~Hudson
Valley Psychodrama Institute~
68 DuBois Road,
New Paltz, NY 12561
hvpi@hvc.rr.com
*founded in 1989*
Internships
Interns and Participants
Rebecca Walters with the 2002 interns: Gil, Sung and Toni
Thank you for
your interest in our psychodrama internship program at Four Winds Hospital,
a private psychiatric hospital in Westchester, New York. Four Winds has
been committed to the use of psychodrama on all its inpatient and outpatient
units for over twenty-five years. Psychodramatists are valued and respected
members of the clinical teams on all adult, adolescent and child units.
We hope the following will explain everything you need to know, but please
don't hesitate to call with questions.
There are a limited number of slots for interns and participants due to
the limited number of days psychodrama services are provided. Because
of the hospital's needs for the coverage and the coverage/extra groups
that our interns provide, people applying for internships will be given
preference over people applying to be participants.
Internships
First Year Internship: Interns act as trained auxiliary
egos, co-leaders and directors in psychodrama groups at Four Winds Hospital.
Interns can earn up to 150 hours of credit towards certification and must
commit themselves to one day a week for a minimum of nine months (twelve
months is preferable, nine months is possible for someone who is near
completion of their training and has extensive group experience already).
Interns may lead a weekly action-oriented group on their own when both
the intern and supervisor mutually agree the intern is ready (see supervision
for interns for more information on this) if their internship is on the
adolescent and/or child services. Supervision must be arranged. It is
also possible for an intern to do an internship for two days a week.
Interns will be responsible for covering a predetermined number of groups for psychodramatists who are on vacation or ill (covering up to six days per year).
Interns must currently be in training with a certified psychodramatist (unless they have already completed five hundred hours). Students in training at the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute will be given preference.
Internships usually
begin either September or February.
Supervision for First Year Interns: Because of time restraints
on the psychodrama staff at the hospital, we can offer only ten-fifteen
minutes of post-group processing per group. Interns must make private
arrangements for one hour of supervision for every two hours of groups
they lead on their own when covering for absent psychodramatists. If interns
desire to run a weekly group on their own, they most arrange for supervision
with either Judy or Rebecca privately. Currently Rebecca Walters, MS TEP
offers internships on adolescents' and children's units on Wednesdays
and Thursdays; Claire Marx, CSW TEP, offers an internship on adolescent
units on Tuesday and Thursday mornings; and Judy Swallow, MA TEP offers
them on adult units on Wednesdays.
Intern Requirements: The ideal psychodrama intern has
an advanced degree in the field of mental health or human services and
a minimum of four hundred and fifty hours of psychodrama training with
a psychodramatist certified as a Trainer, Educator and Practitioner by
the American Board of Examiners in Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama.
Exceptions to these standards will be made for interns without an advanced
degree but who have over five hundred and fifty psychodrama hours.
Students who are interested in an internship on the children's units may
substitute 150 hours of drama therapy training for 150 hours of psychodrama
training.
It is strongly recommended that a minimum of thirty-six hours of training
be from the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute so that we may get to
know one another and see if our styles will work well together.
The ideal intern has a high level of spontaneity as is evidenced by their
ability to be effective doubles, auxiliaries and group members. The ideal
intern will already have significant group leading and/or directing experience.
References will be needed to attest to these skills.
It
is also expected that an applicant for our internship will have attended
one or more of the HVPI winter or summer psychodrama intensives so that
we may get to know one another and see if our styles will work well together.
Second Year Internships: are available for interns interested in
working with children and adolescents and who have successfully completed
a first year internship with these populations at Four Winds Hospital.
It is expected that second year interns will be finished or be close to
finishing their training hours. The second year internship will involve
running one or two groups independently and one or two groups with Rebecca
Walters who will meet with the intern(s) one hour per month to process
the groups. Supervision must be arranged privately.
Year long interns
needing financial support during the time of their internship may be considered
for positions as mental health workers within the hospital if openings
are available.
Participants
Participants will attend groups
with Judy Swallow, MA TEP, Claire Marx, CSW TEP, Bill Coleman, CSW CP
TEP or Rebecca Walters, MS TEP one day a week for four to sixteen weeks.
They will act as auxiliaries and doubles but take no responsibilities
for the groups on their own at any time. They may accrue up to 48 hours
of psychodrama training. The ideal participant must have 150 hours of
psychodrama training and be in training at the Hudson Valley Psychodrama
Institute. Exceptions may be made by those who are currently students
at another institute, but have accrued 36 hours of training at HVPI. The
participant needs to have demonstrated a high level of spontaneity as
an auxiliary and double.
For more information please contact Rebecca Walters at
(800) 546-1771 x2225 or (845) 255-7502
To apply please send resume to:
Rebecca Walters
Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute
68 DuBois Road
New Paltz, NY 12561
In addition, we must receive two confidential letters of reference directly from the referrents, one of whom must be your primary trainer.