The mission of the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology is to provide psychology interns with intensive professional training experiences within the context of a scientist-practitioner model. As such, each consortium site is committed to helping interns refine and deepen their commitment to lifelong doctoral level scholarship, empirically-validated practices (including assessment, treatment, consultation, and counseling), and accountability.
The unifying perspective of psychological practice in the consortium sites is ecological developmental theory. People are continually developing in the context of reciprocal interactions with the environment. Change is possible from multiple sources, including environmental, psychological, and biological factors. Psychological and behavioral interventions can occur at all levels and through diverse activities. Sites provide opportunities for interns to develop knowledge and skills in providing services within primary care settings and collaborating across settings and care-providers.
Although the specific missions and goals of each agency differ to some extent, all have committed to a training philosophy that emphasizes:
- empirically supported intervention procedures;
- experiential learning;
- extensive supervision;
- intern development;
- diverse populations; and
- research activities.
Unique to the consortium is the geographic locale within which it is situated. Through the inclusion of agencies in urban (e.g., Omaha), regional (e.g., Lincoln), and rural (e.g., Beatrice) settings, interns gain exposure to differences in psychological and mental health services within broad community contexts. Further, the availability of sites such as schools, hospitals, out-patient clinics, and residential agencies add to the breadth of treatment facilities to which interns are introduced.
Consortium sites serve populations across the lifespan. These include:
- children and adolescents
- college students
- families
- care-providers who regularly interact with children and families (parents, teachers, others)
- adults struggling with various psychological or medical conditions
The Consortium is committed to on-going improvement of training through the continuing education of faculty, refinement of oversight systems, and utilization of intern feedback in program development.
