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Department Research

The CHA internship is clinical in nature. We do encourage interns to pursue research interests, while recognizing the priority of their internship clinical commitments. Some interns have pursued independent research projects or joined the research teams of CHA faculty members during the internship year. The Director of Psychology Internship Training consults with interns who wish to engage in research to maintain manageable workloads during the year.

It is possible for interns to be assigned research mentors from psychologists who are involved in the Department of Psychiatry's research units. We encourage interns' participation in the ongoing research projects in the Department, and the development of proposals for original research. Currently, approximately twenty faculty members are engaged in research projects - a few with major research grants, and other with smaller grants or unfunded projects. Primary investigators often develop research projects in cooperation with other members of the Department of Psychiatry, with other schools within Harvard University, and with other affiliated institutions.

The Department of Psychiatry values research as the foundation for improving the quality of clinical care, and considers the conduct of research to be essential for determining the efficacy of methods of care, and for disseminating these methods to the larger professional community. Psychology Trainees, Interns and Post-doctoral Fellows are urged to join existing research activities, and are provided with technical and creative support in the development of new research endeavors.

Affiliation with the Austen Riggs Center

The Division of Psychology maintains an affiliation with the Austen Riggs Center a small, non-profit open psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, MA specializing in the psychotherapeutic treatment of psychiatric disorders. Additional information about Center may be found on their website (www.austenriggs.org). This affiliation has permitted interns in the past to participate in two multi-day intensive learning experience on the Austen Riggs campus with their faculty for which interns use some of their conference time. Travel to and from Stockbridge and accommodations are provided for interns.