We offer one Adult Neuropsychology internship position each year, providing a highly personalized training experience in clinical neuropsychology within an academic medical center. This track adheres to the Houston Conference guidelines and aligns with the APPIC Taxonomy for Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology, laying the foundation for postdoctoral residency and eventual board certification through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP/ABCN).
As a trainee, you will receive close mentorship and face-to-face supervision from licensed neuropsychologists while developing core competencies in the outpatient neuropsychological assessment of adults with diverse medical and psychiatric conditions. Throughout the year, you'll strengthen your skills in diagnostic interviewing, test administration and interpretation, case conceptualization, and integration of findings into comprehensive reports with tailored, functionally relevant recommendations.
Your training will emphasize collaborative care, including regular consultation with referring providers and participation in interdisciplinary discussions. While the track is flexible enough to support specific interests and career goals, strong emphasis is placed on foundational skills in differential diagnosis and integrative clinical thinking.
As a neuropsychology intern, you’ll engage in all aspects of clinical assessment. This includes conducting interviews, selecting and administering test batteries, interpreting results, writing integrated reports, consulting with healthcare teams, and providing feedback to patients and families.
Most evaluations are conducted in an outpatient setting, although you may also participate in inpatient consultations. Common referral questions span a wide array of conditions, such as:
- Neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia)
- Traumatic brain injury and stroke
- Movement disorders
- Cancer-related cognitive impairment
- Chronic medical illness and multimorbidity
- Serious mental illness
You’ll typically complete several comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations each week. While the training experience can be adapted to support your professional interests, developing strong diagnostic formulation skills remains a core priority. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to participate in two interventional services, Cognitive Remediation and Geropsychology, to expand your clinical toolkit and experience the therapeutic application of neuropsychological principles.
General Adult Neuropsychology Service
You will gain experience in broad-based differential diagnosis through referrals from a variety of services, including Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, Transplant Medicine, and Cardiology. This rotation offers the opportunity to deepen your understanding of neurocognitive functioning across diverse medical presentations.
Geriatric Neuropsychology Service
This rotation focuses on the care of adults aged 65 and older who present with memory concerns or suspected cognitive disorders. You'll build expertise in the evaluation of neurodegenerative conditions, polypharmacy effects, chronic illness, and capacity assessment. There may also be opportunities to participate in research related to competency and decision-making in aging.
Movement Disorder Service
Through collaboration with OSUWMC’s nationally recognized Center for Neuromodulation, you’ll provide cognitive and psychological assessments for patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) or focused ultrasound treatment. You'll play a vital role in both pre- and post-surgical evaluations and participate in multidisciplinary case conferences with neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiologists, and allied health providers.
Transplant Service
You’ll assist in evaluating candidates for heart, kidney, lung, and liver transplantation. These evaluations are focused on identifying neurocognitive or emotional risk factors that could impact surgical outcomes, treatment adherence, and post-transplant recovery. You'll also help assess cognitive changes that may occur after surgery and contribute to patient-centered treatment planning.
Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Service
You’ll work with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum and other serious mental illnesses to evaluate cognitive functioning, clarify diagnostic questions, and provide treatment recommendations. You'll also have the opportunity to collaborate with the Early Psychosis Intervention Center (EPICENTER), supporting functional recovery in individuals at risk for or experiencing recent onset psychosis.
As part of your internship year, you’ll also provide supervised clinical services through two interventional programs:
Cognitive Remediation Service
You may participate in the delivery of evidence-based cognitive-behavioral interventions for individuals experiencing cognitive decline. Interventions are structured over multiple sessions and may include guided cognitive training exercises, memory strategies, and psychoeducation. You will be involved in case conceptualization, treatment planning, and outcome tracking under direct supervision.
Geropsychology Service
You’ll gain experience providing psychotherapy to older adults coping with depression, anxiety, loss, adjustment to illness, and caregiver stress. You'll learn to apply interventions grounded in empirically supported models such as CBT, ACT, and interpersonal therapy, with an emphasis on age-affirming, culturally sensitive care. This rotation includes opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in medical settings.
If you’re interested in engaging in research during your internship year, there are multiple avenues to do so. The Neuropsychology Research Laboratory (NRL) is led by faculty involved in longitudinal studies investigating the interface between neurocognition, health, and aging. Areas of research include:
- Neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric outcomes of neurodegenerative diseases
- Cognitive profiles in early psychosis and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
- Aging, decision-making, and civil capacities
- Cross-cultural assessment and test adaptation in neuropsychology
Our program also maintains a rich clinical data repository spanning over 10 years, composed of patients who have consented to the use of their de-identified data for research purposes. This repository has supported numerous publications and interdisciplinary collaborations.
To participate in research during the internship year, your dissertation must be completed before the start of the internship. Research involvement is optional and must be consistent with your training goals and approved by the neuropsychology faculty to ensure balance with clinical responsibilities.
Monday
- 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Weekly Check-in / Case Prep
- 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Neuropsychology Group Supervision
- 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Neuropsychology Didactics
- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Report Writing
- 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: DBS Conference
Tuesday
- 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Interview / Testing
- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Supervision
- 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Scoring / Writing
Wednesday
- 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Internship Elective / Supervision
- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Psychiatry Grand Rounds
- 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Internship Resiliency Group
- 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Internship Didactics
Thursday
- 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Interview / Testing
- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Scoring / Writing
- 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Supervision / Pathology Conference
Friday
- 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Interview / Testing
- 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Supervision
- 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Scoring / Writing