills
5. Supervision
6. Individual and Cultural Diversity
7. Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behavior
8. Communication and Interpersonal Skills
9. Research

By the end of the training year, interns will also have developed specific competence in the following Program-Specific Areas: Crisis Response and Outreach.

Please refer to Internship Training Manual for more detailed information about training activities.

(Interns accrue most of their expected 500 direct hours during the academic semesters with a reduced clinical load in the summer months).

The UR CAPS Doctoral Internship Program requires that interns demonstrate minimum levels of achievement across all competencies and training elements. Interns are formally evaluated by their primary supervisor three times annually, at the end of the fall semester, end of the spring semester, and the end of the internship year. Evaluations are conducted using a standard rating form, which includes comment spaces where supervisors include specific written feedback regarding the interns’ performance and progress. The evaluation form includes information about the interns’ performance regarding all expected training competencies and the related training elements. Supervisors review these evaluations with the interns and provide an opportunity for discussion at each timepoint.  Please view Internship Training Manual for more detailed information.    

• Internship Dates: August 4, 2025 – July 31, 2026
• Weekly schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:30am-5pm, with the option to work one day remote
• Salary: $45,000
• Insurance Options: health, dental, vision, and other optional benefits.
• University Holidays: 15 paid holidays
• Leave: 15 vacation days, 12 sick days
• Weekly Research/Professional development time: 2 hours per week for research and up to 5 days for professional development (dissertation release time, conferences, etc.)
• Additionally, interns receive the following free benefits: parking, access to the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Mind-Body Studio, access to university libraries and museums, free (and discounted) faculty/staff athletic events, and university social events held during down times in the academic year.

Application Deadline: November 1^st, 2024 @ 11:59pm

The UR CAPS Doctoral internship currently offers 2 full-time doctoral internship positions for the 2025-2026 academic year.  Students interested in applying for the doctoral internship program should submit an online application through the APPIC website (www.appic.org) using the APPIC Application for Psychology doctoral internships (AAPI).  As an APPIC-member site, we participate in “the match” through the National Matching Services for intern selection. Prospective doctoral interns must use our program code (#2610) when applying.  The following materials must be submitted:

Required Application Materials

1. A completed online AAPI   
2. Cover letter (as part of AAPI)   
3. A current Curriculum Vitae (as part of AAPI)   
4. Three Standard Reference Forms, two of which must be from persons who have directly supervised your clinical work (as part of AAPI). Please submit no more than three SRFs.   
5. Official transcripts of all graduate coursework   

All applications will be reviewed by the CAPS Training Committee.  Candidates whose applications are viewed favorably will be invited to participate in 3-hour zoom interviews.  Consistent with guidelines set forth by APPIC and NMS, the CAPS Training Committee will finalize rankings of interviewed candidates after all interviews have been completed.  All application materials must be received by the date noted in the current APPIC directory listing in order to be considered. 

Any and all questions about application procedures can be directed to the UR CAPS Training Director, Dr. Rachel Koch (email: rkoch@richmond.edu; phone: 804-289-8119).