The psychology internship program offers students practical experience in psychology
in field settings. We offer a wide variety of placements working with children, adolescents
and adults. Interns work closely with professional staff, such as school psychologists,
school counselors, mental health counselors and social workers. Interns also participate
in a weekly seminar which helps them forge links between the internships and their
psychology courses.
Apply Your Knowledge
Our extensive internship program gives you the real-world experience that will help
to further your career in psychology.
Students can use this opportunity both to gain worthwhile real-world experience and
to explore different career options within the field of psychology. The internship
experience facilitates informed career decisions and provides relevant experience
for either graduate school or employment after graduation.
Internship Placements
Main Campus
Please note:
The availability of these placements varies semester to semester based on student
demand and program staff.
Descriptions provided below may not reflect what an intern may do in a particular
placement at any given time. Duties of interns may vary with changes to programs,
staff cuts, etc. in the placements.
Information about current duties and roles can be verified during an interview with
the site if you are approved by the psychology fieldwork coordinator to proceed to
an interview with the site.
This agency provides a variety of services to young children, including the early
intervention age group of birth to 3 years and the preschool age group which is 3
to 5 years. The staff includes a school psychologist, special education teachers,
speech pathologist, physical and occupational therapists, counselors and aides. The
program serves children (birth to 5) who have a variety of challenges, including developmental
delays, autism spectrum disorder, behavioral problems, intellectual disabilities,
as well as their families.
Adirondack Helping Hands is open Monday through Friday from 8:40 a.m. – 1:40 p.m.
(*important consideration for choosing your number of credits to take) and the office
is open Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
This school consists of kindergarten through 12th grade. Interns can work individually
with children who may be at risk for academic or social difficulties, and can assist
the school psychologist in facilitating group sessions with children as well. Interns
can help children in the classroom setting or do behavioral observations of children
in the classroom to assist the school psychologist. Interns may also shadow the school
counselor.
Clinton County DSS provides several diverse services in the community for a variety
of client groups. Undergraduate interns have usually been placed in the preventive
unit where they shadow caseworkers on home visits, observe meetings with families
and other service providers or school staff, assist clients with transportation to
appointments, and more.
Interns will work in a preschool classroom along with the teacher and aide. The Headstart
program works with children who can benefit from an intensive preschool experience.
Headstart centers are in the city of Plattsburgh and surrounding communities.
Momot serves children in Plattsburgh in grades pre-K through grade 5. Interns could
be assisting in classroom settings and observing staff meetings with school psychologists
and staff.
Students are trained and supervised to help teach 6- to 16-year-old children, who
have been diagnosed with high-functioning autism, the social skills they need to get
along with peers and adults. The program runs on campus on Saturday afternoons. This
placement can only provide one credit.
North Country Kids is an early intervention setting for children aged birth to 5.
The staff includes a school psychologist, special education teachers, occupational
therapist, speech therapist, and more. North Country Kids emphasizes applied behavior
analysis approaches for young children with behavioral difficulties (in contrast to
Adirondack Helping Hands who use other forms of intervention). Interns will likely
work sometime between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekdays.
Interns work with children aged 4 – 8 years (grades K through 2) at Thomas Glasgow
Elementary (formerly Bailey Ave. Elementary). Interns work primarily with the child
advocate (a school counselor by training), and work with young children on an individual
basis or in groups for social skills lessons and other forms of early school-based
interventions.
The Advocacy and Resource Center serves adults who are developmentally disabled as
well as some clients with psychiatric and physical disabilities. The intern’s objective
will be to increase these clients’ spontaneous engagement in meaningful activities
while at the community residence. Direct on-site supervision of the student will be
provided at all times. A one-day orientation and training program will be required.
Interns may participate in other agency-sponsored training programs as deemed appropriate.
An internship with the adult mental health unit provides the opportunity for the intern
to observe the daily duties of the treatment team. Interns may observe, where appropriate,
daily patient assessments conducted by the staff psychiatrists or other mental health
staff, family meetings, consultations with other service providers on inpatient cases,
group counseling sessions, and treatment team rounds on the unit. This placement is
typically for six hours per week at most, and during the day.
Interns will typically be assigned to one or two probation officers for direct supervision.
There are three units within the probation department: two criminal units and one
unit for juvenile diversion programming and Family Court. Interns perform a variety
of tasks, including but not limited to meeting with individual clients who are on
probation, family members and other treatment providers. Interns are sometimes able
to accompany probation officers in the field for home visits, court proceedings, etc.
Interns assist with regular reports on client progress and other record-keeping tasks
required of probation officers. Ideally, interns should be able to commit a minimum
of 15 hours per week for this internship.
Interns can work with the social worker conducting structured assessments of the elderly
residents in the nursing home and sit in on family conferences. Interns can also assist
with the activity programs at Meadowbrook that offer all residents an opportunity
to participate in a variety of activities at all levels of proficiency. Activities
are offered on an individual, small, and large group basis. Interns can interact one-on-one
with residents as well as participate with residents in group activities such as crafts,
socials, and games. Previous interns have also been able to shadow occupational therapists
when they have expressed interest in that career field.
The PROS Learning Center is a comprehensive recovery oriented program for individuals
with severe and persistent mental illness. PROS stands for Personalized Recovery Oriented
Services. The goal of the program is to integrate treatment, support, and rehabilitation
to facilitate the individual's recovery, including efforts to reduce utilization of
inpatient treatment, increase employment, pursue education, secure preferred housing,
etc. Undergraduate interns can learn about service delivery within a psychiatric rehabilitation
model. Most program services are offered Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 3:30
p.m. so interns would need to be available during those hours, and will negotiate
their schedule with the placement supervisor.
The STOP Domestic Violence program deals with clients, the vast majority of whom are
women, who have been physically abused by their partners. It provides counseling,
crisis management, a safe house away from the abuser, child care, referral to a physician,
and any other help the client may need. Support and encouragement as well as counseling
are given to help victims resolve the abusive situation. Interns will go through the
program’s volunteer training prior to beginning their duties. Students interested
in forensic psychology could consider this placement as it provides a victim’s point
of view on the criminal justice system, and interns often observe court proceedings.
This placement requires 10 hours per week.
The Traumatic Brain Injury Center is part of the Center for Neurobehavioral Health
on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus, located in Sibley Hall. The program serves adults
with a history of traumatic brain injury. The program includes social and recreational
activities, life skills training, and cognitive rehabilitation training. Interns can
observe and contribute to several of these activities with the program participants.
This program runs during the day Monday through Friday.
Queensbury Campus Internship Placements
WAIT House Homeless Youth Shelter
Voices of the Heart — services for individuals with psychiatric problems
Catholic Charities — domestic violence project
Bus Stop Club for siblings of children with disabilities
Other Placements
Note that Clinton Correctional Facility will no longer accept undergraduate interns
as they have sometimes done in previous years. Placements at other sites may be available,
both within Plattsburgh and in your home community. Contact the fieldwork coordinator
Katherine Dunham at [email protected] if you have further questions.
Information for Current Students (Main Campus)
The psychology fieldwork/internship program on the main campus is coordinated by Dr.
Katherine Dunham. Students at the Queensbury campus should contact Dr. Bremser ([email protected]), Dr. Grabbe ([email protected]), or Dr. Sturman ([email protected]).
Eligibility
Minimum 2.5 GPA (cumulative and psychology major GPA)
Junior or senior standing
Permission of the internship coordinator, which is based on successful completion
of the application, interviews, and faculty recommendations (main campus only)
Instructions to main campus psychology majors seeking an internship for Spring 2023
(for credit) from Dr. Dunham, fieldwork coordinator:
I will sponsor eligible students on internships in the spring on a pass/fail basis, without the usual academic
component. Please send me the application materials (see links below) by email by
the usual deadline (last day of the two-week advising period: November 4 this semester).
For the faculty recommendation component of the application, you can download the
faculty recommendation form (see below) and email it to two full-time psychology faculty
(see application instructions below). Ask the faculty first by email if they would be willing to do the fieldwork recommendation
form (specify that is what you are asking them to do, not a “letter”) for you before sending
it to them. If they agree to do the form, ask them to email the completed form to
me by, or shortly after, the application deadline listed above.
There are some modifications to the information in the documents below; this includes
the pass/fail grading, no academic component but weekly meetings still occur, and the
total site hours required per credit is now 42-45 hours for the semester (no reduction for academic component at present). All of the prerequisites and steps in the application process still apply.
I always have students who apply for internships register for back-up courses in case
the internship does not work out, and I will suggest that to students this time, too.
You can work on various contingency plans with your advisor for Spring 2023 course
selection and register for enough credits to keep you on track for graduation. If
an internship becomes possible, you can adjust your spring course schedule then.
Students who wish to volunteer rather than register for an internship should contact
the Center for Student Involvement and its Project Help staff to arrange that.
Application Materials
Please review all the materials posted here before you contact Dr. Dunham, as many
of your questions are likely answered in here!