Externship Program

Alla Sheynkin, Psy.D., Director

Program Goals

NYPSI’s Psychology Externship provides psychology students in their earlier years of education with an in-depth clinical and didactic experience with members of the faculty at NYPSI. The Externship offers a one-year, part-time (16-20 hours), clinical experience to Ph.D. and Psy.D. students in clinical psychology and allied fields. The aim of the program is to provide excellent clinical training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and in psychodiagnostic testing to advanced psychology students through an opportunity to treat a diversity of patients with close supervision, including children in NYC public schools.

Program Description

The program emphasizes the scholar-practitioner model and closely integrates courses and seminars in theory and technique with extensive clinical experience. The primary treatment model at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute is psychodynamic, and the extern is exposed to a range of psychodynamic theories, techniques, and treatment modalities with special emphasis on their application to the diverse patient population served by the Institute. Training is provided in individual and group psychotherapy, psycho-diagnostic testing and assessment.

The core experience (16-20 hours per week) includes a minimum of five-six patient hours per week at our Treatment Center with at least two hours of psychoanalytically-oriented supervision. Externs work with patients from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, as diverse as severely impaired very young children, older children and adolescents from the inner city and high functioning young children, adolescents, and college students and adults. Treatment is intensive and generally long term; however, short-term treatment as well as behavioral, group, and family modalities are also accommodated when clinically indicated.

In addition, students provide a minimum of 3 hours per week of individual and group psychotherapy, as well as parent work, at elementary, middle, or high schools in the NYC area.  Students also attend First Year courses of the Adult Psychoanalytic Program as well as a weekly continuous case conference. Finally, students are expected to do three to four full testing batteries a year and to discuss these intelligence and projective tests in a weekly seminar on Diagnostic Testing.

Optional rotations include working at the Einstein Intervention Program for Mothers and Infants one morning or afternoon per week. Externs are also invited to attend monthly Affiliated Staff Conferences where ongoing analyses are presented and discussed by senior analysts. Research consultations on doctoral dissertations that may benefit from a psychoanalytic perspective are available as well.

Curriculum

Psychology externs participate in a weekly continuous case conference and a weekly testing seminar. In addition, they take one night of the First Year courses of the Adult Psychoanalytic Program together with our psychoanalytic candidates and scholars. First year courses include introduction to psychoanalytic theory, therapy and technique. Please see https://nypsi.org/training-programs/class-schedule-2023-2024/ for full list.  Students who eventually decide to begin analytic training at NYPSI will be given credit for these courses.

Library privileges are offered as well as an invitation to Tuesday night scientific lectures and free admission to Extension Division courses.

Supervision

NYPSI prides itself on being able to offer very close supervision to students. In most cases, no more than two patients are discussed with each supervisor and additional supervisors are assigned if necessary. Supervisors specialized in child work are assigned for all child patients including children being seen at area schools. A supervisor specialized in group psychotherapy for children is available for externs leading groups. In addition to supervision, each extern is assigned a mentor for advice and direction about career development, if so desired.

Application Procedures

Please submit your applications through the https://nynjadot.apa.org portal.

Due to the guidelines for externship applications set up by the members of Psychology Externship Directors of NYS and New York/New Jersey Association of Directors of Training, applications for externship may not be submitted prior to January 9, 2023 at 9:00 am and no later than January 16, 2023.

Internship Program

Alla Sheynkin, Psy.D., Director

Program Goals

NYPSI’s Psychology Internship provides an in-depth experience for psychology students at the end of their clinical psychology education, and meets academic requirements for Ph.D. and Psy.D. degrees. The Internship is an intense one-year, full-time or two-year, half time, unfunded training program. The primary goal of the program is to further the training and professional development of doctoral level psychologists by providing the knowledge and skills necessary for diagnosis, assessment, and intervention.  In addition to receiving clinical training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychodiagnostic testing, interns are provided with inpatient and day treatment experience at Mount Sinai Hospital, an opportunity to treat children at NYC public schools, and electives in psychoanalytically-oriented group and family psychotherapies.

Program Description

The program emphasizes the scholar-practitioner model and closely integrates courses and seminars in theory and technique with extensive clinical experience. The primary treatment model at the New York Psychoanalytic Institute is psychodynamic, and the intern is exposed to a range of psychodynamic theories, techniques, and treatment modalities with special emphasis on their application to the diverse patient population served by the Institute. Training is provided in milieu and individual psychotherapy, psycho-diagnostic testing and assessment, crisis intervention and consultation.

The core experience includes a minimum of five-six patient hours per week at our Treatment Center with at least two hours of psychoanalytically-oriented supervision. Interns work with patients from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, as diverse as severely impaired very young children, older children and adolescents from the inner city and high functioning young children, adolescents, and college students and adults. Treatment is intensive and generally long term; however, short-term treatment as well as behavioral, group, and family modalities are also accommodated when clinically indicated. Students are also expected to do three to four full testing batteries a year and to discuss these intelligence and projective tests in a weekly seminar on Diagnostic Testing.

The second required component of the internship program is a six-month rotation at the psychiatric inpatient service at New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital and Medical Center. Interns attend morning grand rounds, see patients individually, run group therapy sessions, administer psychological assessments with a rapid turn-around and collaborate as part of an interdisciplinary team in the care of patients. Students attend weekly case conferences where they can watch patients being interviewed by senior staff members. Weekly grand rounds on a variety of topics are also available.

The third required component is a minimum of 3 hours per week of individual and group psychotherapy, as well as parent work, at elementary, middle, or high schools in the NYC area.  In addition, students attend first-years courses of the Adult Psychoanalysis Program as well as a weekly continuous case conference. Finally, students are expected to do three to four full testing batteries a year and to discuss these intelligence and projective tests in a weekly seminar on Diagnostic Testing.

Optional rotations include working at the Einstein Intervention Program for Mothers and Infants one morning or afternoon per week. ​ Interns are also invited to attend monthly Affiliated Staff Conferences where ongoing analyses are presented and discussed by senior analysts. Research consultations on doctoral dissertations that may benefit from a psychoanalytic perspective are available as well.

Curriculum

Psychology interns participate in a weekly continuous case conference and a weekly testing seminar as well as optional weekly grand rounds during their inpatient rotation. In addition, they take one night of the first-year courses of the Adult Psychoanalysis Program together with our psychoanalytic candidates and scholars. First year courses include introduction to psychoanalytic theory, therapy and technique. Please see https://nypsi.org/class-schedule/ for full list.  Students who eventually decide to begin analytic training at NYPSI will be given credit for these courses.

Library privileges are offered as well as an invitation to Tuesday night scientific lectures and free admission to Extension Division courses. Finally, there are a series of quarterly dinners with well known psychoanalysts and psychologists so the interns may engage in a more personal way and have their specific questions answered.

Supervision

High quality supervision is at the heart of the training program, and all supervisors and faculty have extensive clinical experience and post-doctoral training. Multiple supervisory and learning experiences are provided, enabling the intern to enhance professional skills, establish a professional identity and pursue and develop individual interests.

NYPSI prides itself on being able to offer very close supervision to students. In most cases, no more than two patients are discussed with each supervisor and additional supervisors are assigned if necessary. Supervisors specialized in child work are assigned for all child patients including children being seen at area schools. A supervisor specialized in group psychotherapy for children is available for interns leading groups. In addition to supervision, each intern is assigned a mentor for advice and direction about career development, if so desired.

Application Procedures

Applicants are actively recruited from clinical psychology programs of graduate schools. Applicants must have completed their course work, practicums, and passed their doctoral qualifying exams. (Requirements for consideration for a position in our training program include a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised practicum experience involving both assessment and psychotherapy.)

Applicants must submit:

  1. Updated CV and three letters of recommendation.
  2. APPIC essays
  3. If APPIC essays are not available, the following Supplemental Essays in 500 words or less:
    • Please describe a defining or clarifying moment in your life. It can be a personal moment, a clinical event with a patient, an academic moment—anything that conveys something about you. It can be a recent event or something from your remote past. In other words, send us the entry which will most help us visualize you as a person.
    • Write a brief synopsis of a psychotherapy case that was particularly meaningful to you.
    • What are your long term professional goals? Please be as specific as possible.

Applications must be submitted no later than December 30, 2022. All materials should be addressed to:

Alla Sheynkin, Psy.D., Director of Training
Clinical Psychology Internship Program
New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute

and sent in PDF form to: admdir@nypsi.org as well as dr.sheynkin@gmail.com

The admissions committee of the psychology-training program, consisting of the director of the program and two faculty members, reviews all applications. Applicants are sometimes interviewed by more than one admission committee member if more information is needed. All applicants are evaluated without regard for sex, race, religion, or ethnic origin. Please contact Dr. Sheynkin with any questions at dr.sheynkin@gmail.com.

Please download internship brochure here for additional details.

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE