PSYCHOLOGY DOCTORAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Bridge View Extended Day School
Challenger Day School Program
The Bridge View and Challenger Day School Programs are Illinois State Board of Education approved psycho-educational treatment programs. Age ranges of children receiving services are 7-21 for Bridge View and 7-21 for Challenger. The programs provide educational and clinical services to youth at risk for hospitalization or residential treatment due to serious emotional, behavioral, or learning problems. In addition to providing a tranquil, therapeutic, and structured environment, the primary concern of the program is the facilitation of students' successful school experience, completion of the educational program, and transition to independent living. To achieve this end, the school atmosphere is structured as a reality therapy-based therapeutic milieu with a wide spectrum of comprehensive clinical services. The clinical services are essential in helping students succeed.
CLINICAL PROGRAM
The clinical program is an integral part of the educational program, since the population that is served is children with a primary emotional or psychiatric problem. The reason why children are placed in a therapeutic day school is specifically to deal with emotional difficulties
interfering with their academic functioning. The Healing Community
The classroom environment is structured in such a way that therapeutic change is effected by providing children with a firm, nurturing, and consistent environment with full therapy support. Individual Therapy
Each student attending Bridge View or Challenger is assigned an intern. Individual therapy sessions are held at least once a week at Bridge View and twice a week at Challenger, or as frequently as necessary. Interns develop specific treatment goals with the children attending Bridge View and Challenger. Much emphasis is given to the acquisition of problem solving skills and coping strategies.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is an integral part of the Bridge View and Challenger Programs. The children who attend these programs live at home, therefore, helping the children function in their natural home environment is essential for their success. The program requires that parents participate in family sessions.
Group Therapy
Interns are assigned to a therapy groups to fit their assigned client's special needs. Therapy groups specialize in areas such as social skills, leadership skills, and problem solving skills.
Prior to assignment to these process groups, students participate in a skill building pre-group, namely Individual Interactive groups, which are held in the classroom.
Bridge View Extended Day School and Challenger Day School Program students graduate and/or progress to a variety of academic settings because:
a) an individualized academic/treatment program and structured environment enables the children to learn their educational strengths and weaknesses, solve their interpersonal
relationship problems, and develop appropriate social skills, study skills, and work habits; b) parents, school district personnel, interns, day school educators and staff work cooperatively
as a team to facilitate the successful return of students to their district school programs; c) educational and clinical staff work cooperatively to develop congruent individual
educational goals and therapy treatment plans. Additional Clinical and Educational Services include: - Crisis Intervention 24-Hour Service
- Independent Psychological Evaluation Services
- Independent Family Diagnostic and Social History Service - Program Consultation and Didactic Presentations
The doctoral internship program is designed to provide the intern with a wide spectrum of psychological experiences. Besides ongoing didactic training, interns will also gain experience with individual, group, and family therapy, as well as milieu therapy and program consultation. Each intern will be part of a multi- disciplinary treatment team consisting of the clinical staff (or intern), academic staff, art therapist, learning disability specialist, school psychologist, clinical psychologist and, when psychotropic medications are involved, a consulting psychiatrist and registered nurse.
The range of learning and clinical opportunities available to interns include: - Observation and monitoring of program
- Milieu Intervention - Individual Therapy - Group Therapy - Family Therapy - Play Therapy
Interns also have the opportunity to participate in the following activities: - Intake interviewing
- Mental status assessments
- Individual and family diagnostic assessment - Case Presentations
- Personality and intelligence assessment - Psycho diagnostic assessments
- Treatment Planning - Discharge Planning
- Multi-Disciplinary School Conferences - Diversity Sensitivity Training Seminars
- The above skills are taught through experiential and didactic training. Location
If you would like more information about Bridge View Extended Day School or Challenger Day School Program, please write or call the school office.
Bridge View Extended Day School Challenger Day School Program 6935 Touhy Avenue 6935 Touhy Avenue
Niles, IL 60714 Niles, IL 60714 (847) 588-2038 (847) 588-2038 The internship is a twelve (12) month program.
There will be openings for four interns.
The internship starts on August 25, 2014. Required Rotations:
The intern will be involved in three major areas of psychological services simultaneously: psychotherapy, diagnostic testing, and supportive psychological services. At least 25% of the intern's time is in direct face-to-face clinical service including the following:
Psychotherapy:
1. Individual Psychotherapy
Each intern will have the primary responsibility to provide an average of 20-25 direct therapy service hours with adolescents and/or pre-adolescents in a day treatment setting. Interns will have opportunities to work with both Bridge View and Challenger programs.
2. Group Psychotherapy:
Each intern will have the opportunity to lead at least three therapy groups. Practicum students will co-lead with the intern in a minimum of two groups. Interns and practicum students also have the opportunity to lead a classroom group, which focuses on building pre-therapy group skills.
3. Family Therapy:
Interns will be involved in ongoing family therapy with the families of clients entrusted to their primary care.
Diagnostic Testing:
During the year, each intern will have the opportunity to complete several full psycho diagnostic batteries. If the intern is interested, opportunities will be provided to work with the Luria Nebraska Neuropsychological Screening. Psycho-educational batteries typically consist of: - Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Third Edition
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale- Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV)
- Projective Drawings
- Objective Personality Tests - MMPI-A/PAI-A - Projective Tests - Rorschach and TAT
Supportive Psychological Services:
Interns also have opportunities to be involved within a variety of related psychological services including:
- Intake evaluations
- Mental status examinations - Crisis intervention
- Peer supervision - Staff consultation CLINICAL POPULATION:
The Bridge View and Challenger Day School Programs draw their client population from the Northern and Northwestern suburbs of the city of Chicago. This broad area provides for a wide range of economic, cultural, and ethnic diversity among the clients served. In addition to economic, cultural, and ethnic diversity, the clients vary greatly between the Bridge View and Challenger programs in the severity and nature of their emotional needs.
ACADEMIC PROGRAM
A variety of academic subjects are presented with instruction individualized to the performance level of each student. The school programs run from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
The Educational Program Includes:
Comprehensive Psycho-Educational Services:
Individualized Academic Program: Teacher/pupil ratio is 1:5 for Bridge View and 1:5 for Challenger
Remedial Services
Traditional Curriculum
Offered to all students, as indicated on their (IEP) Individualized Educational Plan Special Academics
Art Education Therapy, Computer Education, Physical Education Pre-Vocational Education
Offered to all students with a special emphasis for the Challenger Program Ancillary Services
Speech/Language Evaluations and Therapy, Learning Disability Resources, Nursing Services, and Psychiatric Consultation Services
TRAINING ACTIVITIES
Interns will receive ongoing didactic training during the year. Weekly group training sessions are held on Friday (Therapy seminar) and Monday (Assessment seminar) and could possibly include Family Therapy. Periodically, guest presenters are invited to give didactic training on specific topics. The following are some of the workshops scheduled for the 2014-2015 school year: Psychopharmacology, Woodcock Johnson Psycho-educational Battery, Suicide Risk and other Clinical Emergencies, Family Therapy in Practice, Assessment, Eriksonian Hypnotherapy, Treatment of Psychological Crisis, and Sensitivity to Ethnic and Cultural Diversity.
ADMISSION PROCEDURES Eligibility:
The applicants must meet the following basic requirements:
a. current enrollment in a regionally accredited doctoral program in Clinical, Counseling, or School Psychology;
b. completion of all requirements for the degree except internship and dissertation; and c. completion of at least 900 hours of clinical practicum, of which at least 400 hours are
with children and adolescents.
*Ethnic minorities are encouraged to apply Applications:
Bridge View and Challenger Day Schools adheres to the APPIC Match policies and participates in APPIC Match.
Applications must be received by Bridge View with all supportive documents on or before November 29, 2013 for the upcoming Internship Program. The following materials should be in
the office before the applicant will be considered for the internship interview:
a. completed online APPIC APPI form; (Bridge View and Challenger internship uses the universal APPIC application form)
b. curriculum vitae;
c. transcripts of all graduate work;
d. letter from the director of training of the graduate program stating the eligibility for internship;
e. three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a practicum supervisor and another from a major professor or advisor; and
f. two psychological reports completed by the applicant.
Once the application is complete, the Director of Clinical Training will notify the applicant by December 15, 2013 if a decision has been made to interview the applicant. Prospective candidates will be invited in for a tour of the facility and will be given the opportunity to meet with staff, current interns, and practicum students. They will also receive a formal interview. The formal interview will be in front of a selection panel consisting of Clinical staff from the Bridge View/Challenger clinical training committee.
This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.
Bridge View and Challenger Day School Programs are equal opportunity employers and strongly encourage minority applicants to apply.
SUPERVISION
The interns receive 100% of their required individual supervision from licensed clinical psychologists and all training time is credited towards the intern's predoctoral internship. Supervision will focused and provided with the intent of dealing with psychological services rendered directly by the intern, as well as their professional development. Interns will receive no less than 2-hours of individual supervision on a weekly basis. The consulting psychiatrist will give a portion of the group supervision. In addition to individual and group supervision, students will also receive small group supervision as well as ongoing didactic seminars and opportunities for case presentations.
STIPEND
There will be four paid positions for internship. The stipend for the internship will be $22,000.00.
Other benefits: Five paid discretionary vacation days, all days off in school calendar, and HMO health insurance benefit.