Department of Psychology predoctoral internship in clinical psychology.  To download the complete brochure, please select 2011-2012 Internship Brochure from the Related Documents section to the right of the screen.

Updated August 21, 2010

The Psychology programme at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre (QEII) offers two full-time, funded predoctoral internship positions for 2011-2012.

The Setting - The QEII is the largest medical facility within the Capital District Health Authority (Capital Health). Please see the site map on the Capital Health website,  Directions and Maps. The QEII provides primary level health care services to the nearly 400,000 residents of the District (one of nine in Nova Scotia). It also is a regional medical center providing a number of specialized, tertiary care services to residents throughout Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Provinces. The wide range of clinical services provided by the Psychology Department at the QEII provides in turn a fascinating array of training opportunities.

The QEII is the major adult medical centre for Nova Scotia, with approximately 1000 beds and a broad range of ambulatory care programmes. The QEII is the main teaching facility for Dalhousie University. There are close ties between QEII Psychology and the academic departments of Psychology, Medicine, and Psychiatry at Dalhousie University, in particular. Graduate training opportunities are provided to students from other universities in the Maritime Provinces as well.


QEII HSC Psychology services -  The Psychology programme provides a wide range of psychological services that may occur in in-patient or outpatient settings. Dedicated clinical psychological services exist for: cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation, geriatrics, HIV, medical rehabilitation, organ transplantation, internal medicine, oncology, pain management, family medicine, and sleep disorders programmes. Dedicated neuropsychology services are also provided to patients with neurodegenerative disorders, cerebral vascular disorders, epilepsy, and acquired brain injury. Service delivery occurs over the three main sites of the QEII HSC (please see site map), all of which are within a 10-15 minute walk of each other. Psychology offices are located in each of these sites.

QEII HSC Psychology endorses a scientist-practitioner model. There is some diversity in the theoretical backgrounds of psychology supervisors, although cognitive-behavioural approaches to intervention predominate. Clinical research is highly valued. Most of the supervisors have active research programmes and are cross-appointed at Dalhousie University.

The Internship Programme

Accreditation - The QEII Predoctoral Clinical Psychology Programme is accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): (contact information is Accreditation Office, CPA, 141 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 702, Ottawa, Ont. Ph #: 613-237-2144).  

We are members of the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programmes (CCPPP) and the Association of Psychology Post Doctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)

Philosophy and Goals - The purpose of our predoctoral Internship programme is to offer training to senior Ph.D. level clinical psychology and clinical neuropsychology students through a full year, full-time programme. The fundamental goal is to transition you towards independent practice as a professional psychologist. It is our belief that this goal is best accomplished by meeting the objectives of providing you with extensive, supervised experience with a variety of patient populations and presenting problems, within the context of the appreciation for and understanding of individual differences. The programme emphasizes training that fosters the development of advanced clinical skills, conceptual understanding, and nascent identity as a professional psychologist. You are encouraged to select foci of interest which will enable you to develop your interests and skills in specialty areas, while at the same time ensuring an adequate breadth of training.

The internship year is viewed primarily as an opportunity to gain clinical training and experience. However, a limited amount of time is available for you to pursue collaborative research interests here and you are encouraged to discuss this with individual psychologists at any time in the application process. We prefer applicants who are well-advanced with their dissertation such that they will not be distracted by its completion and thus able to more fully enjoy the internship experience. 

 Rotation Structure - The internship year is divided into trimesters: Fall (September to December), Winter (January to April) and Summer (May to August). In each trimester you will complete two rotations for a total of six rotations over the year. Rotations are grouped according to three areas (or sections) of service delivery: 

• Health Psychology
• Geriatric Psychology
• Neuropsychology

In consultation with the Director of Training, interns choose six different rotations within or across the three areas, which will meet their interests, training goals, and provide the opportunities to fulfill the internship programme Standards of Completion (including core competencies of assessment, intervention, and consultation). In order to achieve the Standards of Completion, it would, for example, be unlikely that an intern would choose more than four Neuropsychology rotations. Also, please note the academic prerequisites for the Neuropsychology rotations, found in the rotation descriptions.

On occasion, a rotation of special interest may be taken twice. This option would allow the intern to obtain experience with a different population but in same area (e.g., clinical geriatrics, focusing on caregivers in one rotation and on clinical cases of older adults in a second rotation) or to obtain a different kind of experience (e.g., one internal medicine rotation in clinical service delivery and another in programme evaluation).

You have considerable input into your rotation selection, which you will initially indicate in the cover letter of your application submission. These selections can be refined through the interview process and through informal discussion with potential supervisors . Prospective (and matched) Interns are also encouraged to contact, confidentially, current or previous interns for information regarding their rotations of interest or of the programme in general. The rotation selection ultimately is made in consultation with the Clinical Training Director in order to meet your training needs and interests, in accordance with the availability of supervisors for the coming year. Prior to the commencement of the internship year (by August 1 at the latest) your first rotation (and possibly the remaining ones) will be set.

Long-term Therapy - Interns can obtain experience with longer-term therapy via carry-over of a limited number of cases from Fall or Winter rotations.

Supervision - You receive a minimum of four hours of individual supervision per week in accordance with CPA guidelines. In any one trimester you will have two supervisors (for two different rotations) and receive two hours of supervision from each of them.

Evaluations - Formal evaluation of interns occurs midway and at the end of each rotation. Interns also are asked to evaluate their experiences and provide feedback regarding their supervision at the mid-point and end of each rotation, as well as at the end of the internship year.

Stipend and Benefits - The Psychology Internship Programme offers two full-time predoctoral internship positions. The internship begins September 1, 2011 and ends August 31, 2012. The stipend for 2012-2012 is $27,500 and includes sick leave. Paid benefits include three weeks of vacation plus one week of approved educational leave.

Last Updated: 8/24/2010 1:12:43 PM