MADISON – Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Matt
Frank announced the American Psychological Association (APA) has granted
the Department full accreditation of its Pre-Doctoral Internship in
Professional Psychology. The psychology interns assist DOC staff to help
provide increased access to treatment for mentally ill offenders.
“I am pleased that the Association has chosen the Department for this
distinction,” Secretary Frank said. “The Wisconsin DOC is now the only
state adult prison system in the country to have an APA-accredited
psychology internship program. This distinction reflects the Department’s
continued commitment to professionalism and quality in treating mentally
ill offenders.”
The APA Committee on Accreditation made this decision at its March
29-April 1 meeting in Washington, D.C. The accreditation was granted for a
period of seven years, the maximum allowed by the APA. The Department
first applied for accreditation in 2005 and recently completed the
extensive review process.
There are currently six interns working in Wisconsin correctional
facilities in three geographic areas: Milwaukee, Madison, and the Fox
Valley. In each area, interns work at any one of 4-5 available sites for
6-month rotations. Interns receive supervision, training and guidance from
licensed psychologists and attend a series of weekly seminars on
correctional mental health care, taught by DOC and DHFS psychologists.
These seminars have been opened to the entire psychology staff and have
provided them with required Continuing Education credits at no cost,
saving the Department thousands of dollars annually in professional
training expenses.
The six psychology interns work a total of 12,000 annual hours, 2,000
hours each. On any given day, the outreach of the Department’s
Psychological Services staff is increased by an intern making an
additional 10 to12 contacts with offenders for individual counseling,
group counseling, and psychological evaluations.
The majority of interns in recent years have stayed with the Department
and interviewed for permanent positions upon completion of their
internship year.
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05/16/07
