COMPARING SCHOOL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP APPLICANT CHARACTERISTICS

The ratio of internship applicants to internship positions listed in the online directory of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) is estimated at 1.23:1. In , approximately 14% of all students who participated in the match were not placed. Although the internship crisis impacts students in clinical, counseling, and school psychology programs, school psychology applicants are least successful in matching to APPIC-member and American Psychological Association (APA)-accredited internship programs. Of the APA-accredited internships that feature one of more child rotations, school psychology applicants are not permitted to apply to 51.21% of them. The purpose of the current study was to examine the pre-internship experiences and qualifications of school and clinical psychology trainees applying to at least one child-focused, APA-accredited internship. Results showed that clinical students accumulated significantly more intervention hours with adults than children. School psychology students wrote significantly more integrated assessment reports. The implications of these findings in light of the ongoing internship crisis for school psychology trainees, doctoral training programs, and internship programs are discussed.