WRNMMC Psychology Internship

The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) is the "flagship" of Navy medicine. It is located in Bethesda, MD, just outside Washington, DC.

Nicknamed "The President’s Hospital," WRNMMC treats the President of the United States, members of the President's cabinet, Congress, Senate, and all branches of the armed services.

Distinguished neighbors and valuable resources include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine.

Over sixty accredited medical and dental residency and fellowship programs are offered.

Contact WRNMMC Internship Director

 

Major Rotations

Based on a generalist model, the internship exposes interns to a wide variety of patient populations and treatment modalities.

Following are the 4 major rotations:

Outpatient Clinic

A diverse patient population is evaluated and treated in the adult outpatient clinic.

Opportunities to demonstrate skills and experience in:

• Diagnostic interviewing, treatment planning, and short-term psychotherapy.
• Military-specific activities such as security screenings and fitness-for-duty evaluations.
• Supervision of graduate students from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS).

Psychological Health - Traumatic Brain Injury (PH-TBI) Rotation

Trainees on the PH-TBI rotation acquire a skill set for assessing and treating patients with polytrauma illnesses/injuries, e.g., severe wounds, orthopedic injuries, traumatic brain injury, mental health illnesses and co-existing medical and psychological disorders. Trainees also learn how to assess the needs of the patient's family in the context of the patient's recovery. Trainees will use a variety of assessment approaches including clinical interviewing, neuropsychological screening and psychological assessment. Trainees will be trained in a broad range of treatment techniques to meet the diverse needs of this patient population.

Inpatient Service

As part of a multidisciplinary treatment team, the intern participates in the daily operations of a psychiatric inpatient ward. The treatment team consists of psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, enlisted hospital corpsmen, and civilian hospital staff. Interns conduct daily group therapy sessions and consult with commanding officers, as well as family members. The intern gains experience with a wide range of psychopathology including severe depression, psychosis, substance abuse, and dementia.

Psychological Assessment Service

Interns perform psychodiagnostic evaluations and gain proficiency in the administration, scoring and interpretation of various psychological assessment instruments including objective personality tests, projective personality tests, and cognitive ability assessments. Supervised by a staff neuropsychologist, interns gain first-hand experience in neuropsychological screening.

Transrotational Clinical Experiences

In addition to the 4 major rotations, interns have several year-long training experiences. These include:

Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Interns treat one long-term psychotherapy patients employing a psychodynamic model. Weekly supervision is provided.

Trauma Therapy

Interns treat three patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder employing empirically-supported therapies. Weekly supervision is provided.

Friday Lunch

Lunch twice-a-month with the senior active duty Navy psychologist at WRNMMC, Bethesda to discuss issues pertinent to the Navy psychology community and once-a-month with a senior civilian staff psychologist for a seminar on non-specific factors in psychotherapy.

Didactics

Didactic training is offered in half-day to two-day seminars.

Didactic training is offered in the form of half-day seminars and one or two-day workshops throughout the internship year. Didactic activities are attended by interns from other programs in the area as well as faculty and graduate students from universities and professional schools in the National Capital Area, providing a rich opportunity to interact with psychologists at various levels of professional development.

Interns attend and participate as presenters in the weekly, hour-long Grand Rounds series which addresses a wide range of clinical and research- related topics.

Pre-doctoral Clinical Psychology Internship

Fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) since 1964, it has been sited as a "model program" by the APA.

The internship meets two broad goals:

1. Provides training experiences that meet or exceed the accreditation standards of the American Psychological Association.

2. Equips the trainee with clinical skills to practice in a variety of clinical settings, including the military health care system.

Class Adjutant

Each intern serves as class adjutant during the assessment rotation. The adjutant attends faculty meetings, mediates communication between staff and interns, and communicates with Army, Air Force, and Veterans Administration interns.

Contact Dr. Marvin Podd (marvin.podd@med.navy.mil) Internship Training Director Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, Maryland Phone - (301) 295-2483 Email - Internship Training Director - WRNMMC Bethesda	Helpful Links WRNMMC Visitor Center Montgomery County, Maryland Washington, DC
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