Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Doctoral Internship Program in Psychology Overview

The pre-doctoral internship in clinical psychology was designed to train future neuropsychologists to work in health-care settings that emphasize multi-disciplinary collaboration and treatment. The program follows the scholar practitioner model of clinical training, incorporates 2,000 hours of supervised clinical experiences, meets licensing requirements for one year of pre-doctoral supervised clinical training, and meets Houston Conference Guidelines specialization in neuropsychology. While ongoing research activities are not a primary focus of the clinical internship, opportunities for research may be available.

The program at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital was established in 1987 as to provide both inpatient and outpatient psychological and neuropsychological assessment and therapy services to patients with a variety of medical problems. Since the department’s inception, it has grown in the breadth of services provided, but continues to specialize in neuropsychological and behavioral medicine services. The LG Health Physicians Neuropsychology practice is part of the Division of Neuroscience in the Department of Medicine. As of 2017 we are part of the Penn Medicine Lancaster General Neuroscience Institute which is comprised of specialists in neurology, neuropsychology, and geriatric medicine. The Neuroscience Institute also includes physical, occupational and speech therapy services.

Currently, the LG Health Physicians Neuropsychology practice consists of five psychologists, a postdoctoral neuropsychology fellow, two psychometricians, two pre-doctoral interns, and support staff. Most years, we also have one or two doctoral level practicum students from area universities. Two psychologists are board certified in clinical neuropsychology. Two pre-doctoral interns will participate in a 12-month training program each year.

Together, the program leadership shares collective responsibility for the success of the training program. A clear chain of managerial responsibility has been established. Dr. Bentz, manager of LG Health Physicians Neuropsychology, provides administrative support to Dr. Purzycki, the director of training, who ensures the overall quality of the internship program itself. All psychologists are involved in the individual and group supervision experience of interns on both inpatient and outpatient bases.