Full-time interns participate in the program for about 35 hours per week. They carry caseloads of 15-18 hours of psychotherapy, receive at least 3 hours of individual supervision, and 3-5 hours of group supervision each week. Full-time interns also train in the Institute's brief evaluation and triage service, and become involved in clinical projects within the Institute.

Half-time interns participate in the program for about 20 hours per week. Half-time interns carry caseloads of 10-12 hours of psychotherapy and receive 2 hours of individual and two hours of group supervision each week. All interns conduct clinical assessments.

The internship program includes a year-long series of seminars on theory and technique, clinical, charting and administrative conferences, program meetings and various other professional activities. Psychological testing is not a program emphasis. However, interns participate in a seminar on psychodiagnostic testing, which includes a review of major projective tests and test batteries.

Full-time interns and some part-time interns are also afforded the opportunity to train in WILA's onsite Susan B. Krevoy Eating Disorders Program. The Eating Disorders Program offers comprehensive outpatient treatment for patients presenting with anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating. Patients in the Eating Disorders Program are seen in a variety of therapeutic modalities including individual and group psychotherapy, art therapy, nutritional counseling, workshops, and physical fitness activities.

Full-time interns can also participate in one of WILA's clinical projects. These are typically grant-funded endeavors, which vary from year to year. Our most recent project is focused on improving the parenting skills of at risk Heard Start families.

Participation in the internship program meets the pre doctoral supervised professional experience requirements for licensure of the California Board of Psychology. Professional experience obtained at Wright Institute Los Angeles has also been accepted by licensing boards in other states in which interns have sought licensure.

Theoretical Orientation

The theoretical orientation of WILA's core faculty and teaching and supervisory faculty is contemporary psychoanalytic/psychodynamic. A wide range of psychoanalytic models guide clinical practice at WILA. The field of psychoanalytic psychotherapy has undergone a substantial evolution in recent years. WILA's program includes the core of theory and technique that has endured through this evolution. Also, presented are relatively recent developments, which have advanced theory and enlarged the range of application of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. These developments include advances in the treatment of borderline and narcissistic personality organization, new work in object relations theory, the widened scope of the patient-therapist relationship, and recent applications of psychoanalytic theories and technique to brief psychotherapy.

While a psychoanalytic/psychodynamic influence is strongly felt at WILA, the internship program maintains a broadly based therapeutic perspective. The advantages and limitations of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy as well as of alternative approaches are considered in formulating treatment plans for each case. Interns are encouraged to use psychoanalytic concepts to enhance their understanding of the therapeutic process. However, interns are also encouraged to conduct their psychotherapeutic and assessment activities in accordance with needs and capabilities of their patients.

The internship program shares the Wright Institute Los Angeles' commitment to a multidisciplinary, broad based approach to human problems. This commitment is reflected in the Institute's diverse faculty drawn from each of the mental health disciplines, and by WILA's openness to innovative conceptions and approaches. WILA's orientation is also reflected in our training program's tempering of traditional clinical knowledge with an appreciation of the vast array of social, political and economic forces, which affect individuals and groups in society.

Seminars and Conferences

Seminars on theory and practice and clinical and administrative conferences are an integral aspect of the WILA Internship Program. Seminars are offered on a quarter system. Academic quarters begin in early October (fall), January (winter), April (spring) and July (summer). Clinical work, supervision and administrative conferences continue throughout the year.

Seminars vary somewhat from year to year. The following is a selection of seminars and conferences typically offered to interns within a two-year period:

Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy
Charting Conference
Clinical Use of Dreams
Continuing Case Conference
Conjoint Psychotherapy
Core Issues in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Eating Disorders & Addictions
Freud
History of Psychoanalytic Concepts
How Does Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Cure?
Impact of a Culturally Diverse Patient Population on the Practice of      Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Intake Conference
Klein and The Kleinians
Object Relations Theories
The Primitive Mind and Borderline Personality Organization
Psychodiagnostic Testing
The Psychoanalytic Frame
Psychopharmacology in the Practice of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy with Gays and Lesbians
Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders
Treatment of Traumatized Patients

The Postgraduate Center

The WILA Internship is situated within an advanced training institute, the Postgraduate Center. The Postgraduate Center's two-year program in psychoanalytic psychotherapy is open to graduate psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, physicians and psychiatric nurses. Each year ten to twelve postgraduate fellows are in residence at the Center. In addition to jointly attending seminars and conferences, interns are provided with opportunities to interact informally with postgraduate fellows and senior Postgraduate Center faculty. The internship program's relationship to the WILA Postgraduate Center enriches and deepens the training experience for all participants.

Evaluation and Accountability

Mutual evaluation and accountability are core values of the program. Supervisors and interns write evaluations of their work together twice yearly. In the event of concern or compliant, interns have access to the grievance procedures described in the Institutes' Procedures Manual.

Admission

The internship is open to students in good standing enrolled in Ph.D. or Psy.D. level clinical and counseling psychology graduate programs. Applicants must have completed at least two years of graduate work, and be certified by their department or school as ready to begin internship level training. Interns begin their training year in early July or October.

Deadline for application is December 15. Space permitting, applications may be considered after this date.

A completed application, graduate transcripts and three letters of recommendation are required for consideration of admission into the program. A personal interview is also required. A copy of the application for admission form can be found on this Website.

APPIC

The Wright Institute Los Angeles Postgraduate Center is a member of the Association of Psychology Internship and Postdoctoral Programs in Professional Psychology and adheres to APPIC Guidelines. Applicants must register with the APPIC Internship Matching Service. Call them for details at 202.589.0600 or email at HYPERLINK "http://www.appic.org" www.appic.org. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept or use any ranking related information from any intern applicant.

Wright Institute is also a member of The California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC).

Click here for and Internship Application form

Click here for a list of Teaching and Supervisory Faculty

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