Current Landscape of Child and Adolescent Psychology Internship Programs and Implications for Workforce Development

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychology
• Clinical Psychology Training
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Doctoral psychology internships are vital for developing a competent clinical child and adolescent psychologist workforce.
• There is an increasing demand for mental and behavioral health services for children and adolescents.
• Internships in medical settings are essential for providing focused care to this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey internship training directors on workforce needs.
• To understand the structure of experiential internship components.
• To assess the infrastructure and funding of pediatric psychology internship programs.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 50 doctoral psychology internship training directors.
• Data collection on workforce needs, program structure, and funding.
• Analysis of internship components, tracks, and administrative demands.

Main Results:

• Internships are most common in academic medical settings, offering tracks in clinical child psychology, integrated care, pediatric psychology, neuropsychology, and developmental disabilities.
• Programs average 6 interns, 3 tracks, and 4 rotations per track.
• Program funding is the most significant barrier, with salaries averaging $31,020 plus benefits and requiring 0.3 FTE for training directors.

Conclusions:

• Increased funding is necessary to sustain and expand doctoral psychology internship programs.
• Addressing funding barriers is crucial for developing the child and adolescent psychology workforce.
• Advocacy at multiple levels is recommended to support training programs.