ELECTIVE ROTATIONS

Pre-Doctoral interns in the Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium engage in elective rotations in the spring and the summer of the internship year.   Pre-Specialist interns participate in the Spring rotation, and may elect to participate in the summer rotation but are not required to do so. Elective rotations provide interns with opportunities to develop additional skills in an area of their particular interest or choice.  Electing a rotation not only allows interns to pursue areas of interest to them, but also offers opportunities to gain experiences in non-traditional settings and broadens the range of activities in which interns are involved. Each rotation is negotiated to meet the particular intern’s needs and training goals.  Interns are encouraged to begin exploring opportunities for rotation early in the internship.  In general, rotations are negotiated individually to meet intern training needs and selection of sites is based on intern interests, training and preparation, and long-term and short-term professional goals. 

Beginning in late winter, the seminars on Monday are replaced by participation in elective rotations, for a period of 12 – 14 weeks.  Interns continue to meet their supervisors weekly for supervision, but at least one half-day is spent in their rotation site. 

When LEA duties are completed, summer elective rotation activities begin and continue through the end of July (usually four to six weeks).  Summer rotations are much like the spring elective rotation, and interns may become involved in a variety of activities. Typically, interns engage in training at the Human Development Center on Mondays and are involved in working in an alternative setting for four days a week.  During this time, interns can also negotiate some time to devote to conducting dissertation research. 

The following are examples of the settings and experiences of intern elective rotations during the past several years.  Experiences are loosely organized by site or population, or by general area of experience.  Listings do not include all intern experiences.

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

Intern:  LaDonna Saxon (1998-99)
Setting:  Private Practice (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Participate in forensic evaluations; Administer new assessment instruments; Gain information about the processes of working with court referred cases
Experiences: Primarily assessment associated with court ordered evaluation.  Some counseling.
Observations: Less experience than desired; More assessment than desired; Exposure to and use of several new instruments, including projectives and structured interview.


Intern:  Jackie Buckley (2001-02)
Setting:  Bridge City Correctional Center for Youth (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Increase counseling skills; gain experience in an alternative setting (juvenile corrections); learn about policies and procedures related to incarcerated youth and services available to them
Experiences: Provided counseling services to three students, all of whom had significant mental health concerns.  Two had a history of receiving special education services, but none were receiving special education at the time counseling was provided.
Observations: Challenging but rewarding.  A great rotation site for those interested in individual or group counseling, as well as those with an interest in almost any kind of educational intervention.  The teachers and other staff were willing to work with the school psychologist in creating interventions.

Intern:  Tiffany Chenneville (1997-98)
Setting:  Court of Appeals, Jefferson Parish, Judge Davis (Disabilities Division) (Spring Rotation)
Setting:  Private practice (part of Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Engage in court evaluation of juvenile delinquents
Experiences: Evaluated students who had been convicted of crimes such as assault, armed robbery and murder. Information was used by judges to be used during sentencing.
Observations:  Very practical experience that will allow me to attain my professional goals in this area (will explore potential for postdoctoral child forensic experience)  

SCHOOL BASED EXPERIENCES  

Intern:  Laura Dial (1998-99)
Setting:  Middle Level Alternative School, New Orleans Public Schools (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Train teachers and paraprofessionals on techniques of motivation and classroom intervention; consult with teachers and administration to resolve problems with enrollment criteria and other decisions about students with significant behavioral or emotional problems.
Experiences: Planned and delivered four inservices to teachers and other school personnel; Observations in each classroom, in preparation for consultation;Attended SAT team meetings for two students; Consulted about retention issues, school-wide behavior management systems, returning students to their home schools, and tracking academic progress.
Observations: Experiences met my goals, but I did not have opportunities to work with the principal on adjusting admission criteria.  There were many difficulties with changes in schedules and it was difficult to get some personnel to work with me.  I was still able to meet most of my goals by being flexible.  Overall, I enjoyed my time at this site and recommend it to anyone who wants more time to consult with teachers.

Intern:  Christy Mangione (1998-99)
Setting:  Holy Rosary Academy, Catholic Special School (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Develop skills: consultation; intervention with behavioral problems; individual counseling; Build on existing skills and interest in working with  students with AD/HD
Experiences: Was able to work with students with AD/HD as desired.
Observations: Counseling was very short term; School has inconsistent structure and classroom control varies.  Good experiences with consultation and intervention.

 
Intern:  Kathy Robison (2000-01)
Setting:  Holy Rosary Academy, Catholic Special School (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Model and provide training to teachers implementing “second step” social skills curriculum; implement pilot behavior management program
Experiences:  Conducted social skills groups; Facilitated school wide implementation of the UCI Child Development Center Behavior Management Program; Consulted with principal and teachers to resolve problems and behavioral concerns.
Observations:

 
Intern:  Lekitia Thompson (1998-99)
Setting:  White Hills Preparatory Academy, East Baton Rouge Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Provide social skills groups to adolescents in alternative school using an afro-centric (Nguzo Saba) model; emphasizing expanding coping skills to respond to negative interactions among African American youth.
Experiences: Worked with the social worker to identify students and obtain permission; Met with each student individually to explain the group and gain their consent.  Ran one male (5 members) and one female (8 members) group; Each group met for 8 weeks; each session included discussion of concepts and an activity to support practice of skills and generalization to settings in school and community.
Observations: I would recommend other interns engage in therapy experiences with this population of high school aged middle school students.  I was warned that they were a difficult population.  I disagree.  It was very rewarding to work with them because I was able to observe changes in some members of the groups.  I was also able to continue to work with several of them in individual counseling after the group ended. 
 

Intern:  Laura Dial (1998-99)
Setting:  Fisk-Howard Elementary School, New Orleans Public Schools  (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Support the principal in exploring ways to develop a full-services school
Experiences: Meeting and planning with the principal; Writing plans for the project; developing guidelines for the implementation of a full-service school at Fisk-Howard; reviewing articles about full service schools and related programs; researching agencies and making contacts to discuss the project and the feasibility for their involvement.
Observations: I felt this rotation was perfect for me, because since learning about the full service school model I hoped that I could someday be in a position to help a school develop this type of program.  The goals I had were high and the time for the rotation was short.  However I plan to keep working on this during the next school year.  I would recommend that future interns engage in this kind of rotation, but will need to do a lot of preparation and research about this type of program before undertaking such a project.

Intern:  Resi Maddox (1998-99)
Setting:  Academy for Diverse Learners, East Baton Rouge Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Expand skills in assessing academic and behavioral problems, planning and implementing intervention
Experiences: Primarily observation of consultants who work with regular education students to reduce suspensions, expulsions, dropping out and referral to special education. Consultation with teachers;  Observation of the ADL classrooms for intensive services to students with problems with behavior or with poor reading, math, or written language skills.
Observations: 
 

Intern:  Brad Manning (2001-02)
Setting:  Baton Rouge Magnet High School, McKinley Magnet Middle School, East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools  (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Provide counseling to students who were identified during a 9^th grade depression screening
Experiences: Provided counseling to 10 students
Observations: I was pleased with the rotation and would recommend to other interns who are interested in providing counseling or other support services in the parish. The fact that the counseling took place in sites where I did not have any significant assessment responsibilities ensured my time was not spent in non-rotation related activities. 
 

Intern:  Abby Jalbert (2001-02)
Setting:  W.S. LaFargue Elementary School, LaFourche Parish Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Gain additional experience with academic intervention strategies; provide extra services to a school that is under corrective action due to student population’s low levels of academic performance on standardized testing.
Experiences: Implemented a curriculum-based assessment in reading, writing and math for grades 1-3;  Implementation of a math intervention for all 3^rd graders.
Observations: Improvements in math scores were reflected in increased median scores in math for all third grade classes.  There were some difficulties with integrity of the implementation, with some teachers being inconsistent in drilling and administering the progress monitoring probes. Results from those classrooms were not as consistent or promising.  Overall, I believe that both the school and I benefited from this activity.  The interventions are something that both I and the school are planning to continue next school year.    

COUNSELING  

Intern:  Yvette Cornett
Setting:  West Jefferson Mental Health Center, Child and Adolescent Unit  (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experiences working with parents and children in the areas of parenting strategies, social skill development, crisis management and consultation.
Experiences: Co-led a parenting group; Co-led a social skills group for 15 to 17 year olds; Engaged in consultation with two families; observed services in other parts of the agency: forensics, infant team, and Families in Need of Services (FINS).
Observations: No complaints – I wish I had this type of position all year!  Even though the services are free, families do not take advantage of them and there are many no shows.  The staff are seasoned professionals but use the same curriculum they have used for a long time without deviation or new planning (they are open to suggestion if you take some initiative).  The staff was friendly and welcoming and treated us as professionals.  The time allotted to consultation was too short (three weeks) to have an impact and arranging the time differently to accommodate longer consultations with families would be beneficial. I would definitely recommend West Jeff.     

EARLY CHILDHOOD POPULATION  

Intern:  Yvette Cornett (1998-99)
Setting:  Carol’s Cottage Day Care; New Orleans Public Schools Childnet/Childsearch (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experience with early childhood assessment, intervention, and consultation activities
Experiences:  Multidisciplinary evaluations of low incidence disabilities; gained experiences with new instruments; Consultation with day care staff; evaluation of 10 month old; gained experience with age appropriate day care with pre-k and kindergarten aged students.
Observations: Good opportunity to learn from experienced staff in New Orleans Public Schools but difficult to gain experiences and need to be assertive; Good experience for someone with little experience with young children but will not meet the needs of more experienced intern.
 

Intern: Amy Carney (2001-02)
Setting:  Jefferson Parish Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Work with the developmental specialist in behavioral assessment, planning and intervention (for preschoolers to third graders) in consultation with their teachers
Experiences: Engaged in consultation, assessed behavior problems, designed and implemented interventions, collected data to demonstrate effectiveness (seven students)
Observations: Good consultation experiences
 

Intern:  Amy Carney (2001-02)
Setting:  Jefferson Parish Schools, Child Search (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experience with evaluation of very young children with low incidence disorders
Experiences: Engaged in multidisciplinary team evaluation activities with young children
Observations: Exposure to a range of children’s problems, methods of assessment and tools
 

Intern: Lori Carroll (2001-02)
Setting:  St. Bernard Parish Public Schools, Child Search Program  (Spring and Summer Rotations)
Goal:  Gain experience in screening, assessment, consultation and intervention with preschool aged children
Experiences: Observed and participated in arena style, multidisciplinary assessment;  Gained exposure to children with speech concerns, readiness issues, mental disabilities, motor delays, giftedness, autism and behavioral problems.
Observations: Throughout my rotation, we screened or evaluated thirty children, ranging in age from 12 months to five years of age.  This rotation was an excellent experience for me, particularly because I have had limited opportunities to work with this population.  Testing this population differs from other testing particularly with the fast paced sessions, flexibility required in administration of tests, reliance on care-givers for information, and the information obtained from observations of parent-child interactions.  Overall, this was an excellent elective rotation, based on the experience that I obtained and the supervision provided.  It was structured to meet my goals, and I would highly recommend this experience to future interns interested in working with this population. 
 

Intern:  Susan Gatti (2001-02)
Setting:  Wyandotte Preschool, East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Serve on multidisciplary team; Design and implement academic and/or behavioral interventions;  Engage in teacher training activities
Experiences: as described above
Observations: 
 

Intern:  Chanda Domingue McGhee (2001-02)
Setting:  East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experiences with consultation, designing and implementing interventions with preschool population
Experiences: Worked with six children, aged four and five.  Target issues included social withdrawal, inattention, aggressive behavior, and poor academic performance.
Observations: The rotation was valuable in providing me the opportunity to work with and observe early childhood aged children and observe developmentally appropriate behavior patterns.  Having the opportunity to adapt interventions to early childhood ages was also very valuable.  Working in this setting allowed for extensive observation of supportive, successful preschool environments and classroom strategies for this age group.
 

Intern:  Elizabeth McDaniels (2001-02)
Setting:  Southdowns Preschool Center , East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Teacher consultation, Evaluation coordination, Intervention, Parent Consultation
Experiences: As described above:  consulted about parenting issues; Consulted with teachers in “at-risk” preschool classrooms; completed an evaluation of an autistic student; conducted interventions for self-injurious behavior and feeding.  Gained exposure to good programming for autistic students.
Observations: The rotation met my goals, and I was exposed to populations to which I had not previously been exposed, such as visually impaired and nonverbal students.  One of the most rewarding experiences was learning more about good special education services in the Autism classroom.
 

Intern:  Julie Zurndorfer (2001- 02)
Setting:  Jean Lafitte Elementary School, Jefferson Parish Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experience with consultation and intervention with teachers of pre-school aged children;  Improve children’s social skills
Experiences: Consulted with teachers; participated in classroom activities and intervened with students as instances arose; collaborated in designing a classroom behavior management plan
Observations: The rotation was a wonderful choice.  I really enjoyed being an active participant.  I am convinced that the best way to help children modify their behaviors is by acting and correcting it immediately.  

RESEARCH

Intern:  Veronica Gully (1997-98)
Setting:  ADHD Summer Research Program, LSU, Baton Rouge (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Train staff, assess children, coordinate research project; day to day contact with parents; conduct one research project (data collection for dissertation)
Experiences: Coordinated project as described above
Observations: 
 

Intern:  Tiffany Chenneville (1997-98)
Setting:  Children’s Hospital, Pediatric AIDS Program (part of Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Become familiar with services to children with HIV and their families; Engage in research activities in the area of HIV
Experiences: Observe program;  conduct research
Observations:  Very practical experience that will allow me to attain my professional goals in this area.  The HIV research was extremely beneficial given that my dissertation is in this area. 
 

Intern:  Scott Bellini (2001-2002)
Setting:  LaFourche Parish Public Schools (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Develop an applied research project for videotaped self-monitoring interventions for children exhibiting problem behaviors
Experiences:  Conducted a literature review; designed procedures for assessing a student’s needs, implementing a treatment program, and collecting data to demonstrate outcomes; Set up a general outline for using videotaped behaviors to provide intervention.
Observations:  Time consuming activity and difficult to complete the project during the time available in rotation. 
 

Intern:  Jim LeVelle (1997-98)
Setting:  ADHD Summer Research Program, LSU, Baton Rouge (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Worked with students aged 4 to 6 and their parents in assessment of AD/HD; gathered data in compliance with research protocol examining the effects of behavior management techniques and medication; Collaborated in analyzing data and summarizing the findings.
Experiences: as described above
Observations:  

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES  

Intern:  Victoria Swanson (1998-99)
Setting:  Magnolia School  (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Develop behavior intervention plans; Provide inservice training to staff (train the trainer model)
Experiences: Functional Behavior Assessment; Social skills training; Gained additional familiarity with ICF-MR (Title XIX) Regulations; Issues of age appropriate methods, materials; Adapting assessments/interventions to DD population.
Observations: Very useful in allowing me to take my existing skills and adapt them for use in a new setting in a more independent role than any previous assignments. 
 

Intern:  Victoria Swanson (1998-99)
Setting:  Southwest Developmental Center (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Become familiar with the ACD guidelines and terminology; Improve consultation skills in community home and supportive living settings; Provide assistance and support to masters level psychology personnel
Experiences: Coordinated and provided psychological services to individuals living in residential settings and community homes in a public, ICF-MR developmental center; Working with professional staff as needed to implement behavior management plans.  Wrote or assisted masters level psychology personnel in completing cognitive adaptive and behavioral assessments and designing and implementing behavior management plans.  Conducted and/or monitored behavior drills and reliability checks completed by psychology staff;  Inserviced staff in plan implementation; Provided behavioral consultation; Conducted daily incident reviews; Assisted in inservice training.
Observations: I would recommend this experience to other interns who have experience in working with individuals with developmental disabilities.  I do not think other interns would be interested in this site because its remoteness and expense incurred for lodging, travel, etc.  

NEUROPSYCHOLOGY EXPERIENCES  

Intern:  Candace Boan (1998-99)
Setting:  Neuropsychological Services, Tulane (Both Spring and Summer Rotations)
Goal:  Gain assessment experience with individuals with closed head injuries;  Participate in a research study of using Wisconsin Card Sorting Test with patients with closed head injury.
Experiences: Conducted a literature review; Gathered data from existing files from Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; Assessed three individuals with closed head injuries
Observations: Good experiences and support from neuropsychologist and staff.
 

Intern:  Carolyn Paul (1997-98)
Setting:  The Neuropsychology Center (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experience with students with brain injury
Experiences: participated in a research project (compiled and organized data); Developed an intervention plan for a child with AD/HD, consulted with parents, worked with student; Participated in an multidisciplinary evaluation of a 17-year-old with traumatic brain injury and developed intervention based on findings, consulted in implementation of the intervention plan.
Observations:  

HOSPITAL/CLINIC EXPERIENCES
 

Intern:  Catrice Tolbert (1998-99)
Setting:  Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center , Family Center Didessee (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experience with individual, group, family and behavioral therapies; gain experience that might allow decision making about options for private practice (billing; HMO, etc.); gain understanding about working in a hospital facility; Provide parent training activities.
Experiences: Observed family groups but was not able to run one; Gained information about operations, procedures and processes, and coordination of services among staff psychologists, psychiatrist, nursing staff and social worker.
Observations: Primarily observational experiences; needed additional preparation with DSM for diagnostic work; Met goals of gaining information about HMO and billing, and procedures.
 

Intern:  Resi Maddox (1998-99)
Setting:  Evolutions Partial Hospitalization Program (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Gain experience with behavioral interventions including token economy
Experiences: Observed and conducted assessment, participated in program planning for students, provided individual and group therapy to students.
Observations: I found this to be a useful and meaningful rotation.  I would recommend it to other interns.   

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT/PROGRAM EVALUATION  

Intern:  Lynn LaFleur (1997-98)
Setting:  Project True, LSU Psychology Department (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Developed four teaching modules for Fall 1999; Made school contacts for placement of student teachers in Spring; Coordinate linkage between LA Department of Education and LSU Psychology Department
Experiences: Coordinated project as described above
Observations: 
 

Intern:  Jennifer Tonglet (1997-98)
Setting:  Human Development Center (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Analyze the intern daily log; create a proposal for presenting the data at a convention; prepare for a training session for incoming interns to the internship
Experiences: Literature review, data analysis, outlined proposal, gathered information for presentation and prepared presentation, handouts, and training materials for intern session.
Observations: I enjoyed the flexibility and camaraderie of the summer rotation.  I was not able to conduct research during the academic year, and missed collaboration with colleagues, going to the library and analyzing data.  This rotation gave me the opportunity to do so without the stress and pressure of short deadlines. 
 

Intern:  Jeff Tysinger (2001-02)
Setting:  LaFourche Parish Public Schools, Virtual Image Crisis Map (VIC-MAP) (Spring Rotation)
Goal:  Participate in a multiagency effort to provide police and rescue personnel with a comprehensive map system for Central LaFourche High School to be used in case of an emergency.  Lay the groundwork for publishing a paper about the VIC-MAP project.
Experiences: Meet with all agencies involved in creating and using the resource; obtaining blueprints of building; Examining the site and editing the maps to ensure accuracy; Specifying areas of interest and risk; Create template for the VIC-MAP; Using technology to create CD based resource.
Observations: This was a very different experience, that was very challenging and thought provoking.  If you are interested in new technologies, this rotation would be great for you.  I would definitely recommend this rotation to someone who is interested in comprehensive crisis management planning. 
 

Intern:  Alisha Ford (1998-99)
Setting:  St Bernard Public Schools (Summer Rotation)
Goal:  Coordinate two projects in the Pupil Appraisal office:  1. Organize and analyze data describing the activities of the pupil appraisal personnel, and 2. Revise the Handbook for Development of Individual Behavior Management Plans.
Experiences:  Provided a summary of the data describing activities of Pupil Appraisal personnel in the school district to allow the Coordinator to account for staff time, plan for allocation of resources and use for recruiting of new staff. Completed the revised Handbook.
Observations:

SETTINGS FOR POSSIBLE INTERN ELECTIVE ROTATIONS  

In the New Orleans Area:
Bridge City Correctional Center for Youth
3225 River Road
Bridge City , LA 70094-3351
Contact:  Cindy Morgan-D’Atrio, Ph.D.
Phone: 504-436-4253, ext. 309
 

In Baton Rouge:
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Family Center Didessee
Contact:  Sandy Daigle
Phone:  225-765-8655  

The Neuropsychology Center
Druscilla Lane
Baton Rouge , LA
Contact:  Darlene Nemeth, Ph.D.

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