The Grand Valley State University Counseling Center Doctoral Internship reflects the belief that the internship year is a pivotal time for a professional psychologist to expand clinical and consulting skills in preparation for transitioning to independent practice. In keeping current with psychology training, our multidisciplinary setting focuses on experiences & competencies consistent with Health Service Psychology.

The internship is developmentally-based and designed to provide both support and challenge. Interns are encouraged and expected to become actively involved in Center activities including individual and group counseling, assessment, crisis intervention, outreach programming, consultation, evaluation/research, and administrative functions.

The program supports training of psychologists who are competent to serve all members of the public and fully endorses Preparing Professional Psychologists to Serve a Diverse Public (APA, 2013) as well as the Counseling Psychology Model Training Values Statement Addressing Diversity.

The internship has been fully accredited since 1993. Our current accreditation goes through 2032. Accreditation by the American Psychological Association, Office of Program Consultation & Accreditation, 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Telephone (202) 336-5979.

Welcome to our internship webpage. I hope you will find the information helpful in determining whether Grand Valley is a program that will meet your needs as a developing professional.

As you will find detailed here, this is a very strong training program which offers a variety of opportunities, some fairly unique. For example, our program offers a specialty concentration in crisis intervention which includes didactic training in mental health crisis intervention, crisis management training for both individuals and groups, and supervised applied field experience.

Our staff demonstrates a strong commitment and involvement in the training program. All of our professional staff are involved in our intern selection, as well as providing training to interns in their various areas of expertise. In addition, there are numerous opportunities to work collaboratively with our staff members who may share similar interests.

The Counseling Center is well integrated within the University community and held in very high esteem for the quality of services we provide. Interns may experience working with several campus departments including Residence Life, Student Life, Center for Women and Gender Equity, Multicultural Affairs, and the GVSU Police Department, as well as academic departments.

On a special note, I have been impressed with the interns that have come to GVSU each year and the level of talent, commitment, and investment in professional development they have exhibited. The quality of our site and the quality of our interns come together in a collaborative effort that yields a broad-based experience for the developing psychologist.

If you have any questions concerning our internship, please feel free to contact me, any of the professional staff, or our current interns.

Pam Miller, Ph.D., ABPP
Director of Training
(616) 331-3266
[email protected]

The Setting