2.2 PRUEBA DE DESPLAZAMIENTO
2.2.2 Diagrama de histéresis
Diversity can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It refers to the exploration of individual differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. The American
Psychological Association strongly advocates for the promotion of diversity in recruitment and retention of psychology graduates. In addition, attention to issues of diversity is an important aspect of many parts of the clinical internship. Internship programs differ in the extent that they offer rotations that specifically focus on issues of diversity (e.g., cultural psychiatry; therapy with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered individuals; rotations with individuals who are physically disabled). What is consistent across sites, however, is that diversity is an aspect of the experience in one form or another. The intern with an open eye to diversity will undoubtedly have a richer, more fulfilling experience.
The American Psychological Association Graduate Student (APAGS) website is a wealth of information on tips for individuals from diverse backgrounds to aid in internship interviews. Most, if not all, internship sites strive to include interns and faculty with diverse interests, personal, and professional backgrounds. Some internship programs specifically offer seminars or formal organizations to promote diversity. Such “Diversity Advancement Committees” might provide a resource "hub" of information on diversity issues for everyone involved in the internship, and can be an excellent opportunity for the intern to play an active role in the promotion of diversity.
Applicants will need to consider diversity issues while preparing their internship applications. At a minimum, you must devote one essay to your experience in working with diverse populations. In my experience, internship review committees look for evidence across the entire application, not exclusively on the question asking about diversity experiences, for evidence that the applicant is sensitive to and has experience with diversity issues. Some tips might be helpful:
• When preparing all of your essays, try to weave in experiences with diverse populations to show evidence that diversity is something you take seriously in clinical practice and research.
o Give some attention to diversity in the essay on your autobiographical statement. Can you share some relevant information about yourself that speaks to diversity?
o Case conceptualizations should include attention to diversity issues as such factors may be intricately related to predisposing, precipitating, or perpetuating facets of a particular case.
o Is there as aspect of diversity in your research that you could highlight?
• Appropriate mention of diversity throughout your internship application will show your reader that you practice within a model that espouses diversity and not one that simply pays lip service to it when directly asked!
Chapter 9: Show me the Intern$hip $tipend$
Melanie Badali, M.A. & Rebecca Pillai Riddell, M.A.
Internship stipends are more about survival than enabling you to live a life of luxury. But, as a graduate student, this won’t exactly come as a shock to your system. However, how much foraging for food and finding cheap shelter you will have to do will vary.
There is a discrepancy in Canada among internship stipends, ranging from $0 per year to $36,000 per year (median = ~ $21,000). As well, the cost of living varies considerably in different Canadian cities. If you get matched to a site in Toronto or Vancouver, be prepared to pay bigger bucks for rent etc., than if you match to Saskatoon or Winnipeg. It would make intuitive sense that the internship stipends would vary across Canada in proportion to the cost of living. However, this is not necessarily the case. The University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine Department of Clinical Health Psychology internship appears to be in first place, ahead of sites in cities with higher daily living costs. A helpful reviewer from the Canadian Psychology Association provided us with information on the reason for the high stipend at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine Department of Clinical Health Psychology internship. Drum roll please… “interns in this
programme have parity with medical interns and residents, and belong to the Professional Association of Residents and Interns of Manitoba (PARIM), along with all medical interns and residents. This was done 25 years ago or more”.
Be sure to check out whether there is any financial support for conference travel, holidays, or medical and dental coverage. If a site offers fringe benefits, it may end up actually offering you a similar bottom line than sites that provide you with the cash and let you choose how to spend it.
The short-term costs of choosing an internship with no or a low stipend are easy to figure out (e.g., will you be able to cover food, shelter, personal hygiene products & photocopies for a year?). What is less obvious is the long-term impact of inadequate internship stipends. Koch (2001)
conservatively estimated that the cost to a psychologist at retirement age (65 years) of having no internship stipend versus having a paid internship of $25,138 during the year they were 29-30 years of age, compounded over 35 years, equates to a difference in retirement savings of $275,426. Whoa! That’s a lot of cashola. Now obviously you will be using your internship stipend to eat and not for savings but the point is still a good one. When you are considering program pros & cons in the next chapter, you may want to consider including stipends as a variable.
The good news is that a CPA committee has been formed to determine how best to lobby for better funding. For now, whether you can afford to live for a year on the stipend offered (or are willing to go into debt) is a personal choice.