Clinical Experience

Integral to LSU’s Clinical Psychology programs’ training program is didactic and experiential, supervised training in evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches. Training occurs at onsite and at external training facilities affiliated with our program. Both internal and external practicum settings employ evidence-based practice. Clinical training is sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity:  To illustrate -- to prepare for beginning to provide clinical services in their 2nd year, 1st year students: (1) complete coursework in psychopathology, evidenced-based intervention, and professional considerations (including ethics), (2) attend practicum supervision meetings to become familiar with clinic policies and procedures, (3) enroll in a one hour practicum that focuses on introductory therapy skills, and (4) shadow senior graduate student therapists. Once they have attained basic skills and information, they gain direct supervised clinical experience through their practica.

Clinical Practicum

Students in LSU’s clinical psychology graduate program are required to complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of practicum prior to leaving for internship. Most students complete many more hours than this minimum. Students begin seeing clients in the context of practicum beginning in their 2nd year in the program. Practicum experiences are vital in helping students acquire knowledge and competence in psychological assessment, measurement, intervention, and issues related to cultural and individual diversity. 

The on-campus community outpatient clinic is the Psychological Services Center (PSC). The PSC is a community-based outpatient training clinic that serves children and adults from the greater Baton Rouge area with a variety of presenting problems. Students are required to obtain assessment and intervention training at the PSC. Specifically, prior to applying for internship, students are required to complete 4 psychological evaluations and complete 40 hours of intervention at the PSC.

There are also a number of program-approved practicum sites off campus.  Please see our current list of program approved practicum training sites. As evidenced by this list, students have ample opportunity to gain a variety of clinical experiences. Although settings for practicum are diverse, they all share the following in common: (1) sites are committed to training, (2) sites provide supervised experience working with diverse individuals with a variety of presenting problems, (3) sites provide opportunities for experience to gain profession-wide competencies, (4) training is appropriate for student level of training, (5) all cases are supervised by licensed doctoral-level psychologists who meet with student therapists on a weekly basis, and (6) all case supervisors observe student delivery of psychological services at least once per evaluation period.

Prior to internship, students are required to conduct clinical services under the direct clinical supervisor of at least two different core clinical faculty. Most students complete at least one year of PSYC7688/9 with their major professor and one year with a different core clinical faculty member. Given that not all major professors provide clinical supervision in the context of PSYC7688/9, some students will gain experience conducting clinical work under the direct supervision of two core clinical faculty other than their major professor.

For all practicums, students receive weekly supervision from a licensed clinical psychologist and receive feedback on their clinical performance throughout the year from their practicum supervisor during individualized supervision and/or team practicum meetings. In addition, students receive written feedback on their performance in these areas on the Practicum Evaluation Form that is complete at least yearly for all students. 

Assessment Practicum

A practicum experience linked to the assessment course sequence (Psychological Assessment I and II) is required of students in the clinical program. There is an experiential component required in these classes.

Internship

All Clinical students are required to complete a formal, one year, full-time pre-doctoral internship at an APA-accredited internship program. The internship is generally completed in the 5th year. A decision to delay the internship beyond the 5th year is made in consultation with the student’s major professor. This timeline allows students time to complete all coursework, defend their general examination, and propose their dissertation project prior to internship. We require that the dissertation proposal be successfully defended before applying for internship to help ensure that students can successfully complete all requirements of the Ph.D. by the time they complete their internships. Also, students must be in good standing with the program prior to applying for internship. Students are required to have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours of practicum prior to leaving for internship. Most students complete many more hours than this minimum. While on internship, students must enroll in at least 1 hour of PSYC 7997 Clinical Psychology Internship during every semester they are on internship. 

Licensure

As an APA Accredited Clinical Training Program, our program prepares students for careers in health service psychology, such that they are equipped to be both excellent scientists and excellent clinicians. The vast majority of our graduates obtain professional licensure as clinical psychologists. However, given that licensure is controlled by individual governmental bodies in each state/territory and that every jurisdiction may impose their own unique requirements, we cannot guarantee that the specific training we provide will meet the criteria for licensure in any individual state. Students are encouraged to become familiar with state licensing laws and discuss your curricular plan with your major professor and DCT.

For information on psychology licensure in the state of Louisiana, please visit the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists.

For information on psychology licensure in the United States and Canada, please visit the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.

Over 85% of graduates over the last 5 years have obtained licensure.

Placement of LSU Clinical Students for Internships in Last Five Years 

2024-25

  • University of Texas Health Science Center
    Houston, TX

 

  • Missouri Health Sciences Psychology Consortium
    Columbia, MO

 

  • Charleston Area Medical Center
    Charleston, WV

 

  • Ohio State University-Behavioral Health
    Columbus, OH

 

  • Ochsner Health
    New Orleans, LA

 

  • University of Louisville School of Medicine
    Louisville, KY

 

  • Richard L. Roudebush Indianapolis VAMC
    Indianapolis, IN

 

  • Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System
    New Orleans, LA

 

  • VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
    Ann Arbor, MI

 

  • Nationwide Children's Hospital
    Columbus, OH

 

  • Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
    Hershey, PA

2023-2024

  • Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 
    Bethesda, MD

  • Charleston Consortium Internship
    Charleston, SC

  • University of Arizona College of Medicine
    Tucson, AZ

  • University of Mississippi Medical Center
    Jackson, MS

  • Cincinnati VA Medical Center
    Cincinnati, OH

  • University of Illinois at Chicago
    Chicago, IL

  • University of Texas Health Sciences Center
    Tyler, TX

  • University of Texas Health Sciences Center
    Houston, TX

2022-2023

  • Fraser Clinical Psychology Internship
    Bloomington, Minnesota

  • Harvard Medical School/McClean Hospital
    Belmont, Massachusetts

  • Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts

  • Indiana School of Medicine
    Indianapolis, Indiana

  • National Psychology Training Consortium – Central Region (NPTC - Central)
    Springfield, Missouri

  • Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System
    New Orleans, Louisiana

  • University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston
    Houston, Texas

  • VA Maryland Health Care System/University of Maryland
    Baltimore, Maryland

2021-2022

  • Alexandria Orlando VA Medical Center
    Orlando, Florida

  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital 
    Columbus, Ohio

  • National Psychology Training Consortium
    Great Lakes, Indiana

  • MEDVAMC-Houston
    Houston, Texas

  • University of Florida Health Science Center
    Gainesville, Florida

  • University of Tennessee Health Science Center – Memphis
    Memphis, Tennessee

  • VA Western New York Healthcare System
    Buffalo, New York

2020-2021

  • Indiana University School of Medicine
    Indianapolis, IN
  • Alpert Medical School of Brown University
    Providence, RI 
  • OUHSC-OKCVA Consortium Internship
    Oklahoma City, OK 
  • Indiana University School of Medicine
    Indianapolis, IN 
  • UCLA - Semel Institute
    Los Angeles, CA 
  • Federal Correctional Complex - Butner
    Butner, NC
  • Mailman Center for Child Development/Univ Miami
    Miami, FL
  • Durham VA Health Care System
    Durham, NC
  • University of Washington-Psychiatry
    Seattle, WA