Training Opportunities

Psychology Externship in University Mental Health

New York University Health Center, Counseling and Behavioral Health Services (CBH)

The Counseling and Behavioral Health Service at NYU is one of the largest university counseling services in the country, with approximately 40 multidisciplinary professional staff, over 35 trainees, 7 satellite locations, including the Polytechnic Institute of NYU site in Brooklyn, and numerous groups and clinical programs. The professional staff is made up of clinical social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and nurse practitioners. Trainees from all these disciplines are represented. In addition to the psychology externship program, CBH has a postdoctoral program with 5 psychology postdoctoral fellows.

Psychology Externship Program

Third- and fourth-year clinical/counseling psychology students are invited to apply. Second-year students with exceptional clinical experience will be considered. The Counseling Service seeks applicants with at least 1 year of hospital clinical experience and/or demonstrated ability in intake, assessment, and DSM diagnostic formulation. Curriculum vitae should be forwarded to the contact information provided below. 

Schedule

A commitment of approximately 16-18 hours a week, involving 2 full days of clinical psychotherapy hours, weekly attendance at the Thursday 12-noon seminar and additional occasional evening hours for outreach programming. Externs see patients in both the main office and satellite offices. One or 2 externs will be located primarily at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU site in Brooklyn.

Patients

The student patients are bright, often psychologically minded, and diverse. They come from all of NYU’s undergraduate and graduate academic programs.  They vary remarkably in their presenting concerns, dynamic issues, cultural and ethnic background, and degree of psychopathology. 

Treatment Approach

Following a thorough intake assessment, CBH uses an in-depth brief treatment model for those students assessed to be candidates for short-term treatment.   There will be an opportunity to learn brief treatment approaches representing psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral theoretical orientations. Enhancing effective consultation and referral skills is a significant aspect of the clinical training. These skills include diagnostic formulation, crisis management, and coordination of effective referrals.

Supervision

Two hours of supervision per week are provided. A weekly seminar/case conference will cover a variety of topics relevant to providing brief treatment in a university mental health setting.

Application

Please mail a cover letter, CV, and 3 letters of recommendation (in one packet) to:

Neda Hajizadeh, Ph.D
Externship Coordinator
NYU Health Center, CBH
726 Broadway, Suite 471
New York, NY 10003. 

We will not accept any application postmarked prior to January 15, 2010, and all applications must be received by January 25, 2010. We will accept inquires at a later date if class openings become available.