A Welcome from the Director
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the Clinical Psychology Externship Program at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP).
I know this training experience from the inside: I trained here as an extern in 1999—and found the experience so valuable that I chose to stay for a second year. The meaningful clinical work, supervisors who cared deeply about my development, and community of colleagues who remain part of my professional life to this day helped shape the clinician I became. It is a privilege to now direct the program that trained me and to offer the next generation of psychologists that same spirit of mentorship, connection, and clinical growth.
For more than fifty years, NIP has been dedicated to educating psychotherapists while providing accessible, high-quality mental health care to the community. Our externship offers doctoral students something increasingly rare: the opportunity to conduct long-term, weekly psychotherapy with intensive supervision, and the support of a committed psychoanalytic community.
We believe that psychotherapy is learned not only by acquiring knowledge, but through careful observation, thoughtful supervision, and the capacity to reflect on one's own experience in the consulting room. My hope is that each extern will develop the confidence, curiosity, and authentic therapeutic voice to sustain a lifetime of meaningful clinical work.
I look forward to welcoming our next class of externs, and I hope you will consider joining us.
Joy V. Levinson, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Psychology Externship Training
Program At A Glance
Patient Population
Adults
Caseload
Five weekly psychotherapy cases, with patients seen once or twice weekly, plus one to two intake evaluations per week
Treatment Model
Long-term outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy
Time Commitment
16 hours per week over no more than two days, per NYNJADOT guidelines. Friday attendance is required, as seminars meet on Fridays; externs have some flexibility in scheduling their patients and supervision.
Service Delivery
In person, with minimal telehealth
Supervision
Weekly individual supervision, and weekly group supervision/case conference led by the Director of Training, provided predominantly in person
Didactics
Weekly seminars in contemporary psychodynamic theory and clinical technique, taught by senior analysts
Stipend
This is an unpaid training position
Match
Northeastern Regional Externship Match (Extern Match), administered by National Matching Services under NYNJADOT/PENDELDOT guidelines
About the Program
The externship provides immersive clinical training in long-term outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy within a contemporary psychoanalytic institute. Externs work with adults presenting with a broad range of emotional, relational, developmental, and personality concerns.
Grounded in contemporary relational psychoanalysis and integrative psychodynamic psychotherapy, the program encourages students to think developmentally, engage thoughtfully with clinical complexity, and understand patients within the context of their histories, relationships, internal worlds, and lived experience.
Through intensive supervision, didactic instruction, and participation in the life of the Institute, externs deepen their understanding of personality development, attachment, unconscious processes, and the therapeutic relationship while learning to integrate theory with clinical practice.
Clinical Training
Each extern carries a caseload of five weekly psychotherapy cases, providing the opportunity to develop meaningful therapeutic relationships and observe the unfolding process of treatment over time.
Training includes:
• Five weekly outpatient psychotherapy cases with adults, seen once or twice weekly
• One to two intake evaluations per week, building diagnostic and formulation skills at the very start of treatment
• Weekly individual supervision with postdoctoral psychoanalysts, all licensed clinical psychologists — with a second weekly individual supervision for some externs, depending on caseload
• Weekly group supervision and case conference, led by the Director of Clinical Psychology Externship Training
• Weekly didactic seminars in contemporary psychodynamic theory, psychopathology, ethics, trauma, and clinical technique, taught by senior analysts from NIP and other psychoanalytic institutes
• Direct observation of clinical work at least once each semester
• Participation in Institute lectures, conferences, educational programs, and community events
• Opportunities to engage in the broader intellectual life of NIP
Supervision
Supervision is central to the training experience at NIP. Every extern receives weekly individual supervision with a postdoctoral psychoanalyst—all of our supervisors are licensed clinical psychologists—along with weekly group supervision led by the Director of Clinical Psychology Externship Training, in an atmosphere that is collaborative, reflective, and developmentally informed. Depending on caseload and supervisory pairing, some externs receive a second hour of individual supervision each week, offering the experience of learning from two supervisory relationships at once. Supervision is provided predominantly in person.
The supervisory process emphasizes psychodynamic case formulation, clinical technique, ethical practice, and thoughtful exploration of the therapeutic relationship. Through reflective dialogue and close mentorship, students develop sound clinical judgment, increasing confidence, and an authentic therapeutic voice while integrating theoretical understanding with their evolving clinical experience.
A Community of Lifelong Learning
NIP is more than a training institute—it is a community of clinicians, educators, and scholars committed to ongoing learning, professional growth, and meaningful dialogue. Externs are welcomed into the intellectual life of the Institute through lectures, conferences, workshops, and educational events that extend learning beyond the consulting room.
Many trainees continue their relationship with NIP after the externship year, remaining connected as colleagues and participating in the ongoing educational and professional life of the Institute. We view the externship not simply as a year of training, but as the beginning of a professional community dedicated to thoughtful clinical practice, lifelong learning, and mutual support.
Eligibility
Participation in the Extern Match is open to doctoral students in NYNJADOT- and PENDELDOT-member doctoral programs, APA-accredited programs, and PCSAS-accredited programs.
For Applicants: Policies and Logistics
Internship: NIP offers a psychology internship program that is entirely separate from the externship. The two programs are independent, and participation in one has no effect—positive or negative—on candidacy for the other.
Concurrent internship applicants: We welcome applications from students concurrently applying for internship, as attested in their cover letter with DCT approval.
Interviews: Interviews are conducted in person, within the interview period established in the Extern Match Schedule of Dates. We do not conduct pre-interview screenings.
Fees and onboarding: There are no administrative or training fees of any kind for externs or their programs. Onboarding requirements are minimal, and there are no onboarding processes that would disqualify an accepted extern.
Application Process
The National Institute for the Psychotherapies participates in the Northeastern Regional Externship Match (Extern Match), administered by National Matching Services on behalf of NYNJADOT and PENDELDOT. All applications must be submitted through the Extern Match Portal at natmatch.com/extern.
Applications include a CV, cover letter, and DCT verification letter, submitted through the Portal. Interview invitations are extended through the Portal according to the Extern Match Schedule of Dates.
Applications are reviewed by the Director of Clinical Psychology Externship Training. Selected applicants will be invited for interviews.
The National Institute for the Psychotherapies is committed to fostering an inclusive learning environment and evaluates all applicants without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or national origin.
For questions regarding the Clinical Psychology Externship Program, please contact:
Joy V. Levinson, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Psychology Externship Training
jlevinson@nipinst.org