Administration

The training program is coordinated by the NICPP Board of Supervisors. The Board comprises two Co-Training Directors and one Agency Training Director from each member agency, non-voting representatives from the Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychology programs of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The Board meets at least three times annually to discuss training issues, set policies, and coordinate the training experience for interns. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Educational Psychology serves as the central administrative unit for the Consortium. The broad array of professional interests and experiences of the members of the board of supervisors and the support faculty at the various consortium agencies provide a wealth of resources for interns.

The mission of the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology is to provide psychology interns with intensive professional training experiences within the context of a scientist-practitioner model. Each consortium site is committed to helping interns refine and deepen their commitment to lifelong doctoral-level scholarship, empirically validated practices (including assessment, treatment, consultation, and counseling), and accountability.

The unifying perspective of psychological practice in the consortium sites is ecological developmental theory. People are continually developing in the context of reciprocal interactions with the environment. Change is possible from multiple sources, including environmental, psychological, and biological factors. Psychological and behavioral interventions can occur at all levels and through diverse activities. Sites provide opportunities for interns to develop knowledge and skills in providing services within primary care settings and to collaborate across settings and care-providers.

Although the specific missions and goals of each agency differ to some extent, all are committed to a training philosophy that emphasizes:

• empirically supported intervention procedures,
• experiential learning,
• extensive supervision,
• intern development,
• diverse populations, and
• research activities.

Unique to the NICPP is the geographic locale within which it is situated. Through the inclusion of agencies in urban (Omaha), regional (Lincoln), and rural settings, interns gain exposure to differences in psychological and mental health services within broad community contexts. Further, the availability of sites such as schools, hospitals, out-patient clinics, and residential agencies adds to the breadth of treatment facilities to which interns are introduced.

Consortium sites serve populations across the lifespan. These include:

• children and adolescents
• college students
• families
• care-providers who regularly interact with children and families (parents, teachers, others)
• adults struggling with various psychological or medical conditions

See the NICPP Policy Statement on Interns who Experience Conflicts Working with Diverse Clients/Patients.

The Consortium is committed to ongoing improvement of training through the continuing education of faculty, refinement of oversight systems, and utilization of intern feedback in program development.