Cooper University Health Care Psychology Internship Training Program
Applications are due November 1, 2024. | Download Our Brochure
Accreditation Status | Eligibility Requirements | Selection Criteria | Interviews | Employment information | Psychology Setting | Clinical Rotations | Supervision | Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data
Cooper University Health Care is currently recruiting for four (4) psychology internship positions within our Behavioral Medicine program for the 2025-2026 training year. Two (2) intern positions are available in our Adult Concentration and two (2) intern positions are available in our Lifespan Concentration. The Adult Concentration focuses primarily on adult populations (about 80% of the clinical training) with select training opportunities in child psychology (20% of clinical training). The Lifespan Concentration gives greater focus to child populations (about 70% of the clinical training) and gives slightly lesser focus on adult populations (30% of clinical training).
Accreditation Status | Return to Table of Contents
Cooper University Hospital Psychology Internship Program is accredited by the American Psychological Association. For information regarding APA accreditation of this internship or other accredited internships, please write or call: Office of Program Consultation & Accreditation, American psychological Association, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242; 202-336-5979; www.APA.org. The program is a member of APPIC.
Eligibility Requirements | Return to Table of Contents
Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Applicants need to have residency or an OPT/CPT that allows you to work without any additional sponsorship, as Cooper does not sponsor visa applications for this position. Applicants will be considered from doctoral psychology programs in clinical or counseling psychology that are APA-accredited. No applicants from programs awarding degrees in areas other than psychology will be accepted. All requirements for doctoral internship, including dissertation proposals and passed competency exams, must be completed prior to starting.
Interns are subject to fingerprinting and background checks. Flagged background checks prompt case by case determinations if the issues involved in the conviction are related to job duties. For example, generally a misdemeanor would not be considered a “failed” background check unless there were multiple convictions and related to job duties; Cooper also reviews the recency of the conviction(s).
Cooper also conducts drug screen exams on all new employees prior to beginning work; once on staff interns are also subject to random selection for drug testing. Use of illegal drugs is considered a “failed” drug test. If the candidate has a prescription for an opioid or other controlled substance and the screen matches the prescription that is a “pass.” Medical marijuana with a prescription may be a “pass” but the candidate is required to comply with prohibitions on use and possession in the workplace to comply with Federal Drug Free Workplace Act. Match results and selection decisions are contingent meeting these criteria. In addition to the above requirements, it is understood that applicants who are offered an internship position expressly agree that they are able to accept and fulfill a one-year, full-time training appointment.
Selection Criteria | Return to Table of Contents
Applicants for Cooper’s Psychology Internship Program must be doctoral students in good standing at an American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) accredited graduate program in the fields of clinical and/or counseling psychology. Selection criteria will also include the applicant’s statement of goals, professional interests, and objectives for internship training, and consideration of future professional goals. The applicant’s prior training, as they relate to the aims of the program and the rotations offered in the internship program, including settings, clinical and supervisory experiences, will also be considered. Applicants best suited for the Lifespan Concentration have completed at least two (2) clinical pediatric/child-focused externships. The applicant’s discussion of their clinical experiences and interests during interviews will be given significant consideration. It is also important that applicants demonstrate interest in gaining entry-level competencies in health psychology.
- A letter of intent which specifies your future professional goals, details of how the internship will contribute toward the achievement of your goals, and a goodness of fit between you and the Cooper psychology doctoral internship program in Behavioral Medicine.
- Please indicate whether you are interested in the Adult Concentration or the Lifespan Concentration.
- Curriculum Vitae.
- At least two letters of recommendation from faculty or other professionals who are well- acquainted with you and your qualifications.
- A letter from your graduate institution’s Director of Clinical Training (DCT) documenting your status as a student, whether any probationary or remedial actions have been taken, whether you are on track to successfully complete the necessary requirements prior to internship.
- One copy of all graduate school transcripts.
Interviews | Return to Table of Contents
This year we plan to offer virtual interviews via Webex to continue promoting equity and to avoid financial burden. Selected applicants will be invited to attend one of two virtual open-house-style orientation meetings, during which we will discuss the program. Invitations to interview will be made by email in accordance with APPIC uniform notification guidelines. Cooper University Health Care strongly adheres to APPIC Internship Selection Guidelines.
Interview Dates
- Invitation-only orientation meeting: 12/10/24 and 12/13/24
- Individual interviews: Throughout December and January
- Intern meet-and-greet: Throughout December and January
Employment information | Return to Table of Contents
This year the Psychology interns will be paid a stipend of $43,888.00 for this full-time, one-year training program (52 weeks/2080 hours). Additionally, interns will be provided with a professional development stipend of $1,500.00 to be used for membership to professional organizations, conferences, and academic resources under the discretion of the training director.
Employment will begin on June 23, 2025 and end June 19, 2026. Interns will work 40 hours per week. Cooper provides 13 days of annual general leave (vacation), up to 13 days of sick leave, 6 federal holidays, access to health insurance benefits, and additional time off for professional development as needed. Interns are paid on a bi-weekly basis for 26 consecutive pay periods consistent with Cooper University Health Care procedures.
Psychology Setting | Return to Table of Contents
Cooper University Health Care (CUHC), affiliated with Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, is the leading academic health care system in Southern New Jersey. Since 1887, Cooper has been providing high quality health care to all citizens of the region. Cooper University Hospital is southern New Jersey’s only Level 1 Trauma Center and is the Delaware Valley’s only Level II Pediatric Trauma Center. CUHC offers healthcare services to a diverse population both at Cooper University Hospital and at over 100 outpatient offices in South Jersey and Philadelphia.
Psychologists at CUHC are directly integrated within several of these clinical settings, but also serve these populations on a consultative basis. This internship is in Behavioral Medicine, a program within the Division of Hospital Medicine. Behavioral Medicine has experienced significant growth into various outpatient clinics (Urban Health Institute, Early Intervention Program, Neonatology, Pediatrics, and Women’s Health), in addition to seeing medically admitted inpatients on the consultation-liaison service. Cooper psychologists are also leaders in research and hold academic appointments at Cooper Medical School at Rowan University and a secondary appointment at Rowan University.
Clinical Rotations | Return to Table of Contents
Inpatient Medical Consultation-Liaison
Interns serve in a consultation role for inpatient medical and surgical units throughout the medical center. Activities include clinical assessment, intervention, recommendations, and facilitation of communication among staff, patients, and family members. Typical consult reasons include: adjusting to medical issues, managing trauma/depression/anxiety symptoms related to medical issues, promoting interpersonal communication with providers and patients, assessment and support of decision-making, addressing substance use, as well as creating behavioral plans to promote adherence to treatment and hospital policies.
Inpatient Psychiatry Unit
This rotation serves an opportunity to obtain more generalist training with severe mental illness. Cooper has a 12-bed voluntary psychiatric unit. Interns will attend rounds with the inpatient psychiatry team, lead groups and conduct individual therapy.
Critical Care Medicine
This rotation will consist of psychological consultation and psychotherapeutic intervention for patients and families within the area of Critical Care Medicine. Completing brief assessment and interventions to adult MICU patients at the bedside as well as supporting family members through the patient’s critical illness is a unique training experience. Along with mood changes, this rotation will focus on adjustment to illness/hospitalization, pain management, developing novel communication strategies for patient who are unable to phonate, and end -of-life issues.
Primary Care Settings
Urban Health Institute (UHI)
The Urban Health Institute is a primary care program that serves individuals from Camden and the surrounding areas. Activities include brief, outpatient psychotherapy with some opportunity for brief neurocognitive evaluations. Brief CBT, Problem-Solving Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and similar interventions are utilized to address psychological issues impacting physical health, e.g. depression due to recent diagnosis of a chronic illness, anxiety interfering with treatment, general adherence issues, and so on. For assessment opportunities, interns will assist physicians in both the process of differential diagnosis (e.g. anxiety versus ADHD versus malingering) as well as quantifying dysfunction and disability to monitor disease progress (e.g.
Cooper EIP Expanded Care Program (CEEC) - Integrated Primary Care in HIV
Clinical and research opportunities are available to work in this interdisciplinary, hospital-based clinic that provides a variety of services to psychosocially diverse people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The CEEC offers the Behavioral Medicine intern the opportunity to work in collaboration with Primary Care, Infectious Disease, Addiction Medicine, and Psychiatry providers as well as medical case management staff. The intern will provide brief outpatient services and mental health assessments in the clinic; provide inpatient consultation for continuity of care of those CEEC patients who are admitted to the hospital; support pre-doctoral externs via secondary supervision; and have the opportunity to coordinate clinical research. Some opportunity exists to evaluate patients for readiness for gender-affirming surgery.
Women’s and Children’s Health Institute
Pediatrics
In addition to working with this population on the consultation-liaison service, pediatric patients will also be seen outpatient in an integrated care model in the general pediatric medical clinics as well as within specialty clinics (options presently include hematology, neurology and GI). Focus is on acute and chronic health concerns but also allows for traditional pediatric concerns such as general behavioral and emotional issues (i.e., ADHD, anxiety, mood issues). Interns will work with an interdisciplinary team including physicians, residents, RN's, medical students and social workers. Warm handoffs in clinic with brief interventions and option to work with clients on short-term basis is available in this clinic as well.
OB-GYN
In addition to working with this population on the consultation-liaison service, OB-GYN patients are seen outpatient in the Women’s Care Center. There is opportunity to identify pre- and post-partum challenges and provide short-term, evidence-based interventions for adjustment concerns, anxiety, depression, etc. Time spent in the outpatient clinic will include individual 30 minute sessions, as well as warm hand-offs).
Neonatal ICU
Interns will have the opportunity to meet with families in the Neonatal ICU. Families are often met while inpatient at the hospital and can be seen at bedside. Common referrals include adjustment to premature birth, coping with changing expectations about the birth process, maternity leave, and bonding with baby, as well as challenges related to caring for babies while they are still receiving medical treatment.
Pediatric Assessment
Pediatric assessments will be completed in the Voorhees Learning Center. On this rotation, interns will obtain supervised experience of outpatient neurocognitive psychological assessments of children and adolescents with suspected neurological diseases and disorders. Assessment batteries are guided by the referral question.
Child & Adolescent Outpatient Clinic
This rotation will consist of outpatient psychotherapy with children and adolescents with trauma, anxiety, and depression. Currently, Dr. Kammen is the designated psychologist for this clinic, working alongside psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and support staff. This rotation would consist of initial intake assessments, as well as evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapies. Interns will have the opportunity to complete an online training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and implement TF-CBT with patients in the clinic.
Pre-Surgical Evaluations
The pre-surgical evaluations rotation will take place in the Cooper Behavioral Health ambulatory office in Voorhees. Interns will have an opportunity to learn to administer and evaluate patients’ appropriateness for bariatric surgery and spinal cord stimulators using the latest integrated behavioral health guidelines, provide time-limited interventions, and learn how to create reports for multidisciplinary treatment teams. The interns will have an opportunity to work closely with a multidisciplinary treatment team, including surgeons, dietitians, advanced practice nurses, etc. and collaborate in multidisciplinary team meetings with clinical decision making.
Neuropsychology
Within the Cooper Department of Neurology, interns obtain intensive training in neuropsychological assessment of adults with actual or suspected neurological diseases and disorders. Interns obtain supervised experience of outpatient neuropsychological evaluations of patients referred from the Cooper Neurological Institute (CNI) and other sources within and outside the Cooper Health System. These evaluations can include comprehensive assessments of epilepsy patients including candidates for epilepsy surgery. Referrals for suspected dementia, concussion, stroke, neoplasm, movement disorders, infectious diseases, and other neurological disorders are also seen as part of this service. The Neuropsychology Rotation is available to incoming Adult Concentration interns who have interest and prior experience in neuropsychological testing.
Addiction Medicine
The Addiction Medicine rotation will not be offered for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Supervision | Return to Table of Contents
Interns will receive 4 hours of supervision per week: at least 3 hours of individual supervision per week by a licensed clinical psychologist, though typically more, as well as 1 hour of group supervision. As this is an academic medical center, various levels of supervision are utilized, including direct/live supervision, consultation/supervision before and after sessions, case presentations, and scheduled formal supervision. Supervision will be provided by the faculty who work in associated clinics where interns are rotating Group supervision occurs after Monday Health Psychology didactics on a weekly basis; case presentations will also occur to discuss ongoing clinical cases and/or an overview of relevant issues related to the practice of clinical health psychology. See Training Staff section below for additional information on faculty.
Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement | Return to Table of Contents
Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data
| Internship Program Admissions | |
| The Psychology Internship Program in Behavioral Medicine at Cooper University Health Care provides the opportunity to gain experience across various integrated medical settings at an academic medical center. As such, it is important that applicants’ application package demonstrate interest in gaining entry-level competencies in behavioral medicine/health psychology in addition to experience in and goals for additional training in more general clinical psychology. Applicants must be doctoral students in good standing at an American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) accredited graduate program in the fields of clinical and/or counseling psychology. Additionally, Cooper University Behavioral Medicine internship is committed to ranking first qualified applicants from minoritized backgrounds; in particular, we strive to recruit bi-cultural and bi-lingual Latinx Spanish-speaking applicants who may be able to enhance the provision of psychological care. | |
| Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If Yes, indicate how many: | |
| Total Direct Contact Intervention Hours Total Direct Contact Assessment Hours |
Yes - Interns are expected to have at least 450 hours of direct clinical assessment and intervention combined. |
| Describe any other required minimum criteria used to screen applicants: Preferred (but not required) experience in health psychology and working in a medical setting | |
| Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year* | |
| Annual Stipend/Salary for Full-time Interns: $43,888 Annual Stipend/Salary for Half-time Interns: Not Applicable |
|
| Program provides access to medical insurance for intern? | Yes |
| If access to medical insurance is provided | Yes |
| Trainee contribution to cost required? | Yes |
| Coverage of family member(s) available? | Yes |
| Coverage of legally married partner available? | Yes |
| Coverage of domestic partner available? | Yes, if partner is not offered health insurance through his/her employment |
| Hours of Annual Paid Personal Time Off (Vacation): | 13 days |
| Hours of Annual Paid Sick Leave: | 13 days |
| In the event of medical conditions and/or family needs that require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/interns in excess of personal time off and sick leave? | Yes |
| Other Benefits (please describe): | 6 Federal holidays; Release Time for Professional Development |
| Initial Post-Internship Positions | ||
| *2020-2021 was the first internship cohort | 2020-2024 | |
| Total # of interns who were in the 3 cohorts | 10 | |
| Total # of interns who did not seek employment because they returned to their doctoral program/are completing doctoral degree | 0 | |
| PD | EP | |
| Community mental health center | 0 | 0 |
| Federally qualified health center | 0 | 0 |
| Independent primary care facility/clinic | 0 | 0 |
| University counseling center | 0 | 0 |
| Veterans Affairs medical center | 1 | 0 |
| Military health center | 0 | 0 |
| Academic health center | 1 | 4 |
| Other medical center or hospital | 0 | 0 |
| Psychiatric hospital | 0 | 0 |
| Academic university/department | 0 | 1 |
| Community college or other teaching setting | 0 | 0 |
| Independent research institution | 0 | 0 |
| Correctional facility | 0 | 0 |
| School district/system | 0 | 0 |
| Independent practice setting | 1 | 2 |
| Not currently employed | 0 | |
| Changed to another field | 0 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Unknown | 0 | |