Our Mission
The mission of the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology is to provide psychology interns with intensive professional training experiences within the context of a scientist-practitioner model. Each consortium site is committed to helping interns refine and deepen their commitment to lifelong doctoral-level scholarship, empirically validated practices (including assessment, treatment, consultation, and counseling), and accountability.
The unifying perspective of psychological practice in the consortium sites is ecological developmental theory. People are continually developing in the context of reciprocal interactions with the environment. Change is possible from multiple sources, including environmental, psychological, and biological factors. Psychological and behavioral interventions can occur at all levels and through diverse activities. Sites provide opportunities for interns to develop knowledge and skills in providing services within primary care settings and to collaborate across settings and care-providers.
Although the specific missions and goals of each agency differ to some extent, all are committed to a training philosophy that emphasizes:
- empirically supported intervention procedures,
- experiential learning,
- extensive supervision,
- intern development,
- diverse populations, and
- research activities.
Unique to the NICPP is the geographic locale within which it is situated. Through the inclusion of agencies in urban (Omaha), regional (Lincoln), and rural (Beatrice) settings, interns gain exposure to differences in psychological and mental health services within broad community contexts. Further, the availability of sites such as schools, hospitals, out-patient clinics, and residential agencies adds to the breadth of treatment facilities to which interns are introduced.
Consortium sites serve populations across the lifespan. These include:
- children and adolescents
- college students
- families
- care-providers who regularly interact with children and families (parents, teachers, others)
- adults struggling with various psychological or medical conditions
The Consortium is committed to ongoing improvement of training through the continuing education of faculty, refinement of oversight systems, and utilization of intern feedback in program development.
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Our Training Program
The NICPP specializes in training professional psychologists with child, adolescent, college student, and family interests. Within that context:
- Interns are given maximum opportunity to assume increasing professional responsibility, with appropriate supervision, as their skills and knowledge grow over the year.
- Each intern's training schedule is worked out in a flexible, mutually designated and agreed-upon manner.
- The internship experiences are developed to meet the intern's professional goals and to provide maximum personal development.
- Planned interaction among all interns is an integral part of this training program.
- Interns meet regularly with their training directors or supervisors to monitor and assess progress.
- Supervision (averaging about 4 hours per week) occurs through a combination of individual and group sessions.
- Research activities are encouraged and some official training time may be allotted to research.
Interns are required to participate in monthly seminars covering assessment, intervention, professional issues, diversity, and service delivery. Seminar topics in the past have included crisis intervention, neuropsychology, psychotropic drugs, family therapy, assessment of low incidence handicaps, curriculum-based assessment, professional interdisciplinary collaboration, and legal/ethical issues. Case presentations by interns focusing on assessment and intervention activities are a part of all monthly seminars.
Interns are expected to seek out and take advantage of other training activities available at their sites and in the community. Occasionally, particular presentations or workshops are identified as a requirement of the internship. Two examples of such activities are the Nebraska Symposium on Motivation and the Buros-Nebraska Symposium on Measurement and Testing.
Interns must meet individual requirements of the agency in which they are completing their internship. Consistency in the admission requirements and standards, agency selections, training goals, and evaluation procedures ensures comparable quality experiences for all interns.
Each intern's training program is planned individually and is reviewed quarterly during the year and modified appropriately. An intern generally spends an entire year at one site. In special circumstances, internships may be planned for half time over a two-year period. Throughout the year each intern has regular access to monthly seminars and individual and group supervision.
The Consortium's yearly stipends range from $20,000 to $30,000. Benefits vary across agencies. Vacation and/or other personal leave must be specifically arranged and appropriately approved by individual site training directors. Policies regarding official holidays are set by individual agencies. Some agencies reimburse for local travel costs. The Consortium offers approximately 25 intern positions each year.
Our Administration
The training program is coordinated by the NICPP Board of Supervisors. The Board comprises two Co-Directors, Training Directors from the cooperating agencies, and one or more intern representatives. The Board meets regularly to discuss training issues, set policies, and coordinate the training experience for interns. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Educational Psychology serves as the central administrative unit for the Consortium. The broad array of professional interests and experiences of the members of the board of supervisors and the support faculty at the various consortium sites provide a wealth of resources for interns.
NICPP Board - Front Row: Dr. Connie Schnoes (Boys Town), Dr. Susan Swearer (NICPP Co-Director), Dr. Tricia Besett-Alesch (Counseling and Psychological Services – UNL). Back Row: Dr. Keith Allen (Munroe-Meyer Institute, NICPP Co-Director), Dr. Shawn Bryant (Beatrice State Developmental Center), Dr. Aaron Stratman (Catholic Social Services), Dr. Thomas Grandy (Center for Health and Counseling – Creighton), Dr. Collette Nero (Omaha Public Schools).
Our Goal
The goal of the NICPP is to provide an integrated, individually tailored, and coordinated series of learning experiences that will serve the aspiring professional psychologist with opportunities to practice and expand on previously held knowledge and learned skills, develop new skills and knowledge, and experience personal and professional growth and development, thus contributing to the emergence of a competent scientist/practitioner professional psychologist.
Regardless of the particular experiences that combine to create the intern's training context, the intern will obtain well-supervised experiences in the psychological assessment process, in a broad range of therapeutic intervention activities, in crisis intervention and emergency care, and in applied or basic research activities. In addition, the intern will engage in mental health, behavioral, and program consultation; primary prevention activities; and family therapy. The Consortium is especially concerned with providing services to traditionally underserved groups. All interns engage in planned activities with individuals and/or families from diverse and unique cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. The NICPP is focused on delivering quality services to individuals and families.
