Psychology internship expectations and responsibilities
The University of Nevada, Reno Psychology Doctoral Internship is a 2,000 hour experience, with the expectation of at least 500 hours of direct service activities. Interns gain experience through a wide range of activities, some of which will be negotiated individually by each trainee based on their interest areas and the needs of the center.
The doctoral internship in professional psychology includes these components:
- Same day sessions (initial client contacts or single sessions)
- Individual psychotherapy
- Group counseling
- Crisis intervention
- Psychological testing and report writing
- Direct or simulated supervision of a psychology trainee or other health professional
- Outreach and consultation
Training Seminars include topics on diverse identities and multiculturalism, intern case conferences/consultations, psychological assessment, supervision of supervision, and clinical/professional issues seminar. Additionally, training seminars may include didactics such as brief therapy, crisis/suicidal/at-risk clients, professional ethics, working from various theoretical orientations, eating disorders and other topics of choice, based on interns’ interests.
Supervision: two hours of regularly scheduled individual primary supervision, one hour of emphasis area supervision, and two hours of regularly scheduled group supervision will be provided per week (in assessment, supervision of supervision, and/or intern cohort group supervision).
Other regularly scheduled activities include training and practice in psychological assessment, our weekly staff meeting, outreach, multidisciplinary consultation, preparation and administrative time for documentation and dissertation research time/professional development time.
Specialty emphasis areas are available depending on intern interests, available staff to supervise these areas, and center needs. No particular emphasis area can be guaranteed to be available at the time of the internship start. Examples include, but are not limited to, diversity and multicultural counseling, psychological testing, eating disorder treatment, sport psychology consulting, group counseling, dialectical behavior therapy, and trauma treatment.
We will offer three full-time positions for the 2025-2026 internship year.
- The internship is 40 hours/week starting August 1.
- The stipend is $45,000 plus benefits, paid monthly.
- Interns receive 12 university holidays, 10 annual (vacation) leave days, ten sick days and five professional development leave days. The timing of leave is subject to the approval of the Training Director.
- All interns will have a private office outfitted with furniture, a computer, and other necessary materials to function in the role, and will have library privileges.
General schedule of activities and expectations
Below are sample tables of Direct and Indirect Service activities psychology interns might be expected to complete on a weekly basis during their internship. The maximum and minimum hours within each category and the actual schedule may vary from week to week.
The University's CS doctoral internship requires a rigorous full-time commitment of 40 hours per week for the internship year. Interns are expected to work a minimum of 2000 hours during their time at UNR Counseling Services, with a minimum of 500 of those being direct contact hours (e.g., same-day sessions, individual counseling, group counseling, outreach, psychological testing).
The following sample intern schedule shows the categories of work that will be counted toward the 2000 hours; interns’ weekly actual hours may vary:
- Same Day Sessions (4 hours).
- Crisis Appointments (as needed).
- Individual Counseling Hours (12-15 hours including same-day sessions).
- Assessment/Report Writing (4 hours).
- Outreach (~0.5 hours).
- Group Hours (1 - 2 hours). Plus group supervision/debriefing (0.5 – 1 hour).
- Individual Supervision Provided (1 hour – spring semester).
- Individual Supervision Received (3 hours – primary and emphasis area supervision).
- Group Supervision(2-3.5 hours – supervision of supervision, assessment group supervision, intern cohort group supervision).
- Didactic Training Seminar (2 hours).
- Professional Development Time (2 hours).
- Administrative (10 – 16 hours).
- Lunch (0.5-1 hour).
| Direct Service Activities | Fall Hours | Spring Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Therapy/Same Day Sessions (SDS) | 10 to 12 | 12 to 15 |
| Walk-in crisis | 0-1 | 0-1 |
| Assessment | 2 | 2 |
| Outreach | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Group Counseling | 1 to 2 | 1 to 2 |
| Supervision Provided | 0 | 1 |
| Total Direct Service | 13.5 to 17.5 | 16.5 to 21.5 |
| Indirect Service Activities | Fall Hours | Spring Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Client Consultation Meeting | 1 | 1 |
| Staff Meeting | 1 | 1 |
| Group Counseling Debriefing Supervision | 0.5 to 1 | 0.5 to 1 |
| Supervision Received - Individual | 3 | 3 |
| Supervision Received - Assessment | 1 | 1 |
| Supervision Received - Group | 1 | 1 |
| Supervision Received – Sup of Sup | 0 | 1.5 |
| Training Seminar | 2 | 2 |
| Professional Development (dissertation, research) | 2 | 2 |
| Documentation, Phone/emails, Preparation, Report Writing | 10.5 | 7.5 |
| Total Indirect Service | 22.5 | 18.5 |
| Activity | Fall Hours | Spring Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Direct Service | 13.5 to 17.5 | 16.5 to 21.5 |
| Total Indirect Service | 22.5 | 18.5 |
| Total Hours | 40 | 40 |