Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology

Dear Psychology Internship Applicants,

Welcome to Stanford University’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Psychology Internship Program’s website!  I appreciate your interest in our training program and I hope that the information on this website will provide you with helpful information about the training opportunities in Health Service Psychology (HSP) that CAPS offers.

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Introduction 

Stanford University is nestled among California’s rolling hills between San Jose and San Francisco, in what is known as the remarkably diverse and vibrant Bay Area.  This backdrop sets a larger context for the diversity of the Stanford community and CAPS’s commitment to clinical excellence and culturally responsive care.

We are committed to the development of individual and cultural humility, ensuring clinicians are equipped to serve students from all backgrounds in alignment with APA’s statement  “Preparing Professional Psychologists to Serve a Diverse Public".  Our training program upholds the highest accreditation standards and professional ethics.    

Training Aims

Our training aims are: 

1. To recruit and train ethical, clinically skilled, and culturally humble psychologists who will be prepared for entry level practice in health service psychology.
2. To foster attitudes and behaviors that promote a professional identity as a psychologist through didactic education, experiential learning, mentorship, and supervision.

CAPS provides mental health services through Vaden Health Center and has liaison relationships throughout the university. Consistent with the overall mission of the university, CAPS creates a caring, supportive, educational environment for trainees to support their acquisition of Profession Wide Competencies (PWCs) as they gain the skills to practice independently and operate as professional Early Career Psychologists (ECPs).

CAPS provides training that supports an intern’s professional development through experiential learning, supervision, and mentorship that is informed by the science of psychology. The training staff is committed to providing interns with quality supervision and training seminars that support their professional and personal development.  Interns gain a range of professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes throughout the year. We value not only the broadening of clinical competence and learning to manage the demands of the work, but the ability to work collaboratively with other mental health professionals in a dynamic university counseling center.  The multidisciplinary staff at CAPS actively contributes to fostering professional respect and cohesion within CAPS and across disciplines. Our training program provides many opportunities for interns to consult, learn, and work in partnership with staff to build meaningful relationships and mentorship.

We are continually inspired by the enthusiasm, passion, and dedication that our interns bring to CAPS.  The distinctive individual and cultural backgrounds, and personal and professional experiences represented in each of our interns, serve as the foundation for which mutual professional development occurs over the course of the training year. 

We hope that the information on our website will provide helpful information to guide your decision making. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any additional questions.

Best wishes for a successful completion to your internship search.

Mary Mendoza-Newman, Ph.D.
Senior Psychology Training Director