APA Accredited Internship in Clinical and Counseling Psychology

Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center

Pre-doctoral Internship Program

Virginia Tech

I appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete the following evaluation of your experience with our program during the recent internship interview.  As you know, we post this information  on our website and your comments are a valuable resource for future intern applicants.  The survey is anonymous and will have no effect on match rankings as those have already been submitted. Thank you for your assistance and all the best in your career endeavors.

Cathye Griffin Betzel, Psy.D.
Director of Training

Disclaimer: The survey responses below are presented with very little editorial intervention (other than the occasional spelling correction!). Keep in mind that these are subjective impressions and that some comments may present information that appears to conflict with each other.  If you have particular questions after reading the comments, please refer to the "official" material on the website for clarification or feel free to contact me if needed at  cbetzel@vt.edu

1.  How did you learn about our internship program?

• Online APPIC Directory

• Previous interns

2.  Does our website provide adequate information regarding our program?  Please explain.

• Yes, the information provided was better at providing adequate information as compared to other internship websites. Thorough. Accurate. No surprises during the interview.

• Yes, everything that I felt I needed to know to get a good sense of a program and to determine fit (without actually getting the "physical feel") were included on the website.

• Yes, it's quite comprehensive.

• Website has great information and really conveys the caring, invested attitude from the staff that I felt during the interview.

• Yes, I think your website is very representative of the program.

• Yes. I found it quite helpful and accurate.

• Yes. It describes the service offered at the center and the role and schedule of the interns.

• Yes I think so, however more info about what assessments your program actually gives interns experience in would be nice.

• Your website does an excellent job of describing the program; the staff as well as the evaluation procedures used to evaluate interns. I found it to be very helpful.

• Yes. I think it highlights much of the strengths and available training opportunities.

3.  What do you see as the strengths of our training program? 

• Collegial environment and supportive staff. Broad range of experiences in a variety of modes of therapy. Diversity in theoretical orientations.

• The people. The balance of autonomy and support, and the amount of supervision offered.

• Caring staff with a good sense of humor. Seems appropriately demanding in a non-pressured environment; Tells applicant what to expect in the interview regarding selection; Stresses self-care for the intern and a strict 40 hour work week; Staff seems team and training oriented; nice facilities and offices.

• Variety of training opportunities.

• The supervision is definitely a strength in comparison to other sites I interviewed with. Also, I was impressed with the assessment experience and training.

• In addition to the numerous opportunities offered, I really liked the feeling I had in the counseling center. It seemed like a warm, well-run facility, which provides excellent training.

• Types of specialized training areas (e.g., administration, sport psychology, etc.), very nice facility, appears supportive.

• Multi-cultural diversity, diversity of services and options for training.

• Very comprehensive. Training in counseling (individual, group, and couples), assessment, research and supervision. Great facilities.

• Very warm and enthusiastic training staff. Pleasant working environment. Training-oriented program.

• Extensive training options, broad theoretical orientations, external rotations, assessment opportunities, and a supportive and flexible staff.

 4.  What do you see as the weaknesses of our training program? 

• Limited opportunities for psychological assessment.

• Location; office size.

• Location and yearly income.

• Location, stipend, lack of diversity

• Practically speaking, one of the weaknesses of the program is a lack of health insurance. Also, I think interns' caseloads are a bit large, necessitating seeing clients biweekly.

• Honestly none stands out to me.

• Location of campus.

• Didactic opportunities.

• Would like to have seen more ADHD and Learning Disorder assessment opportunities.

• Very few conventional "rotations". The offered training appears excellent, but it is rather one-dimensional.

• Nothing comes to mind. I was very impressed and can't recall a limitation.

 5.  Please comment on your level of satisfaction with the onsite or telephone interview experience.  Please specify type of interview (onsite or telephone). 

• The onsite interview was very pleasurable. Staff was welcoming and warm, and the interviewees were treated respectfully and kindly.

• Onsite I was very satisfied with the interview experience and felt I learned a lot about the program and the people. I appreciated that I was able to interact with the interns at lunch, and with all of the staff members through interviews.

• The interview process was certainly thorough. Meeting with every staff member in groups was a bit disconcerting and it made for a very long day. The scenario questions were challenging and, I think, overly vague. Too many issues to consider without enough information. We would never be asked in a clinical situation to make an assessment based on so little information.

• On site interview. Appropriately difficult involving role plays and case conceptualization, heavy on specifics. At the same time, I really enjoyed the interview as it included humor and attempt to get to know applicant personally.

• I had an onsite interview which while pleasant, was a waste of time. It was completely unnecessary to leave 15 minutes out of every 30 minute panel for questions. I can understand doing that for the meeting with the director of training and maybe one other but not 4 or 5 times in addition to the lunch with the interns, which pretty much had already answered all my questions. It also seemed a bit silly  that each group only had 2 questions to ask me - I don't feel like I was able to talk about key areas that would have given you a much better view of the kind of applicant and intern I would be.

• I was very happy with the on-site interview. It was very relaxed and having lunch with the current interns was also really helpful.

• I had an on-site interview and greatly enjoyed it. It was great meeting so many staff and having such a fancy lunch!

• Very satisfied. I had a great time during my phone interview talking with the various staff members.

• On-site. Good flow and opportunity to meet staff; time with present interns.

• I thought it was great. I felt like I got a great feel for the interns and staff members. I liked that I got to  meet with everyone. There was no fluff, which I appreciate.

• On-site interview was fabulous. You made a wonderful impression through your attention to details (cookies, well-defined schedule, lunch)!! Interviews are concise and helpful as they allow you to meet and interact with so many staff members. I felt as though I had a very solid "feel" of the program by the time I left.

• I really enjoyed my in-person interview. I found the staff to be very friendly and engaged in the process, while lunch at the Inn was an impressive perk.

6.   Do you support informing applicants when they are no longer under consideration in the interview process?  Please explain. 

• Absolutely. Very beneficial in composing rank order lists.

• Yes. Definitely. It always helps to know where you stand as much as is appropriate under the APPIC regulations.

• While the feedback is nice for those who are being considered, I'm sure it is discouraging for those who are not and I don't think it makes any difference in terms of interns' ranking decisions.

• Absolutely! Many programs state that this does not "matter" as the ranking system will automatically correct for this (move to the next ranking); however, it matters to the applicant's mental state during the already stressful ranking process.

• This just seemed unnecessary and hurtful. Also a little bit insulting considering how much time, money, etc. that applicants invest in visiting your site. I had already submitted my rankings and it did not change where I was ranking Tech (#7). I don't really understand the rationale since it does not affect the NMS processing. The application process is already draining enough - this just seemed to add another layer to that.

• I have mixed feelings. According to the APPIC site, there is no penalty to rank a site that doesn't rank you, so in that case, the information doesn't really affect things. On the other hand, it can be nice to know that your site still has interest in an applicant, and if an applicant is no longer under consideration, it can save them valuable time in deciding how to rank.

• Overall, yes. It added a bit of extra anxiety, but I think it can also be helpful as well.

• Absolutely 100%.

• Yes, it gives clarity in ranking and discerning fit.

• No, it seems redundant and since the emotional level is high at the time already, I don't think it serves a purpose.

• Absolutely. The interview process is such an ambiguous, roller-coaster process...it's nice to have ANY solid feedback from a program during those Looooooong weeks prior to match day.

• Yes. I believe that allows them to better focus on other sites that may still have them ranked. The only drawback would be the experience of a possible rejection.

7.  Based on your review of our materials and interactions with our staff how well do you believe our program meets the needs of applicants from individually and culturally diverse groups?  

• It seemed to meet those needs well based on materials and staff interactions.

• Absolutely; many interview questions were based on cultural sensitivity.

• I think you have to work with what you have. Being in an isolated location, I don' t think you have the resources that diverse individuals might need (cultural groups, temple, etc.) but I don't blame the internship program for that.

• I was really impressed with your program's commitment to multiculturalism - it's a main reason that I applied.

• From what I saw and read, it seems like those needs are met very well.

• Fairly well...I do not have information that would tell me that your program does NOT meet the needs of applications from diverse backgrounds.

• The programs are in place to provide breadth and depth for various opportunities

• Relative to the area I feel that the program makes every effort to expose its interns to a wide variety of diverse experience. Highly impressive.

• Fairly well.

8.  Other comments are welcome about any aspect of the Cook Counseling Center intern recruitment process.   

• I liked that the interview day started with an introductory presentation. It helped ease my nerves.

• For a stressful process, it certainly was enjoyable

• Overall, it was a great experience. It was wonderful to get to know the staff, interns, and fellow applicants.

• It was truly a pleasure.

• Loved everything about it. It looks like a place where interns can continue in the path for both interpersonal and professional development.

• I was extremely impressed with your process. Highly respectful of interns, their time and their efforts!!

• I appreciated prompt emails and updates about my status in the interview and ranking process.