Mission

To produce highly qualified, autonomous, and professional psychologists capable of functioning within various applied settings in the Army and to develop the professional competencies and identity that will serve as a solid basis for a career in health service psychology.

Vision

Prepare generalist clinical psychologists for independent practice through rigorous clinical training activities. Develop the professional identities of interns as psychologists & officers. Foster critical and creative thinking so graduates can navigate the military context of their future work in expeditionary, deployed, and austere environments.

Aims

The training program aims to produce highly qualified, autonomous, and professional psychologists capable of functioning within various applied settings in the Army and to develop the professional competencies and identity that will serve as a solid basis for an Army career in health service psychology. Madigan CPIP seeks to foster the development of the competencies identified by APA and all Army Clinical Psychology Internship Programs as essential to clinical psychology practice within an Army setting.

Madigan CPIP Interns attend weekly didactic seminars in intervention, assessment, psychopharmacology, clinical science, ethics, diversity, supervision, military training, and leadership/management.

Assessment didactics include topics such as Impediments to Clinical Judgment, Therapeutic Assessment, Decision-Making Capacity, Personnel Selection, Physically and Culturally Diverse Patients, and Using Interpreters in Assessment, as well as dedicated topics on all major personality tests.

The clinical Science didactics, designed to equip interns with practical skills, cover topics such as Internal and Statistical Conclusion Validity, linear regression, and principles of Measurement and Classification. This series, co-led by a research epidemiologist, focuses on teaching interns how to be critical consumers of the empirical literature in psychology by applying foundational principles of research design and statistics.

Intervention didactics cover topics such as Mindfulness, Behavioral Activation, Bereavement, Eating Disorders, Telehealth, and Suicide—findings from the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report.

Leadership and Psychology didactics include overarching topics such as supervision, ethics, and cultural diversity through sessions covering Clinical Supervision, working with 68X (enlisted Behavioral Health technicians), Behavioral Health Officer panel discussions, various military-specific assessments, Implicit Bias, Careers in Army Psychology, and Cultural Competency.

The comprehensive psychopharmacology didactics cover sessions on the major classes of psychopharmacological intervention, such as antidepressants, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, and combined treatment with medication and psychotherapy. This series, taught by a prescribing psychologist, focuses on providing interns with the necessary knowledge to incorporate medication and side effects into their ongoing assessment and intervention practices.

Distinguished Visiting Professors

A particular strength of Madigan CPIP is our ability to attract psychologists of national stature to present workshops in their areas of expertise. Recent workshops at Madigan included our recent seminars, which esteemed professionals have led in their respective fields. We've had experts presenting topics ranging from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression to Suicide Prevention and Intervention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, and Prolonged Exposure Therapy.

Supervision

Madigan CPIP Interns receive at least four hours of face-to-face supervision each week. Individual supervisors schedule two and a half hours of individual supervision weekly, and an additional hour and a half of group supervision is provided each week.

Madigan CPIP Interns participate in three required rotations during the year for ten months, with an additional two months spent on an elective rotation. The three required rotations are Active Duty Service Lane (six months), Neuropsychology (two months), and Individual Intensive Trauma (two months). Trainees can choose one of the following two-month elective rotations: Health Psychology Consultation, Intensive Outpatient, Child and Family Behavioral Health Services, or extended time in Neuropsychology.

Required Rotations

Active Duty Service Lane Rotation - 6 months

The Active Duty Service Lane rotation is set in an outpatient clinic that treats active-duty service members using the Embedded Behavioral Health model. The EBH model aligns service providers with specific military units to better integrate psychological consultation with the medical and command elements that support the service members. This multidisciplinary clinic includes psychiatry and case management services. Individual and group psychotherapy approaches are utilized with an emphasis on empirically validated treatment methods from various behavioral, cognitive, and information-processing approaches, including Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. As a crucial focus of this rotation, Interns learn to conduct a broad array of military-specific psychological assessments, comprehensive risk assessments, and emergency evaluations. Interns also develop excellent consultation skills as they learn to communicate findings to leaders of military units while maintaining appropriate ethical boundaries. Alumni consistently report that this rotation was integral in preparing them for future work as an Army Psychologist.

Individual Intensive Trauma Rotation - 2 Months

On the IIT Rotation, Interns will treat service members stationed in and around Joint Base Lewis-McChord utilizing evidence-based treatments such as Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. The focus of the rotation will be a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other combat or operational stress reactions, such as sleep problems, nightmares, panic, depressed mood, anxiety, and other mood-related symptoms. During this rotation, Interns will conduct bi-weekly individual outpatient treatment utilizing evidence-based treatment modalities in a Partial Hospitalization Intensive Outpatient Program. The rotation aims to allow interns to deliver a complete course of time-limited empirically supported treatment for active-duty service members and effectively measure and document outcomes.

Neuropsychology Rotation - 2 Months

During the neuropsychology rotation, interns will learn how to administer, score, and interpret neuropsychological tests for brain/behavior disorders. They will also learn how to assess for traumatic brain injuries, write integrative reports, and provide patient feedback. Essential components of this rotation include learning and utilizing therapeutic assessment principles. 

Health Psychology Consultation Elective - 2 Months

The Health Psychology Consultation elective rotation embeds Interns within a medical clinic, where they work directly with patients and their Health Psychologist or Internal Behavioral Health Consultant (clinical psychologist) in a consulting role. This is a fluid and fast-paced environment where clinical complaints range from severe medical problems and medical treatment compliance to routine psychosocial issues. Interns may also can spend time with a prescribing psychologist or participate in training for medical staff.

Intensive Outpatient Program Elective - 2 Months

The Intensive Outpatient Program rotation allows Interns to gain experience providing comprehensive services to service members who require a higher level of care than outpatient services due to significant behavioral health symptoms. Interns will have the opportunity to work in both the Trauma-Focused and Skills-and-Resilience group therapy programs. The Trauma-Focused track primarily uses Cognitive Processing Therapy principles, and the skills-and-resilience track is informed by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy principles.  

Neuropsychology Elective - 2 Months

The Neuropsychology rotation is ideal for Interns with a specific interest in neuropsychology or considering a career in neuropsychology. Through this elective, Interns will further develop their abilities to administer, interpret, and compose comprehensive psychological batteries to assess for dementia and other age- or injury-related cognitive deficits.

Child and Family Behavioral Health Services Elective - 2 Months

The Child and Family Behavioral Health Services elective rotation allows Interns to gain experience working with service members and their families. Components of this rotation include assessment, treatment, and risk management of the unique dynamics of family relationships in the military setting. Family systems therapy principles are emphasized.

The Madigan CPIP In-processing and Military Orientation is 2-3 weeks duration at the start of the program and includes the following topics:

• Military Officer Expectations
• Military Leader Competencies
• Military Unique Ethical Concerns in Behavioral Health
• Military Specific Psychological Evaluation
• Self-care during internship
• Military Culture
• Military policies that inform treatment
• Quarterly military trainings such as team-based activities included paintball, convoy simulation, EST 200 (firing range simulation), hiking at Mount Rainier, and flying in CH-47 Chinook Helicopter 
• Opportunities to participate in a Diversity Committee with trainee, faculty, and program leadership members who meet regularly to assist the program in fostering an educational environment that is respectful, inclusive, equitable, and welcoming, while providing the highest quality training in diversity competence as psychologists and psychologists in training

Throughout the training year Madigan CPIP offers workshops that educate and train interns in intervention, assessment, ethics, diversity, supervision, military training, and leadership/management.

Examples include:

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3
• Ethics and Ethical Decision Making
• Narrative -Imagery Rehearsal Therapy for Nightmares
• Cognitive Processing Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Command Consultation
• Operational Psychology in Special Operations Forces

Madigan CPIP offers several opportunities to conduct or support simulated patient experiences at the Anderson Simulation Center.

Examples include:

• Limits of Confidentiality
• Command Consultation
• Prolonged Exposure Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
• Delivering Difficult News

A unique aspect of military psychology is the rapid assumption of leadership responsibilities immediately after completing internship and residency training. The Leadership and Psychology didactic seminar series is designed to expose interns to basic leadership principles and applications. In addition to programmed leadership content, Interns can investigate leadership principles of interest through different mediums (journals, books, podcasts, video seminars, etc.) and present lessons learned to the seminar class. Interns will thoughtfully consider and begin to enact a leadership development plan, given that interns will be placed quickly in leadership positions in the Army.

Madigan CPIP Interns present two clinical case conferences and two regulations of the month presentations during the academic year. Additional research support is available via Madigan Department of Clinical Investigations.

Madigan CPIP is dedicated to regularly assessing and refining our curriculum. We incorporate formal and informal student, alums, and faculty feedback throughout the year. Madigan CPIP Interns may be able to complete various practice improvement or quality improvement projects during clinical rotations.

Madigan CPIP Interns participate in weekly professional development-specific didactics as well as any institutional and departmental opportunities. Attendance at professional workshops, seminars and conferences is also encouraged and supported, as is feasible.

• Madigan Army Medical Center

Application Information

Applicants must be from APA-accredited doctoral programs (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in clinical or counseling psychology. Applicants must have a minimum of 400 intervention hours and 150 assessment hours on the AAPIC Application for for Psychology Internship. Please also note that due to COVID-19 we anticipate that applicants may have some difficulty meeting minimum hour requirements. We encourage you to still apply and provide a brief comment about how hours have been decremented as a result of COVID-19 and we will still consider your application in its entirety.

Please submit a de-identified (potentially identifying information removed) Integrated Assessment Report as supplemental information on your APPIC application. Ideally, this work sample will be from a practicum training experience. If you choose to use an example from your classroom training, please clearly indicate that the example is from your coursework and not from practicum. For guidance on how to appropriately de-identify an assessment report in compliance with HIPAA standards, please visit the Health and Human Services website on de-identifying assessment reports.

In addition to completing your AAPI, you must apply with your local U.S. Army Health Care Recruiter. Applicants are encouraged to contact an Army Health Care Recruiter via the Army Recruiting website or call 1-888-710-2769.  It is recommended to contact your recruiter and begin the Army application process as soon as possible - do not wait for interview notification to occur before speaking with a recruiter. 
  
Please see the following APPIC page for important details about military internships. 

Applicants who match with this site will commission as active duty officers in the U.S. Army in the rank of Captain (O-3) with an active duty service obligation that typically lasts three years following completion of residency training and attaining licensure. Applicants should speak with their recruiters for details.

Interns should plan to attend the Direct Commission Course in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, and the Basic Officer Leader Course in San Antonio, Texas, in the summer prior to beginning the Internship in the fall or after completion of Internship training in the winter.

During internship, we engage in periodic military training tasks to foster increased connection with our service in the Army. Past activities have included convoy simulations, firing ranges, paintball, obstacle courses and other physical challenges, and discussions of popular media depictions of the military and leadership. In addition to these specific trainings, military culture and Army life are frequent conversations in supervision, didactics, and mentorship conversations. The transition into the military has many clinical, professional, and personal implications that we discuss and process with our interns on a regular basis. Since most of our interns have no prior military experience, this transition is especially important to us.

Upon successful completion of internship, graduates are eligible for the one-year, APA-accredited clinical psychology post-doctoral residency program here at Madigan Army Medical Center. Most of our graduates stay for residency after completing internship, so we encourage you to visit our Clinical Psychology Residency program website for more information.

Following completion of training, most of our graduates move to a new duty station as Brigade Psychologists, often referred to as Behavioral Health Officers. These assignments are wonderful opportunities to practice the clinical and organizational aspects of military psychology while making a real difference to Soldiers and their families. Time spent as a BHO often involves multiple military training activities, Army schools (such as Air Assault or Airborne school), and even deployments overseas to a variety of combat, training, and humanitarian assistance missions. BHOs are the quintessential military psychologists and are embedded fully within their units to provide expert advice and clinical support from within the organization.

Madigan CPIP Interns will have opportunities to train practicum students, paraprofessionals, and other medical students in various departments within Madigan Army Medical Center. These activities are embedded in their rotations, didactic trainings, and simulation events. Madigan CPIP Interns may have opportunities to present at professional conferences, as available.

• Clinical psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychopharmacology
• Organizational Psychology
• Aeromedical Psychology
• Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape Psychology
• Operational Psychology (to include assessment and selection)

Madigan CPIP has a formal mentorship program. Each incoming intern will be assigned a mentor from a list of doctoral-level psychologists who have volunteered for the position. The student and the identified mentor are encouraged to meet at least once per month throughout the year.

Pacific Northwest Information

Madigan Army Medical Center is located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma are each within an hour drive of the installation. Additionally, the cities of Portland, OR, Vancouver, BC, and Victoria, BC offer locales for convenient weekend trips. Nestled between the Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic Mountains, a plethora of outdoor activities on the water and in the mountains abound. The climate tends to stay moderate throughout the year, with the temperature typically falling between 40–80 degrees.

While portraying a small-town feel, the surrounding area offers many big city amenities including museums, casinos, cruises/ferries, festivals, and theaters, as well as a large variety of dining and entertainment options. Fresh seafood, local breweries, and coffee roasteries are staples in the area.  Major tourist attractions include the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Chittenden Locks, Mount Rainer National Park, and Olympic National Park. For sports enthusiasts, Seattle has several professional sport teams, including the Seattle Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders FC, and the Kraken.  Additionally, Tacoma is home to the Tacoma Rainiers, the triple-A baseball affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. At the collegiate level, the University of Washington Huskies field a full complement of engaging collegiate sports in the PAC-12.

JBLM is conveniently located along the Interstate 5 corridor, with easy access to the Seattle-Tacoma (SEA; 30 minutes) and Portland (POR; 2 hours) International Airports. Amtrak train service and bus lines are also available.

Wellness and Resilience

Wellness discussions are incorporated throughout program activities. Individual and group supervision provides dedicated time for supervisors to check in with their interns about how they are doing personally, and if they need additional support. Group supervision also offers an opportunity for interns to provide peer feedback to each other about wellness or concerns related to performance or burnout. The Program Director regularly checks in with each intern and has a more focused discussion about wellness and burnout during quarterly counseling’s. The interns can rely on their Chief Intern (two-month rotating term) and Chief Resident (year-long term) for additional support and to provide feedback to the program/faculty in a variety of formal or informal ways. We have a Social Committee where interns create events for their cohort and family members that reduce stress, promote resilience, and improve comradery within the cohort. Interns are afforded various opportunities throughout the year to attend wellness-based events including team-building activities on their respective rotations and social gatherings including the residency graduation celebration and internship hail and farewell. Quarterly military training activities are also team-oriented and involve getting out of the office for events like paintball, hiking, and military-specific skills such as convoy simulation or the Engagement Skill Trainer 2000. Interns participate in a mindfulness didactic series, which focuses on both patient care and self-application of these skills. Interns receive information about wellness resources available to them.

Commitment to Individual Diversity and Non-Discrimination Policy

Our nation, our Army, and our local communities are made up of diverse individuals. We believe that recognizing our differences and diversity and engaging in thoughtful reflection, careful study, and deliberate practice of ethical and competent psychology gives us the strength to solve problems and meet challenges. Diversity training occurs throughout our training year and includes topics such as implicit bias and practicing cultural competence and humility. Our Diversity Committee is made up of trainees, faculty, and program leadership. This group meets regularly and works to assist the program (and the post-doctoral residency program) in meeting our aims with respect to diversity and inclusion. The Madigan CPIP has a policy outlining our commitment to respect individual differences, cultural diversity, and non-discrimination.

Madigan, the Behavioral Health Service Line and CPIP emphasize the importance of respecting, seeking out, and valuing diverse perspectives and opinions. As future psychologists, interns are expected to be culturally competent and able to work with a variety of populations and individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds and our training program is committed to fostering this competency among all interns.

Madigan CPIP does not discriminate based on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, language, national origin, race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Our program is committed to providing a learning environment for interns, faculty, and staff that is supportive and encouraging for all interns and that values individual differences and diversity factors. 

Didactic and experiential training activities and supervision emphasize an understanding of cultural and individual differences and diversity as it relates to the profession of clinical psychology. As such, these areas of competency are interwoven throughout the educational activities in CPIP and are evaluated on each rotation. 

Madigan, BHSL, and CPIP fall within federal regulation prohibiting discrimination. As such, several policies apply which dictate nondiscrimination in employment. These are described below and can be found on the Office of Personnel Management website.

There are several Department of Defense, Army, and federal regulations regarding non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment.