We welcome applicants to apply for the Diagnostic and Advanced Neuropsychology Practicum for the 2023-2024 training year.
Ideal candidates must be motivated to work in a collaborative environment and have a desire to learn about neurobiology, pharmacology, mental health diagnoses, and medical diagnoses. Candidates should be committed to completing assessments and providing feedback to clients from a person-centered approach. Candidates are expected to approach all clients with empathy and compassion while demonstrating strong interpersonal skills. Diagnostic Practicum is an opportunity to gain valuable experience in the field while learning from experienced clinicians as you offer services that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. We encourage all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications to apply.
Diagnostic and Advanced Neuropsychology Practicum
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Maintains accurate, timely, and confidential patient records according to office policies and legal regulations of practice.
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Collaborates with clinical staff and peers to learn assessment skills.
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Conducts assessments for clients with suspected neurological or neuropsychological disorders.
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Performs clinical interviews to collect information about the client's background and medical history.
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Administers a variety of neuropsychological tests, including objective and projective personality measures.
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Scores, analyzes, and interprets test results in the context of other assessment data to formulate a diagnosis.
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Compiles a comprehensive report that addresses presenting complaint and referral question; provides a clinical impression with diagnosis; and outlines recommendations for treatment to address client’s needs.
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Attends individual and group supervision to discuss cases, learn to synthesize volumes of assessment data, develop case-conceptualization skills, and refine knowledge of neurobiological underpinnings of psychiatric and neurological disorders.
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Attends didactics about assessment, recent developments in neuropsychology, and person-centered approach to assessment and treatment.
Roles and Responsibilities of Diagnostic and Advanced Practicum Trainees
Minimum Qualifications
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Doctoral student with a strong academic record
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Successful completion of cognitive and personality assessment courses
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Motivated to learn and expand their knowledge
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Ability to work in a collaborative environment
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Interest in and passion for learning about neurobiology, pharmacology, mental health diagnoses, and medical diagnoses
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Possess strong interpersonal skills and demonstrates attitudes of empathy and compassion towards clients and staff
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Willingness to complete assessments from a humanistic perspective
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No prior experience in the field required
Schedule and Caseload
Diagnostic and Advanced Neuropsychology Practicum students work with a wide range of individual clients in the office setting. Each week, students receive 1 hour of individual supervision with a licensed psychologist, attend 2 hours of didactic training seminars, and 2 hours of group consultations with other trainees and licensed clinical staff.
Diagnostic and Advanced Neuropsychology practicum students have a twenty-hour weekly commitment, with the expectation that students will meet with approximately 1-2 clients per week to administer assessments and spend another day working on their reports while meeting with their supervisor for guidance. Should students find that they are unable to fulfill those hourly requirements, PCPS will work with the student and their program’s training department to establish a caseload that best fits the trainee’s needs. PCPS has a training year that begins at the start of August and ends at the end of June. Please note, however, that PCPS is willing to adjust that timeline on a case-by-case basis to ensure that students meet their program’s minimum requirements for face-to-face clinical hours and individual supervision.
Trainees completing an advanced or supplemental practicum will choose whether they wish to focus their training exclusively on either psychotherapy or neuropsychological assessment or whether they wish to receive training in both areas of psychological practice during their time with PCPS.
We welcome all applicants equally regardless of whether they seek experience in psychotherapy, assessment, or a combination of both. It is our understanding that advanced and supplemental practicum students often seek training opportunities to increase their number of psychological batteries or therapy hours while applying for predoctoral internships. Please know that PCPS is dedicated to your professional development and our supervisors will work with you and your schedule to reach your target number of therapy hours or psychological batteries.
For applicants seeking advanced and supplemental practicum training at PCPS, please include in your cover letter a description of your specific training goals, including any therapy hour or assessment experience goals that you are trying to meet during your training at our site.
Advanced and Supplemental Practicum Training
If you are interested in training with us at PCPS, we ask that you email us an application with the following application materials:
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Cover letter: please indicate the type of practicum training you are seeking (diagnostic, advanced therapy, advanced neuropsychological, or supplemental practicum). For applicants seeking advanced and supplemental training, please describe your specific training goals, including any therapy hour or assessment experience goals.
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Curriculum Vitae
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Two Letters of Recommendation: We prefer that you provide letters from your faculty or clinical supervisors.
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Unofficial Transcript: We only require transcripts from your graduate programs.
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Writing sample: For applicants seeking training in diagnostic or advanced neuropsychological assessment, please submit a deidentified cognitive assessment report. If you are applying for a therapy or advanced/supplemental therapy practicum, please include a deidentified case conceptualization.
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Letter of Eligibility: Please include your program’s Letter of Eligibility to apply for practicum.
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Empathic Responding Audio-recording*: If you will be practicing psychotherapy at PCPS, please include a 20-minute audiotape of empathic responding that stays completely within the client’s frame of reference (i.e. expressing understanding of the client while not asking questions, giving advice, interpreting or the like…). This tape does not need to be a client tape—it can be a session with a friend, fellow-student, or other person.
*We understand that audio files may be too large to send via email. Please note that you can include a link to the audio file that you have uploaded to Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, or other cloud storage services.
How to Apply
