Cherokee Health Systems, Inc

CENTER CITY
2018 WESTERN AVENUE
KNOXVILLE, TN 37921
PHONE: (865) 544-0406

Cherokee Health Systems (CHS) provides comprehensive, integrated physical and mental health services in community settings throughout East Tennessee. In addition to physical, dental, and mental health service providers, school psychology services are included to promote holistic, integrated health care. The CHS staff of over 300 includes over 30 school-based service providers, which include school psychologists, school social workers, and school psychology interns. Interns find a wide range of opportunities, including "traditional" school psychology services, pediatric psychology, preschool psychology, counseling psychology, and teacher and parent training.

The CHS school psychology internship provides quality training in a supportive, professional environment. Interns have opportunities to interact with clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatrics, physicians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, language pathologists, grant writers, and other professionals. Although most intern supervision is provided by a licensed, doctoral school psychologist, other professionals may provide supplementary supervision and training. Our goal is to insure quality training leading to the skills needed for practice and licensure in psychology. School psychology interns provide screening, assessment, consultation, and intervention services in local public schools. Additionally, most interns complete a pediatric psychology rotation one day per week. This time is spent in a pediatric clinic conducting screening, liaison, care coordination, and direct intervention. Additionally, the interns will spend a day each week in local preschools, providing screening, consultation, and training. Interns also have opportunities to improve their skills for teacher and parent training, A&D prevention, and applied research.

Supervision is considered an important component of the overall internship program. One-to-one individual supervision from doctoral level licensed psychologists is provided at least two hours a week to full-time internship positions and at least one hour per week to half-time internship positions. Additionally, two hours a week of group supervision from a licensed psychologist is also provided. The group in supervision is composed of all of the interns in the Consortium.

It is possible for the intern to receive up to 3 hours a semester of graduate internship credit through the University of Tennessee. The Consortium conducts the two hours per week of group supervision in such a manner that it meets the University’s requirements for graduate credit. If an intern is interested in receiving graduate credit for this time, she or he needs to make an arrangement directly with the University. Requesting graduate credit for the group supervision is not required of the intern. This is simply an additional benefit to the intern if it is of value for her or him.

Cherokee Health Systems anticipates 3 full-time internship positions and 1 half-time position for the 2010-2011 internship year.

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