Internships & Fellowships At Community Services Institute

Springfield Doctoral Internship Program

The Doctoral Psychology Internship at Community Services Institute is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and offers up to 4 full-time positions at its Springfield, MA location. These funded positions begin during the first week in July and extend through the second week of July the following year, for a total of 2000-Internship hours (a 54 week, 40 hour per week commitment).

If you have any questions about the accreditation process for doctoral internship programs, you can contact the APA Commission on Accreditation at:

American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation/Commission on Accreditation 750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202.336.5979
TDD/TTY: 202.336.6123
Fax: 202.336.5978
apaaccred@apa.org apa.org/ed/accreditation

2025-2026 Internship Brochure >

Program Overview

The Doctoral Psychology Internship at Community Services Institute is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and offers up to 4 full-time positions at its Springfield, MA location. These funded positions begin during the first week in July and extend through the second week of July the following year, for a total of 2000-Internship hours (a 54 week, 40 hour per week commitment). The first two of these weeks are designated for orientation. After the orientation phase, Interns begin building a caseload and participating in assessments, supervision, and didactics. Supervision is geared not only to supporting clinical learning, but administrative demands as well.

All Interns participate in 4 hours of didactic training every Wednesday. Didactics are divided into four seminars, each with a different focus. These four seminars are: Becoming a Trauma- Informed Therapist, Practical Application of Psychological Theory, Psychodiagnostic Assessment, and Integrating Social Justice in Community Mental Health. Topics are chosen specifically to support the learning needs of the Interns beginning with instruction on basic safety and the unique challenges of outreach therapy, telehealth, and advancing into case conceptualization and differential diagnosis.

Overall, didactics are designed to support the primary goal of the Internship- professional practice of child, adolescent, adult and family psychology in a variety of community settings (i.e., outreach psychotherapy, and community mental health centers as well as school settings). As such, the Internship is directed at personal growth and is not directed at specialization.

Interns will be introduced to the unique challenges of outreach and tele-therapy while working with ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged children, adolescents, adults, and families. Most CSI clients have experienced psychological trauma related to child maltreatment, domestic violence, or exposure to community violence. By the completion of the training year, Interns are expected to have developed competence in working with the complex issues engendered by the above issues, and their impact on clinical services.

CSI’s philosophy embraces the local clinical scientist model of training (Stricker & Trierweiler, 2006), aiming to integrate current research and best practices with community-targeted clinical services. CSI maintains a commitment to diversity and recognizes that multicultural competence is vital to the practice of psychology.

Since its inception, CSI has been committed to innovative treatment approaches such as outreach work and, more recently, telehealth services. Continuing in that tradition, CSI has made a commitment to training all Interns in EMDR. This innovative technique can help individuals with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other forms of affect dysregulation to learn to better manage their emotions. Interns are provided with an EMDRIA Approved EMDR Basic Training which provides them with the knowledge and skills to utilize EMDR therapy, a comprehensive understanding of case conceptualization and treatment planning, and the ability to integrate EMDR therapy into their clinical practice. This Basic Training provides instruction in the current explanatory model, methodology, and underlying mechanisms of EMDR through lecture, practice, and integrated consultation (EMDRIA, 2023).

Who Can Apply?

• Each Intern accepted into the Internship program will be in the process of completing a doctoral degree in professional psychology from a nationally accredited, degree-granting institution in the United States.
• Qualified applicants must have earned a master’s degree in education, psychology, or social work to participate in a Doctoral Internship.
• Intern applicants must have all required coursework as well as comprehensive exams completed and be in good standing with their doctoral program by the start of the Internship year.
• Eligibility for entry is based on satisfactory completion of graduate program coursework, practicum experiences, including assessment, and other academic requirements as specified by each graduate program.
• Interns will have proposed their dissertation by the time Internship begins.
• Applicants must also demonstrate a sound background in psychology, and a general level of competency in diagnosis and delivery of psychotherapy services, psychopathology, diagnostic criteria, assessment, and theory-based therapeutic interventions as well as knowledge of basic psychodiagnostic testing administration and scoring.
• Applicants are encouraged but not required to submit supplemental materials (i.e., an assessment report and/or a case/treatment summary).
• Applicants who demonstrate a specific interest in children, adolescents and family populations through coursework, research, or practicum or externship experiences are highly desirable and tend to be more highly ranked.
• Computer proficiency, including the ability to learn the use of electronic medical records, is necessary.
• Demonstrate excellence in written and oral communication, and organizational skills
• Show flexibility, self-initiative, and the willingness to self-reflect
• The capacity to maintain a positive attitude under challenging circumstances
• Reliable transportation is a necessity for clinical travel
• CSI is committed to enhancing diversity and equity in mental health services. To that end, CSI welcomes candidates from all backgrounds and lived experiences, who will contribute to a culture of inclusion and respect.