My internship will benefit my future career because it allowed me to look more into what assessments are, how they’re done, and focused more on the paperwork side of being a clinical psychologist. Having this background and knowledge of this side allowed me to learn more about the career and will continue to benefit me because I can show my experience. My internship not only ties into my psychology major but also my career goal of being a clinical psychologist. While at my internship I learned more about the qualifications and symptoms of different disorders and the different ways people can be assessed for a disorder. Beforehand, I would say someone would need basic computer knowledge for the internship and some background in psychology. I’m still interested in being a clinical psychologist after my internship, the paperwork side of it does take a lot of time but I still feel like the work itself is worth it. I believe the work done doing the assessments and working with people is very interesting and fulfilling. In order to secure a position as a clinical psychologist I need my bachelors degree which can be anything but it should preferably be in psychology. Then I would need my PhD in clinical psychology and do my internship afterwards. Between the undergraduate and graduate it is helpful and usually suggested to participate in psychology research labs to build experience. One piece of advice I would give to incoming interns is that they should work on having strong skills in organization and communication in order to do the work effectively and efficiently.
Hi Sohia,
I am so glad you had an impactful experience with your internship and it sounds like it aligns perfectly with your goals. It is so impotant to really see the innerworking of the industry you want to be in and I am glad you are getting your foot in the door. You shared some great information on the education and background that would be required to be successful as you move from internship, to graduate school, to Clinical Psychologist. I also appreciated that you mentioned some not so glamorous parts of the role, like all the paperwork! Its good to know what you're getting yourself into when you seek to enter a career and the nuances of the job can sometimes be overlooked. It sounds like your intership was fruitful and I hope you get many more rewards from this experience as you move forward!
Hi Sophia,
It's great to see that you're enjoying your internship at UNLV's The Practice. I've heard a lot of good things about the work they do and the services they provide. I just so happened to interview with The Practice during my internship search, but unfortunately was not selected to intern with them this summer. It sure sounds as if it's quite the workload, but as you said, "the work itself is worth it," and that's how it should be. I'm glad that the opportunity went to a fellow psychology major, that it's helped to ensure your confidence in your career path, and that you've gotten the most out of your experience in terms of seeing this line of work firsthand.
I am glad you enjoyed your intern experience as we do need good people who truly care about others and their mental state. Not many psychologists really listen to their patients and quick to pass judgement towards them which does not help and leads them to more problems. I did enjoy your post Sophia.