How to Apply

Criteria for Internship

To be considered for the CAPS Internship Program, applicants must fulfill the following criteria:

Current enrollment in an APA-accredited (or CPA-accredited) doctoral program in counseling or clinical psychology
Successful completion of doctoral comprehensive exams
Completion of a minimum of 400 intervention hours from practica by November 1, and a minimum of 1200 total practicum hours. Refer to the AAPI for what are included under "Intervention Experience." These hours may also include practicum training accrued during a terminal masters program. On the other hand, although we value applicants' non-practicum clinical work in mental health services (e.g., jobs, volunteer work) as a helpful indicator of applicants' overall background and experience in the field, hours of non-practicum services should not be counted towards this criterion.
Approval by the academic training program verifying readiness for internship
Completion of all required coursework and practica prior to the starting date of the internship
Favorable consideration will be given to applicants who will have completed or made substantial progress toward completion of their dissertation by the start of the internship year
The Training Program at CAPS discourages internship applicants whose current practicum is at CAPS. This is to minimize the issues of dual roles in supervisory relationships as well as other complications that might interfere with externs’ focus on their practicum experience at CAPS.

Application Materials

CAPS uses the AAPI Online Application as with all APPIC member internship programs. Hard-copy, mailed-in applications will not be accepted. Go to the APPIC website (http://appic.org/) to find out more about the AAPI Online.

To be considered for internship at CAPS, your online application must include the following components:

Completed APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI) form. The AAPI may be downloaded from www.appic.org.
In a "cover letter" or "letter of interest," describe (up to 500 words) your qualifications and professional experience which you believe make you a good match with our site. Please also elaborate your specific goals for internship.
Current vita.
In the “cover letter” (see above) and/or vita, clearly identify experience conducting intake assessments and crisis assessment and intervention (e.g. walk-in/on-call, triage, emergency room assessments, crisis hotline, etc.).
Official transcripts for all graduate work.
Three letters of recommendation, at least two from supervisors familiar with your more recent clinical work.

Deadline for Applications:

Application must be submitted through AAPI Online by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on the first Friday of November. To accommodate the 2013-2014 internship applicants whose application process might be disrupted by Hurricane Sandy in early November, we will extend the deadline to 8:00 a.m. Central Time on Monday November 5, 2012.

Contacting the Internship Program:

Applicants who wish to communicate directly with the Training Director, e-mail him directly at taywaditep@northwestern.edu, or use the following mailing address:

Jod Taywaditep, Ph.D.
Training Director
Northwestern University
CAPS, 633 Emerson
Evanston, IL 60208-4000

Selection Procedures

The selection committee is comprised of the Training Director, members of the senior staff, and postdoctoral fellows. Applications are reviewed with attention to "goodness of fit" between the applicant's training goals and clinical experience and the goals of the CAPS internship program. CAPS' selection process follows the Match Policies set by APPIC. Applicants are also required to follow APPIC guidelines.

The Selection Committee at CAPS will review applications between the second week of November and the second week of December. Invitations for phone interviews will be extended by the second Friday in December; other applicants will be notified of their status by e-mail. Phone interviews (50 minutes) will be scheduled for the first three weeks of January.