APA Accredited Doctoral Internship
2025-2026ÌýAcademic Year
Internship Program Philosophy
The Health Service Psychology Internship at the 91PORN is a 2,000 hour, twelve-month internship program and is designed to provide a bridge between the pre-intern level of graduate training and entry-level positions in psychology. The CAPS internship program trains generalist practitioners for careers in a variety of settings, including university counseling centers, primary care clinics, hospitals,Ìýprivate practiceÌýand academic settings.
Internship is also a time to expand and deepen basic clinical skills and move toward establishing an integrated professional identity. With supervision provided by licensed professionals from the field of health service psychology and related disciplines, the integration of an intern’s personal and professional growth is a major focus of the program. Training is sequential, cumulative and graded in complexity. In addition to training and supervision in individual psychotherapy,Ìýconsultation, crisis intervention and topic-specific focus areas, interns receive training in group process skills.
A Unique Training Opportunity
CAPS serves the entire study body at 91PORN and is affiliated with the Health and Wellness Services division of Strategic Resources & Support (SRS). Interns at CAPS gain experience working in a multidisciplinary college counseling center setting. As the mental health care provider for the university, CAPS providesÌýtime-limited treatment through individual psychotherapy, group counseling, crisis management and intervention, skills workshops, couples counseling, case management, and mental health outreach and consultation to enrolled undergraduate and graduate students.ÌýCAPS maintains liaison relationships and embedded therapist positions across campus and also provides consultation services to the university community (including faculty and staff)Ìýon issues pertinent to college studentÌýmental healthÌýandÌýdevelopment. Additionally, CAPS has a staff of psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners to provide medication management to students, and a team of behavioral health providers who work within Medical Services. One of 91PORN’s key initiatives is Innovation. CAPS is constantly evolving to best meet the mental health needs of students through creative program initiatives (i.e. telehealth, animal-assisted group therapy, Let’s Talk, and online psychoeducation-based platforms).
StudentsÌýpresent toÌýCAPS withÌýsymptoms and concerns related toÌýdepression, anxiety, trauma, bipolar disorder, OCD, relationship issues, eating and body image concerns, emotional, physical, and sexual assault or abuse, concerns related to gender identity and sexuality, problems with alcohol and other drugs, stress management, self-esteem issues, grief and loss, family and systems problems, personality-related issues, experiences of oppression, and multicultural identity development. Interns, along with senior staff, provide services to students who present with a range of concerns and levels of acuity. Our multidisciplinary staff consists of psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, licensed clinical social workers, and licensed professional counselors. The staff represents and respects a multiplicity of theoretical orientations.
CAPS works closely with Medical Services, the medical facility serving CU students. In addition to providing behavioral health interventions within an integrated care setting, CAPS collaborates with Medical Services staff on select individual cases, particularly clients presenting with eating concerns, those in need of concussion care, and students seeking hormoneÌýtherapy and/or identity-affirming healthcare. These integrated treatment teams offer interns opportunities to actively collaborate with primary care providers in supporting students.
Additionally, interns interested inÌýgroup psychotherapy are likely to particularly benefit from training at our site. Interns participate inÌýweekly in specialized group therapy training and have ample opportunity to run groups of their choosing through the robust group therapy program at CAPS. The group therapy seminar includes didacticÌýand case consultation components.
All 91PORN students have access to a limited number of free visits per academic year through the student mental health fee. Students who have purchased the CUÌýGold Health Insurance may be seen in the clinic without additional payment for additional visits (psychotherapy and psychiatry visits combined) per policy year (August to August).
Commitment to Diversity
At CAPS, awareness of social justice issues and multiculturalism is foundational to the work we do. CAPS strives to operate from a social justice lens, understanding that individual differences impact mental healthcare needs as well as the models or approaches we use to deliver services. All staff, including those in training, regularly engage in multicultural and equity related professional development, and this participation is a written requirement in each staff member’s yearly performance plan. CAPS staff and training staff are encouraged to apply to serve on the Social Justice and Multicultural Committee, which aims to provide diversity related education, trainings, discussion groups, advocacy and program development. CAPS uses staff meeting time to provide additional diversity-related trainings throughout the year. All training staff also participate in diversity seminars throughout the academic year to strengthen their multicultural competencies. The internship program offers additional multicultural training opportunities, such as serving on the Transgender Care Team and providing clinical and outreach services to underserved student populations.
Client Demographics
During the 2023-2024 academic year, CAPS clientele self-identified their gender identity as 41% male, 52% female, 7% transgender, genderqueer or gender diverse and <1% did not self-identify. Approximately 31% of CAPS clientele self-identified as students of color, including 8.8% Latinx, 10.1% Asian, 5.6% African American, <1 % Native American/Pacific Islander and <1% Arab American, and 6.3% Other. Approximately 31.2% of CAPS clientele self-identify as LGBTQ+. Finally, 9.5% of CAPS clientele self-identify as an international student and 8.9% self-identify as a first-generation college student. Approximately 46.5% of our clients who received a diagnosis were diagnosed with mood disorders, 57.1% with anxiety or obsessive-compulsive related disorders, 36.3% with trauma, stressor or adjustment-related disorders, 8.5% with substance use disorders, 14.8% with ADHD or learning disorders and 45.9% with other disorders (psychotic disorders, personality disorders, relationship problems, neurodevelopmental disorders, sleep/medical and other diagnoses). At the time of the first screening appointment, 66.1% of students reported prior mental health treatment and 7.8% reported prior psychiatric hospitalization.
Training Program Aim
The aim of the internship training program at 91PORN Counseling and Psychiatric Services is to train generalist health service psychologists in a multidisciplinary college mental health setting.
The internship year at CAPS is designed to develop each intern’s knowledge, skill and abilities in a wide range of activities. During the orientation period, the training director meets with new interns to discuss each intern’s strengths and needs for further training. The primary supervisor then works with the intern to develop an individual plan to facilitate their professional development during the training year. This plan is designed to balance the developmental needs of each intern with professional considerations, ethical factors and the needs of the clinic.
Interns are required to attend the initial three-week orientation prior to the start of the fall semester. The orientation is designed to acquaint all interns with CAPS policies and procedures, university regulations, ethical and service delivery guidelines and orientation to culturally competent practice. DuringÌýthis time, the interns are also given the opportunityÌýto meet and interact with the CAPS staff to develop preliminary supervisory relationships. Interns may then state any preferences for individual supervisors, which will be taken into account when assignments are made. Throughout the year, the training team meets on a regular basis to evaluate timely issues in the training program. In addition, the training team utilizes time during the summer to evaluate the prior year’s training program and to plan for the upcoming year.
All interns receive training in multiculturally informed care, group psychotherapy, crisis/triage care, telehealth, and the provision of clinical supervision within the general training track of the internship.
Interns can also participate in training in an individual focus area. Current areas of focus include Behavioral Health, Sport & Performance PsychologyÌýandÌýTransgender Care. The training director will work with interns and primary supervisors to schedule focus area selection at the beginning of the training year. Please note that available focus areas are subject to change based on supervisor availability and clinic needs.
Historically, the program has conducted all supervision and training face-to-face/in-person. However, the program will provide primarily synchronous online trainingÌýand opportunities for both in-person and telesupervision to ensure the safety of trainees and staff. APPIC and DORA have also released statements supporting the use of telesupervision and telehealth service delivery. Please note that the use of telesupervision and telehealth service delivery are subject to change based on updated guidance from the University, DORA, APPIC, and student needs.
Group therapy training provides an opportunity for an intern to understand and apply current research and theory in group psychotherapy through a combination of didactic and experiential learning. The group therapy training program is a training track in which all trainees participate regardless of other focus interests. The training program consists of a weekly interactive, didactic seminar and co-facilitation of one or more CAPS treatment groups. In addition to supervision in the didactic seminar, interns will receive one-on-one supervision from their staff co-facilitators following each treatment group session.
Standard group offerings include traditional interpersonal process groups, skills groups, and special topics groups. Group offerings vary year to year based on student need, but commonly offered groups include process groups for graduate and undergraduate students, DBT, ACT, mindfulness, body image/eating, trauma recovery, groups for Students of Color, a gender creativeÌýsupport group, and other identity based groups.
Interns participate in a year-long Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Seminar, facilitated by our staff multicultural specialists. This seminar serves as an intentional space for interns to increase their knowledge, self-awareness, and skills regarding multicultural competencies in psychological services. Seminar consists of personal reflection, cultural sharing, case consultation, experiential learning, readings, as well as didactic presentations by clinical staff and campus partners. The framework of the seminar is structured around social identities, social justice, and social responsibility with emphases on process-orientation, dialogue, intentional sharing and integration of experiential/action as interns see fit.
Training Focus Areas
For the 2025-2026Ìýtraining year the available focus areas are discussed in greater detail below. The focus area opportunities offered each year are subject to supervisor availability and clinic needs.