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Training Opportunities
The Department of Mental Health headquarters offers a wide variety of training opportunities designed to ensure a high level of professional skills and technical competency with the ultimate results of enhancing staff confidence, proficiency and career development. Training courses are made available through various avenues such as: in-house, through the State Training Center, satellite downlink, outside vendor and local community colleges.
Training categories include job required, job related and upward mobility/career related. In most cases all or a portion of the training costs are funded by DMH.
Training Opportunities within the Hospitals
The Department of Mental Health offers a one-year Clinical Psychology Internship Program to prepare students for entry level practice in professional psychology. Training is provided at the State hospitals and psychiatric facilities in a variety of settings, in the areas of forensic psychology and/or in the treatment of patients with severe mental disorders. Although each hospital/facility provides specific training unique to its own hospital population, the primary objectives of the internship program are to provide interns with entry levels of competence in the following areas: individual and group psychotherapy, theories and methods of psychological assessment and treatment, working with patients of diverse backgrounds, and the role and function of an inpatient psychologist.
This clinical psychology internship program accepts applicants who are either enrolled in and have completed at least one year of postgraduate work in a clinical psychology program at a recognized university or professional school or who possess a Doctoral Degree in psychology (with sufficient graduate coursework for clinical specialization) from a recognized university department of psychology.
For more information about when and how to apply for the internship program, contact the following Psychology Intern Directors:
| Facility | Director | Phone Number |
|---|---|---|
| Atascadero State Hospital | Dr. Robert Haynes | (805) 468-2213 |
| Metropolitan State Hospital | Dr. Lawrence Ledsma | (562) 651-4411 |
| Napa State Hospital | Dr. Richard Lesch | (707) 253-5308 |
| Patton State Hospital | Dr. April Wursten | (909) 425-7511 |
| Psychiatric Facility at Vacaville | Dr. Myla Young | (707) 449-6594 |