Psychology Residency

The MetroHealth Psychology Residency only accepts students currently matriculated in an American Psychological Association accredited doctoral program in Clinical, Counseling or School Psychology.

We are committed to providing a superb educational experience in a unique, supportive environment designed to further the professional growth of each resident. This innovative, fast paced internship was developed to meet the training needs of psychology doctoral students and to meet the mental health needs of the diverse, underserved and low-income children, adolescents and adults in our community.

For more than 170 years, MetroHealth has provided quality health care to a diverse patient population. The MetroHealth System is one of the largest, most comprehensive health care providers in Northeast Ohio. MetroHealth, Cleveland's first hospital and a principal teaching center of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (CWRU), is the flagship unit of The MetroHealth System and includes a Level I trauma center, a regional burn center and Metro Life Flight, the country's second-busiest emergency air transport system.

Our residency program strives to recruit individuals with diverse backgrounds mirroring the diversity of our patient population. The department's faculty represent leaders in integrated primary care, pediatric psychology, family medicine and substance abuse treatment. A multidisciplinary team approach to patient care is at the heart of our philosophy of training. Psychology residents are part of a team that is dedicated to excellent and compassionate care. The close links formed between faculty and residents offer the optimal situation for clinical training.

The faculty has a longstanding history of training Case Western Reserve University psychology graduate students, a tradition that continues with the residency program. The training at MetroHealth to prepares residents to work with a diverse, underserved population in an integrated primary care setting. The program provides professional training following a scientist-practitioner model and is designed to promote specific areas of competence in professional psychology.

A Note about Our Residency Program during COVID-19

In March of 2020, like many psychology training programs, MetroHealth Medical Center adapted to the COVID-19 Pandemic, by temporarily moving to a remote training model. We were fortunate to be ahead of the game in many respects. Our staff and trainees were quickly able to work remotely from home doing telehealth (telephone and video sessions) while being able to meet their training goals and continue to care for their patients. Live supervision is possible during our remote telehealth delivery model as supervisors are able to join in on trainees’ video and telephone visits with patients. Our quick action and response to the COVID-19 Pandemic allowed our trainees to finish their training year with high quality patient experiences. MetroHealth was able to create a new opportunity for our trainees to add telehealth service delivery to their clinical competencies.

Currently, our providers have returned to the hospital to provide patient care; however, the majority of the patients are being seen via telehealth. Patients are encouraged to participate in telehealth; however, in some cases patients are best served with face-to-face sessions. Decisions to bring a patient in face to face are made by the trainee and the supervisor and with the agreement of the patient.

Safety of patients, trainees and staff is of utmost importance to us. As such the hospital and the residency program have several safeguards in place. Patients are screened for health upon entry to the hospital and are required to wear masks while in the hospital. Providers are given KN-95 masks and hand sanitizer and disinfectant is provided. Additionally, as needed providers are given face shields and plexiglass dividers are being utilized for assessment cases.

Covid-19 and its impact on prospective applicants and minimum program requirements

Given that the Covid-19 Pandemic has impacted training programs and practicum placements across the country, MetroHealth Residency Program will be flexible when it comes to reviewing applications in terms of the required number of assessment and intervention hours. While we do not have a specific adjusted requirement, we will consider applications that do not meet our minimum requirement.

Grant Support

American Psychological Association’s Board of Educational Affairs Internship seed funding grant.

Case Children’s Access Now (CaseCAN) a workforce development program funded by the Ohio Department of Medicaid, Medicaid Technical Assistance and Policy Program (MedTAPP) Healthcare Access (HCA) Initiative SFY 14 and SFY 15 - Continuation and Expansion.

This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number M01HP31290, Behavioral Health Work Force Education and Training (BHWET) Program $1,290,050. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $454,812. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by HRSA, HHS, or the US Government.

APPIC Membership

The internship is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). The internship abides by all APPIC guidelines and requirements.

Internship Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data

Admission Program and Benefits Information

In-Depth Look at the Program

Our resident handbook provides an in-depth look at our Psychology Residency Program, including application and selection process, curriculum overview and salary and benefits.

Download Handbook

Residency Evaluation