LOUISIANA SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP CONSORTIUM (LAS*PIC)
An APA Accredited Internship in School Psychology
offered by:
Human Development Center
School of Allied Health Professions
LSU Health Sciences Center - New Orleans, LA
INTRODUCTION
The Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium (LAS*PIC) is an APA accredited internship. We invite applications from students who have completed their graduate coursework in school psychology. During the past 16 years, LAS*PIC has provided an authentic, school-based training experience for interns. An internship experience is an essential and integral part of a training program. The relationship between the university training program and internship should be viewed as a complementary one. One of the most important decisions students will make is the selection of an internship site that best meets their professional goals and promotes their career development. As students contemplate this decision they will want to consider the site that will best prepare them for the events, conditions, and tasks they will encounter in professional settings. The internship should support development of skills for competent practice, involving a variety of professional experiences, a focus on collaborative problem solving, and continued professional development with a core internship curriculum. Additionally, the internship should provide expert advice and feedback, behavior-modeling opportunities, and congruence between what interns want and what they get in the supervisory relationship. The Louisiana School Psychology Internship Program (LAS*PIC) realizes that activities during an internship can shape the direction of a professional career and support a successful entry into specialization within the profession.
THE CONSORTIUM
The Louisiana School Psychology Internship Program (LAS*PIC) is a joint venture between the Human Development Center (HDC) of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC), the Louisiana State Department of Education (SDE) and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). LAS*PIC is dedicated to providing vital experiences to help the intern become successful in their chosen profession. Utilizing both school-based and professional supervisors, the internship provides students with intensive supervision and comprehensive regular and special education program experiences with children across the age span.
PROGRAM PHILOSOPHIES
LAS*PIC is committed to training professionals to develop their expertise in both psychology and education. The primary purpose of the internship program is to prepare school psychology interns with the adaptive skills and professional competence required for entry into the profession. LAS*PIC encourages a special sensitivity to the cultural diversities of all people and a respect for the uniqueness and human dignity of individuals. LAS*PIC is dedicated to professional practices that have been demonstrated as effective and socially valid, and to the pursuit of new knowledge through sound research practices. LAS*PIC is committed to evaluating interns' knowledge and skill, and their interpersonal skills and interactions. LAS*PIC adheres to the belief that ethical practice is the only acceptable approach to professional training and service delivery.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
LAS*PIC provides a differentiated professional experience within a network model of training involving a consortium of local agencies. This approach provides both structure and some individualization for interns with different backgrounds, training needs, and interests. The arrangement includes school-based placement with LEAs, and seminar instruction about professional issues. The LEAs provide competitive salaries and employee benefits to fully support interns.
SCHOOL-BASED PLACEMENT
The school-based placement provides school psychology interns with the opportunity to be members of an interdisciplinary school team. The disciplines represented on the team may include school social work, educational diagnosticians, speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physicians, principals, teachers, and other school personnel as needed. Additionally, interns have the opportunity to be members of the School Building Level Committee which is used in Louisiana as a means of collaborative problem solving and to provide preventive and intervention services to students, teachers, and parents. The intern (as a member of a team) will provide a broad range of services to assist students who have learning problems, adjustment problems, or other special needs.
LEA SITE DESCRIPTIONS
NEW
Recovery
School District - Louisiana
Jefferson Parish Public Schools
NEW
Special School District
Lafourche Parish Public Schools
Livingston Parish School Board
NEW Plaquemines Parish School
Board
INTERN CORE CURRICULUM
The intern will be provided with continued instruction on professional topics and issues. The curriculum provides a structured set of experiences that emphasize interdisciplinary thinking and decision-making.
ELECTIVE ROTATIONS
Interns select a special interest area for added training and may pursue activities within a school district or within a specialized service agency. Topics include, but are not limited to, infant and preschool early intervention, private practice, systems change, and in-service training skills.
Elective Rotation Examples
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
LAS*PIC realizes the importance of intern involvement in professional organizations. Interns have opportunities (as funding permits) to attend the National Association of School Psychologists Annual convention, the annual meeting of the Louisiana School Psychological Association, and other state sponsored professional continuing education activities. This is an excellent way to stay abreast of best practices, to network with colleagues, and to become involved in professional leadership opportunities.
Alumni Contacts
COMMITMENT TO INTERNS
LAS*PIC staff is dedicated to producing highly trained school psychologists through proactive development of knowledge and skills. The positive approach can be seen in the following policies and procedures.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL INTERNSHIP PLAN
An individualized internship plan is developed for each intern so that an intern is always aware of program expectations and their progress in relation to these expectations. The plan contains goals, objectives, specific means (activities) of accomplishing these goals, and realistic methods of evaluating the intern's progress as well as the effectiveness of the plan.
COMMUNITY TRANSITION
Interns’ involvement in and experiences of the broader community is an important part of the internship year. To help the intern with the transition into our community, assistance is provided in locating housing, familiarizing the intern with the surroundings, and encouraging socializing experiences with other interns and professionals.
SUPERVISION
Supervision is an integral part of an internship training experience. Interns are provided with a variety of opportunities for supervision. Interns receive at least 2 hours of individual, face-to-face supervision by a licensed psychologist each week and an hour of group supervision with peer interns.
LOCATION
The Louisiana School Psychology Internship Consortium (LAS*PIC) spans an eighty mile area, in and around New Orleans. The location can provide the intern with unique experiences and contact with stimulating cultures. The intern working in New Orleans or the surrounding communities can experience a variety of lifestyles and cultures from the beaches of the mid-Gulf Coast to the proud narrow streets of the French Quarter.
ADMISSION TO THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Interns will be accepted into the program on a non-discriminatory
basis, without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, age, national
origin, or handicap. Interns are selected based on their potential to
benefit from the training program and their potential to contribute to the
Program and to the field of School Psychology.
Applications are due by Friday, November 16, 2007 and screened applicants will be invited to interview in December and January. As APPIC members, LAS*PIC subscribes to the National Matching Service, which will publish matches of interns with training sites on
Monday, February 25, 2008.
W. Alan Coulter, Ph.D.
Program Director for School-Age Interdisciplinary Training & Co-Director of LAS*PIC
George W. Hebert, Ph.D.
Coordinator for LAS*PIC Program
Human Development Center
LSU Health Sciences Center
George W. Hebert, Ph.D.
LAS*PIC Program
1900 Gravier Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
