Waypoint has many great opportunities for training, including psychology externships and internships. The Psychology Internship Training Manual for 2024-2025 follows.
Doctoral Psychology Internship Training Program
Introduction to Waypoint Wellness Center
Waypoint Wellness Center is a multi-disciplinary, outpatient behavioral health practice serving ages four and up in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. We have offices in Annapolis, Severna Park, and Linthicum, Maryland, with therapists and prescribers at each location. Our over 40 clinicians include psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists, school psychologists, social workers, and counselors. Our staff is highly skilled and enjoy a great deal of collaboration with interns, as it is important for trainees to be exposed to a range of quality, evidence-based care.
Waypoint was established in 2015 by Drs. Tana Clarke and Allyson Kett. It started with a simple mission to provide consistent and effective evidence-based, multi-disciplinary mental health treatment to our surrounding community. Our goals were to create a positive and supportive physical, social, and professional work environment. We have found that this provides a crucial element of care, for both our clients and clinicians, to make the most of their time together. Waypoint has a strong foundation in the value of increasing access to care for all populations. For this reason, we are committed to providing insurance-based care and have a range of programs to create access in underserved communities.
The community we serve and the populations we access are diverse. Anne Arundel County is a region along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland that is diverse in landscape, socio-economic range, and has a rich immigrant population that makes for a culturally and racially diverse referral base. With the US Naval Academy, Fort Meade, and Andrew’s Air Force Base located close, we also serve a large population of service members, veterans, and their families.
Clinically, Waypoint serves some of the most complex and high need psychiatric cases, due to our multidisciplinary team based approach. Many of Waypoint clinicians trained in hospital settings, and it is important to us to utilize the collaborative and innovative products of team based care. We receive referrals for the full range of psychiatric concerns, and have clinicians with expertise to treat most issues. We refer out cases involving active substance abuse and active primary eating disorders, but can effectively treat most other concerns. We have strong relationships with local providers and agencies, and do our best to model a collaborative, team- based approach across our community outside of Waypoint.
Mission: to provide consistent and effective evidence-based, multi-disciplinary mental health treatment to our surrounding community
Vision: Waypoint Wellness Center will transform mental health access to care with the goal of leaving no community underserved. Increasing access to evidence-based, collaborative treatment through innovative delivery models will improve overall community mental health in Maryland.
Guiding Values:
- Dedication to the mental health industry, practice, and community
- Support of mental health colleagues
- Collaboration with all professional colleagues
- If we can’t help, find someone who can
- Creativity, challenging of norms, and innovation are necessary to improve care
- Clinician well being is everyone’s well being
- Ethical understanding, competence, consistency, and self-reflection as a foundation
- Weekly supervision is a lifetime part of a clinical career
- Provide access to the best possible treatments for all
- Our diversity can be a source of strength and pain, and must be embraced and nurtured
Training Team
Tana Clarke PhD
Waypoint Wellness Center Co-founder, CEO
Licensed Psychologist
Director, Psychology Internship Training
Allyson Kett Psy.D.
Waypoint Wellness Center Co-Founder, COO
Licensed Psychologist
Psychology Internship Training Supervisor
Suzanne Linkroum, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Psychology Internship Training Supervisor
Chandler McLemore, Ph.D.
Waypoint Wellness Center
Licensed Psychologist
Psychology Internship Training Supervisor
Adjunct Supervisors
- Charlene Van Nest, LCSW-C
- Carrie Cleveland, LCSW-C
- Leigh-Ann Haas, LCSW-C
- Danielle Mitsch, PMHNP-BC
Clinical and Community Services
Outpatient Services
Outpatient services involve traditional assessment and treatment in an outpatient private practice setting. Interns are provided a private office in which to conduct individual, family, or couples therapy. Caseloads are established jointly between intern and supervisor to address clinical areas of growth. Interns will have access to prescribers to consult with at each setting, and are encouraged to learn as much as they can from all of their colleagues. Caseloads typically are about 50/50 in-person/virtual, but can be adjusted for clinical preferences and need.
Psychological and Psychoeducational Testing
Waypoint provides a range of comprehensive psychological and psychoeducational testing. Within this clinic, screening evaluations as well as educational advocacy and coaching to assist with 504 and IEP planning is also provided.
Group Therapy and Programming
Waypoint runs a variety of skills groups and process groups. Interns are encouraged to co-lead these groups with an experienced clinician, and this is a valuable opportunity for clinicians to develop at their own pace. Below are groups that are currently running at Waypoint.
- Social Empowerment for Neurodivergent Youth
- Executive Functioning Skills Training for Middle Schoolers • Adolescent Female Process Group
- Support Program for Military Spouses
School Mental Health Consultation
Waypoint works with several local private elementary, middle, and high schools to provide onsite mental health and learning support, structured to each organization’s unique needs. Interns have opportunities to provide more direct care in school settings, or to assist with programmatic implementation if desired. A licensed psychologist from Waypoint will be present onsite with the intern at all times.
- Psychoeducation or training of school staff
- Workshops, groups, or psychoeducation of enrolled students and/or their families
- Mental health safety assessment services
- Individual support services provided to students during specified hours
- Consultation for program development, implementation, and/or modification.
- Collection and analysis of behavioral information and related data as necessary to initiate anddeliver appropriate services
- Report-writing, including consolidation of observations, recommendations, and/or relatedinformation.
- Feedback/delivery of impressions, recommendations, and/or results of testing, observations,and/or program evaluation.Community partnership with Charting Careers
Waypoint has treatment teams working within highly underserved communities to provide mental health services and access to care. We partner with a local non-profit agency called Charting Careers, as their community impact teams help to refer and engage the community in our services. Interns can work in specific roles, such as individual or group therapist, clinical team lead, or community program development and implementation. The Waypoint treatment team works closely with one another throughout this rotation.
Forensic Services Division
Opportunities to provide court ordered psychological evaluations or parental fitness evaluations are available as training experience. In addition, interns can provide court ordered treatment or reunification therapy. Interns will learn how to confidently navigate legal influences on their care and will become competent at providing excellent clinical care in the challenge context of legal involved cases.
Internship Overview
Our 12-month psychology internship program is designed to facilitate each individual trainee’s formal academic training and clinical experience with a more complete and sophisticated clinical program. Our goal is to provide opportunities for a variety of unique clinical training experiences that will be valuable to the community we serve as a whole.
The training model of our program emphasizes supervised clinical experience based in graduated exposure to advanced clinical applications. Our model aims to utilize our vast arrange of practitioners from multiple disciplines to facilitate the intern’s identified training goals. Each intern will have consistent access to at least 2 primary licensed psychologist supervisors, and at least 1 adjust supervisor experienced in the interns training needs. Didactic experiences will be provided focusing on advanced clinical skills, ethical challenges, professional consultation and application of psychological principles across disciplines, and process work to address the challenges of a career in mental health.
Training Goals and Objectives
To develop psychologists who are competent and adept at administering and disseminating evidence-based psychological assessment and intervention
- Interns will demonstrate competence in diagnostic assessment of individuals with a range of clinical concerns and ageInterns will obtain proficiency and skill in administering a range of evidence-basedpsychological interventions
- Interns will demonstrate sensitivity, understanding, awareness, and skill when working withdiverse individuals and communities
- Interns will become adept at selecting appropriate modes of treatment and treatment plans to meet the client where they are
To develop the unique skill sets possessed by psychologists, and to promote and place new psychologists in impactful, effective, and innovative career settings and structures.
- Assessment of individual cognitive, emotional, social, developmental, adaptive, psychiatric,achievement, motivation, personality, etc.
- Assessment of structures and processes in groups and organizations that promote or impairindividual and group mental health
- Gathering, synthesizing, and analyzing information to create novel solutions to clientproblems
- Ability to communicate to disciplines across educational, medical, scientific, and legalprofessions to create and lead comprehensive treatment teams
- Valuable skills for roles in forensic procedures, school and organizational mental health,community clinical program leads, and consultative roles in technology and policy
- Ability to integrate business models and approaches when appropriate to enhance the deliveryof clinical care
For new psychologists to emerge from our training as exceptionally responsible to both themselves and their clients, and effective at identifying and implementing boundaries professionally that are protective of both client and clinician, and preserving of the therapeutic relationship.
- Interns will have the opportunity to experience a variety of professional roles and experiences
- Interns will be encouraged to identify the roles that are restorative and the roles that arechallenging, to allow them to structure their career to manage burnout
- Regular opportunities to discuss and develop boundaries and self-care through supervisionand consultation
- Intern well being, adjustment, and training and career satisfaction will be discussed andprioritized by supervisors and the Waypoint team
Our goal is to facilitate emerging clinicians and their discovery of their own unique identity and direction in their clinical career, as we believe that the best clinicians function in their ideal role. As an organization, COVID helped us all see how close burnout can be for any of us, and we are more determined than ever to help the next generation of psychologists to establish effective clinical habits and healthy personal boundaries to promote long and fulfilling careers.
All training and care delivered at Waypoint is evidence-based and well documented as such. Within that framework, we encourage a diverse range of approaches amongst our clinicians. Our psychologists have specialities in the following areas. Trainees are required to participate in twice weekly lunch group supervisions and monthly group consult/dinners. Trainees can observe and participate in any of the care offered throughout Waypoint, and opportunities are listed below. Interns are encouraged to interact with trainees from other disciplines, including psychiatry, nursing, social work, and counseling and formal opportunities to do so will be offered regularly.
| Clinical Modalities | Clinical Conditions |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Depression |
| Dialectical Behavioral Therapy | Anxiety |
| Interpersonal Therapy | Trauma/PTSD |
| Acceptance and Commitment Therapy | Bipolar spectrum disorders |
| Cognitive Processing Therapy | Psychosis |
| Psychodynamic Therapy | ADHD |
| Behavioral Parent Training | Learning disorders |
| Exposure and Response Prevention | Autism spectrum disorder |
| Psychological and psychoeducational assessment | Obsessive compulsive disorder |
| Pediatric and Health Psychology | Personality disorders |
| Family Therapy | Child behavior disorders |
| Group Therapy | Panic disorders |
| Anxiety disorders |
Mandatory Rotations
General outpatient year long clinical rotation (child or adult track)
- Primarily outpatient brief assessment and treatment
- Implementation of evidence-based treatment
- Consultation with internal and external providers, as well as outside agencies including higher level of care, educational institutions, community supports, and legal professionals
- 8-12 hours of individual, family, or couples therapy per week
- Caseload tailored to trainee experience and interests
Elective Rotations
Assessment rotation (full year)
- Year long rotation to develop psychological and psychoeducational assessment skills
- Learn to assess full range of psychiatric, cognitive, learning, adaptive, and emotional abilities • Learn to administer and interpret psychological tests:
- Weschler (WISC-V, WAIS-IV, WMS), Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive and Academic, Feifer Academic Assessments, IVA-2, Rorschach, TAT, Roberts, MMPI-3, ADOS-2
- Learn to write efficient and effective psychological reports • Regular meetings with clinical team
Forensic Rotation (full year)
- Court-ordered assessment (parental fitness, psychological, juvenile assessment)
- Court-ordered/court-involved treatment (reunification, rehabilitative)
- Regular meetings with clinical team
School mental health rotation (half or full year)
- Weekly, twice monthly, once monthly visits virtually or in-person to Maryland private schools
- Student/staff psycho-education/training
- Individual brief assessment, case management, brief consultative intervention, creation and
- administration of specialized education accommodations, coordination of multi-disciplinary
- team
- Implementation of group based interventions including skills groups, support groups, awareness activities, prevention programs
- Regular meetings with clinical team
Community mental health rotation (half or full year)
- Individual assessment and treatment of diverse populations with limited resources
- Opportunities work work directly in the community
- Coordination with local agencies including schools, treatment providers, county and state agencies
- Implementation of group based interventions including skills groups, support groups, awareness activities, prevention programs
- Regular meetings with clinical team
Supplemental Rotations/Experiences
- DBT/ACT track
- Psychiatric care observation/education
- Primary care rotation (pediatric or adult)
- Monthly catered group dinners
- Quarterly social events
- Supplemental supervision with selected Waypoint clinicians
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation observation/education
- Training library of treatment resources, manuals, educational videos/materials on google drive
Locations
Annapolis
- 7 individual offices (5 windowed) with waiting room and administrative area
- ADA compliant
- Licensed psychologists: Tana Clarke, PhD, Kelsey Woods, PhD, Melissa Fluehr, PsyD
Linthicum
- 5 individual offices (4 windowed) with waiting room and administrative area
- ADA compliant
- Licensed psychologists: Suzanne Linkroum, PhD, Nicole Berger, PsyD
Severna Park
- 7 individual offices (5 windowed) with waiting room
- ADA compliant
- Conference/group room
- Licensed Psychologists: Allyson Kett, PsyD, Chandler McLemore, PhD
Sample Schedule
Hours and schedule to be determined jointly between program and trainee
Performance expectations
Interns are expected to develop the following core competencies:
- Professional interpersonal behavior
- Seeking consultation/supervision
- Professional responsibility and documentation
- Efficiency and time management
- Knowledge of ethics and law
- Administrative competency
- Patient rapport
- Sensitivity to patient diversity
- Objective awareness of own cultural and ethnic background
- Diagnostic skill
- Psychological test selection and administration
- Psychological test interpretation
- Assessment writing skills
- Feedback regarding assessment
- Patient risk management and confidentiality
- Case conceptualization and treatment goals
- Therapeutic interventions
- Effective use of emotional reactions in therapy
- Group therapy skills and preparation
- Seeking current scientific knowledge
- Consultation assessment
- Consultative guidance
- Supervisory skills
Performance Evaluation
Ongoing feedback in weekly individual and group supervisions and meetings will also occur. Interns will also participate in case presentations for additional sources of feedback.
Trainees will be evaluated twice yearly by both direct supervisors, and any adjunct supervisors on a range of clinical and professional competencies documented in the evaluation. All supervisors will meet prior to mid-year and end-year feedback to discuss intern development in preparation for feedback. Feedback will be strengths-based and collaborative with a continual focus on the trainee’s clinical development.
Interns can request additional meetings with supervisors for feedback or training planning at any time. Interns will also complete a self and program assessment at mid and end of year. Intern’s psychology programs will receive relevant evaluation materials.
Due process
If an intern exhibits a pattern of behaviors that impact their psychological care, the supervisor will address it imminently in a collaborative, supportive, and productive manner during individual supervision. Interns will be encouraged to do the same with regard to their supervision and program feedback. The intern and supervisor will work together to make progress on any issues, and if necessary, additional supervisors may become involved. If the intern progresses and the supervisor agrees, no formal documentation or intervention is required.
Notice
If informal processes to not lead to the changes necessary for professional, dependable, ethical, and effective clinical care, then the training director will meet with all involved parties and a specific professional concern will be documented, and this concern must be linked to impairment in the intern’s professional development in the area of insufficient performance, or a problem behavior.
Hearing
A formal development plan will then be identified and documented to remediate and correct any behaviors. Similarly, if an intern does not feel that a supervisor or program is improving adequately in response to informal discussion, a formal plan for change will be developed. Specific goals will be established to be objectively evaluated by the team. A follow-meeting will be set within 6-12 weeks to evaluate progress, specifically with regard to the objective goals agreed upon by the team. The team will continue to collaboratively meet until the problem is resolved, as demonstrated by the team’s agreement that objective behavioral goals have been met. When necessary, Waypoint will contact the intern’s graduate program to attempt to resolve the any concerns.
Appeal
Intern has the right to appeal any actions taken by the training director, through contact with Dr. Kett (drkett@waypointwellnesscenter.com) and their respective academic training program.
Grievance
Interns are provided the same rights and respect as clinical employees and contractors at Waypoint. If they witness any discriminatory behavior on the part of any individual on Waypoint premises, they should immediately report it to the training director. Interns can file a grievance within and outside of Waypoint whenever intern feels it is appropriate. Training director will then schedule a meeting of all relevant parties to come to a resolution or plan.
Application procedure
Qualifications:
- Applicants must be advanced students in good standing in APA-approved graduate programs in clinical, counseling, or school psychology (Ph.D./Psy.D).
- Must be accepted for doctoral candidacy in accredited psychology program prior to internship • Must have successfully passed comprehensive exams or milestones and all basic coursework
- Applicants must have a letter of endorsement from the Director of Training certifying eligibility for internship
- Must have education, training, and experience in evidence based assessment and treatment
Selection Process
Waypoint Wellness Center is committed to abiding by APPIC policies, and no individuals associated with this institution will solicit, accept, or use any ranking related information from any intern applicant. Waypoint Wellness Center is an equal opportunity employer and adheres to APPICS’s nondiscrimination policies.
- Applications must be submitted by November 15 consisting of the following:
- Cover letter that addresses applicant’s prior experience, goals for internship, and areas for development
- Curriculum Vitae
- Graduate transcripts
- Sample psychological report if available
- 2-3 letters of reference, at least one from a licensed psychologist
Interns will be invited for an interview in December if selected.
All applications and inquiries should be directed to:
Tana Clarke, Ph.D., Internship Training Director
drclarke@waypointwellnesscenter.com
Waypoint Wellness Center
166 Defense Hwy
Annapolis, MD 21401
OR
Ashley Hauser, Training Coordinator
aellis@waypointwellnesscenter.com
443-610-4053
Internship Benefits
Stipend: $40,000 paid in 26 bi-weekly payments, including 6 paid holidays and three weeks PTO