Name: Sarah Westen
What area did you major in?
During my internship, I trained within the Underserved track, with an emphasis on Pediatric Psychology. Within this role, I was fortunate to be able to work with underserved pediatric populations, including children with chronic illnesses and their families.
What was your favorite part of the internship program?
My favorite part of the internship program was training working within an interdisciplinary team. My specialty area of focus is pediatric type one diabetes. During the internship, I provided psychology consults in the UF Diabetes Clinic within the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology in the Department of Pediatrics. This experience involved collaboration with physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, diabetes educators, nutrition/dietetics and social work. Several of the patients I saw in the Diabetes Clinic were referred to outpatient psychotherapy, where I was then able to follow the patients long-term for therapy under the supervision of licensed psychologists in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology.
What was something that surprised you about the program?
The level of support from faculty, other interns and other students (e.g., the graduate students in Clinical and Health Psychology) was wonderful. The community was tight-knit and everyone was supportive and helpful. It was a non-competitive atmosphere where everyone helps each other succeed. Gainesville itself is a pleasant town with a lot more to offer. I enjoyed the hiking trails, nearby springs, museums, food, and culture.
How did your CHP internship prepare you for your future career as a professional?
The CHP internship was critical for preparing me to work in a medical university setting with an interdisciplinary team. Additionally, the internship supported my training in inpatient consultation, outpatient consultation, assessment, and a variety of therapeutic approaches (e.g., CBT, DBT, ACT), and experience provided care to children living with a chronic illness and their families. I was also able to pursue research interests during the internship year, which assisted me in building and maintaining my research interests.
Why did you choose this specific program?
I actually completed my graduate training at the University of Florida in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. I loved my experiences as a graduate student and there was so much left to learn and explore that I wasn’t ready to leave. There are so many experiences in different outpatient medical clinics (e.g., hematology/oncology, sleep, infectious disease, gastroenterology, OCD and fear disorders, among others) for those interested in pediatric psychology, that I had not had the chance to train in all of the clinics throughout graduate school. The interdisciplinary team approach led me to rank UF as my number one choice for an internship.
Interested in learning more?
Click below to learn more about our Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology track.