Residency Application Information

Eligibility

Our Consortium subscribes to the APPIC policies and CPA Accreditation Standards with regard to preparation for the predoctoral residency year. For all Tracks, we consider applicants from doctoral graduate psychology programs that are accredited by the CPA or APA or their equivalent, or that are not accredited but have been granted an initial accreditation site visit by the CPA/APA. Applicants who do not attend doctoral programs accredited by CPA or APA should provide us with information necessary for the Consortium to establish that their program’s doctoral training is equivalent to a CPA-accredited program.

For consideration of any of our four Tracks, advanced graduate students are required to meet all of the following minimum criteria by the application deadline of November 1, 2024:

Minimum criteria for consideration of any of our four tracks:

Completed at least 600 hours total of supervised practicum experience, including at least 300 hours in face-to-face patient/client contact (interviewing, assessing, or intervening with clients directly) and at least 150 hours of supervision.
Proposed their doctoral thesis
Successfully completed their program’s comprehensive/qualifying examinations (if applicable)
Completed their core, required graduate level course work (courses that are not minimally required for graduation can still be underway such as electives, extra practica, and so on. Consult with your program’s Training Director if you are unsure).*

In exceptional circumstances, if some core coursework is not completed at the time of application but a student’s program Training Director certifies that this course will be completed by December 31, 2024 then the application will still be accepted, considered, and reviewed. In those cases, confirmation of coursework completion must be provided to us no later than January 31, 2025 to consider the applicant for ranking with the National Matching Service.

In addition, each of our four Tracks has individualized minimum application criteria. Interested applicants should review the Track descriptions below for more details of the minimal credentials required.

If you had placements and / or requirements that were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, please request that your Director of Clinical Training highlight the nature of this impact in their portion of the APPIC application. If you had placements that were cancelled or prematurely terminated, please describe the training and hours that were anticipated in your cover letter. We will take those situations into consideration on a case-by-case basis. However, the minimum requirements described above and for each Track (please see each Track’s descriptions in this brochure) will still be in place. As well, for direct patient/client contact activity we will combine telepsychology (telephone contact or virtual video conference) with hours for face-to-face patient/client contact.

The start date for this predoctoral residency year is Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

Note that due to changes in recent years by the Canadian government to laws regarding employment of non-Canadian Citizens, we are only able to consider applications from individual who are:

Canadian Citizens, or
Canadian Permanent Residents, or
Non-Canadians attending a Canadian graduate psychology program (as described above) AND who already have documentation/permits allowing them to work in Canada during the period of the residency (September 3, 2024 – August 29, 2025)

Applicants should consult with their program’s Training Director to ensure they meet these criteria.

Although proposal of the doctoral thesis is required, it is preferable that applicants have also collected and analyzed their data, completed a draft of their thesis, and, whenever possible, have successfully defended their doctoral thesis prior to beginning the predoctoral residency year. Preference will be given to applicants who have defended their proposal and collected their data by the time of their application.

In the past our Consortium has matched most often with students from Clinical Ph.D. programs, but we have successfully matched with applicants from doctoral Counselling programs as well. There is also great variability across doctoral programs and applicants from Counselling, Clinical Neuropsychology, or School Psychology Ph.D. programs, or from Psy.D. programs may have clinical experiences and training that match well with our program, particularly certain of our specialty Tracks. Therefore, we encourage applications from students in such programs who believe their goals and experiences are a match with our training opportunities and program structure.

Given that the primary language spoken by supervisors in the Consortium is English, and the language of training and of most services provided by psychologists within the Consortium is English, residents will be expected to perform clinical services and be supervised in English. As such, applicants should be proficient enough in oral and written English to perform all necessary clinical and training experiences in English. On occasion, some sites or supervisors may see clients whose primary language is not English. Under these circumstances there may be opportunities to conduct clinical work in a language other than English. For this to occur, the resident’s supervisor must ensure this is appropriate for the client, the resident must be deemed competent to conduct clinical work in this language (i.e., is a native speaker, or is interviewed by a bilingual staff member or member of the Consortium), and arrangements must be made for appropriate supervision. Proficiency in more than one language, therefore, may be an asset.

Prior to starting the residency, all residents must provide evidence of Professional Liability Insurance to the Director of Clinical Training. Coverage must be in effect by the first day of program. If your university program does not provide insurance coverage while on residency, information about how to obtain this insurance is available from the Director of Clinical Training.

Because of the highly vulnerable populations at many of the Consortium Sites, final acceptance into the program is dependent on the successful completion of a vulnerable persons/police record check. We can provide information on this process after the final APPIC Matching process has completed.

Because of the highly vulnerable populations at many of the Consortium Sites, final acceptance into the program is dependent on the successful completion of a police records check, and residents completing rotations at Child and Parent Resource Institute will ALSO be required to ensure their police records check includes successful completion of a vulnerable persons/sector screen. In addition, LHSC requires all new employees to complete a health review before the start of their training year. We will provide information on both of these processes after the final APPIC Matching process has been completed.

Please Note:

All London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium residents are employees of London Health Sciences Centre. Effective September 2021, all new employees at London Health Sciences Centre are required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 completed at least fourteen (14) days before their start date; or have an approved medical exemption, or human rights exemption that is verified as applicable under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Consortium host agency, LHSC, has a mandatory mask-fit policy that requires ALL employees (and thus all residents) to complete a mask fit test as part of their starting employment and to wear one when required. This further requires that during fit testing and any subsequent required occasions users (employees) must be clean shaven where the respirator seals to the skin of the face or neck.

Track Considerations

In order to facilitate our review of your application, we strongly encourage you to clarify how you have met the Track's requirements in the contents of your cover letter.

We welcome applications to multiple Tracks, and request that any such applicants describe how they meet requirements of all Tracks to which they are applying.

Child/Adolescent Track:

To be considered for the Child/Adolescent Track, resident applicants must meet the general minimum criteria described above, and must also have the following credentials by the application deadline:

Course work at the graduate and/or undergraduate level in (a) child or lifespan development (or both), and (b) child psychopathology, assessment, and intervention,
Coursework and practica at the graduate level reflecting that children and/or adolescents are a population of key interest,
A minimum of 75 face-to-face hours of child and/or adolescent therapeutic experience. This includes individual therapy with adolescent, school-aged, and pre-school aged children, group counselling for adolescents and/or children, career counselling for adolescents, family therapy and time spent in school counselling interventions, and
A minimum of ten (10) child and/or adolescent integrated psychological reports.

Adult Mental Health Track:

To be considered for the Adult Mental Health Track, applicants must meet the general minimum criteria described above, and it is recommended that competitive applicants also have the following credentials by the application deadline:

A minimum of 600 hours of direct mental health assessment, intervention, consultation, and supervision practicum experience, as assessed by summing face-to-face intervention and assessment hours (doctoral and master’s level) and supervision hours stated in the APPI,
At least 100 hours of assessment experience (as indicated by the number of assessment hours in the "Summary of Practicum Experience" section of the AAPI) as well as at least five integrated adult psychological assessment reports,
Experience with a range of psychotherapeutic modalities.

Health/Rehabilitation Track:

To be considered for the Health/Rehabilitation Track, applicants must meet the general minimum criteria described above, and it is recommended that competitive applicants also have the following credentials by the application deadline:

A minimum of 200 hours of assessment, intervention, consultation and/or supervision experience involving health, physical illness, and disability;
- Applicants must explicitly identify the sources/sites, associated hours, and total of these hours in the application cover letter;
- In general, it is expected that these hours were primarily clinical in nature (as opposed to, for example, dissertation research).

Neuropsychology Track:

Because of the specialized nature of the Neuropsychology Track position, academic preparation and practicum experience within the area of neuropsychology are necessary. We strongly prefer that resident applicants meet the guidelines put forth at the Houston Conference on Specialty Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology. Specific requirements for applicants to this track are listed below.

To be considered, in addition to the general minimum criteria described above, it is recommended that applicants for the Neuropsychology Track have the following credentials at the time of application:

600 hours of formal neuropsychological practicum experience (with a minimum of 200 hours (300 hours preferred) spent in face-to-face neuropsychological activities) with adults;
At least 8 comprehensive adult neuropsychological assessment reports completed in neuropsychology practica;
Demonstrated proficiency in English as evidenced by writing reports or research articles, or pertinent coursework, and
Completion of a graduate-level course (or other equivalent documented formal didactic training) in neuropsychological theory or neuropsychological assessment.

Application and Selection Procedures

Application procedures involve submission of each the following using the AAPI Online:

Cover letter (that should state to which Track you are applying and why you believe you are a good fit for training provided by that Track)
APPIC Application for Psychology Internship (AAPI)
APPIC Academic Program’s Verification of Internship Eligibility and Readiness
Curriculum Vitae
Graduate transcripts
Three letters of reference (using the current CCTC Standardized Reference Form required by APPIC) – Please note the Consortium may contact referees directly for further information.

As per APPIC requirements, all letters of reference are to use the current CCTC Standardized Reference Form. This form includes a review of the applicant’s current professional and personal skills and strengths with regard to areas of competencies, as well as the opportunity to comment on areas for potential growth and development. This Standardized Reference Form required by APPIC can be accessed at the APPIC website.

NOTE: We require no supplemental material to be sent with the application.

We welcome applications to more than one Track from the same applicant, provided the individualized minimum criteria are met for each Track. Only one application and one cover letter are necessary if applying to multiple Tracks. We ask applicants to indicate clearly in their cover letter all Tracks to which they are applying, and why they believe they are a good fit for the training provided by those Tracks.

The application deadline for all material to be submitted using the AAPI online is November 1, 2024 11:59 p.m. EST. We will email applicants if their application is incomplete. Applicants do not need to contact us before then to check on the status of their applications. If their application is complete and we have no questions, we will not contact applicants until we notify them of their interview status.

A subset of applicants will be chosen for interviews to take place in January 2024. Each Track has its own team of interviewers. The interview notification and booking date is set for Friday, December 6, 2024 (the final date by which all applicants can expect to be notified of their interview status by email). The National Matching Service (NMS) Interview Scheduler platform will be used for the 2025 APPIC Match. All applicants to our program will now be notified via email of their interview status on Friday, December 6, 2024 beginning at 11:00 AM EST, through the NMS Interview Scheduler program. Those invited for an interview will then use the online NMS Interview Scheduler to book their own interview date(s) and time slot as soon as they have been offered an interview. Applicants who applied to and are offered interviews for more than one Track at our program will be sent separate invitations for each Track, and must then also book two separate interview dates (i.e., one for each Track). Available interview dates and time-slots will be booked on a first-come-first-served basis (several interviews will be conducted on each interview date). There will be separate offer emails – and interview dates – for each of our 4 Tracks. Applicants offered an interview will book a date and time themselves through the NMS Interview Scheduler program, and can do so as soon as they receive an offer (or offers if being interviewed for more than one Track) on December 6, 2024 starting at 11:00 am EST For each interview offer, applicants select one block of time on their desired date – either one morning slot or one afternoon slot. Multiple people can reserve the same block of time. Each interviewee will be contacted later via email with their individual schedule for the day (likely during the week of December 9, 2024).

Please note that all interviews will take place remotely – through videoconference and/or telephone. There will be no in-person interviews for any applicants in 2025.

All applications are carefully reviewed and rated by supervisory staff within the applicant’s Track. Applicant rankings are based on many factors, including (in no particular order): progress toward completion of dissertation; quality, breadth, and depth of assessment and intervention experience (particularly in areas related to the training offered in our Consortium); relevant didactic training (e.g., coursework, workshops attended); academic accomplishments; letters of reference; faculty’s impressions from the applicant interviews; research experience; quality of writing samples (e.g., responses to essays on the AAPI); goals of training; and other information from the application materials.

Applicants should know that applications are not ranked based solely on the raw number of practicum hours reported in the AAPI, as long as the minimum required hours for the Consortium in general and for their specific Track(s) of interest have been completed. The types and variety of practicum experiences are considered. Students should strive to have practical experience with cases varying in complexity, in different service delivery settings, and with a variety of populations, presenting questions, assessment and therapeutic models and methods, case conferences, and supervisors to acquire the competencies for readiness for a successful predoctoral residency year. These factors are more important than the raw number of hours recorded, and are also used in considering applications.

All interviews will take place remotely through videoconference and/or telephone. We recognize that face-to-face interviews allow potential residents to meet the staff and become familiar with the setting. However, following recommendations by the CCPPP and APPIC, and in consideration of the expense and potential travel challenges for many applicants, we will not hold any in-person interviews or visits as part of the formal interview process.

Interviews typically follow a three-part format. The core will be a videoconference/call with the interview team, which includes representative supervisors from the Track. This approximately one-hour interview is the primary evaluative portion of the interview process. While it is evaluative, we also give applicants the opportunity to ask questions about our predoctoral residency during that time. Two additional interviews are offered so that applicants can learn more about our residency program. Applicants speak with the Director of Clinical Training, often in a group with other applicants, where they are provided with an overview of the Consortium and can have their general questions about the program answered. Applicants also speak with a current resident or residents about their experiences as a resident in our program. Neither the Director of Clinical Training nor the current residents are part of the formal evaluative process although, in rare circumstances, the Director of Clinical Training may comment on an applicant to their Track’s interview team. As well, any contact an applicant has with other Consortium staff - with the exception of the arranged discussions with current residents - can become part of their application file. To the best of our abilities, we will try to arrange these three activities - videoconferences or telephone calls with the interview team, Director of Clinical Training, and current resident(s) - on the same date.

Applicants who have been offered an interview are also welcome to speak with potential supervisors outside the scheduled interview to discuss details of training opportunities in their rotations. When an offer is made for an interview with our Consortium, applicants can request to arrange separate additional videoconferences/telephone calls with specific potential supervisors. We ask interview applicants interested in such contact to please request this when arranging their interview date. These may be able to be arranged on the same date as the formal interview, but due to the schedules of some potential supervisors, they may need to be arranged for another date.

Information on Accreditation

The London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium was initially formed by a partnership of the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), St. Joseph’s Health Care (London; SJHC), Child and Parent Resource Institute (CPRI), and Vanier Children’s Mental Wellness. That residency program had its first cohort of residents begin in 2008, then later expanded to include Mental Health Services at Western University (with the first residency cohort from that five-member consortium beginning in 2012). In 2021 and 2022, due to staffing changes, two partners’ participation – Western University’s Mental Health, Health and Wellness and Vanier Children’s Mental Wellness – were placed on hiatus. Thus, for the 2024-2025 training year the Consortium consists of three partner agencies: LHSC, SJHC, and CPRI.

The London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium was first accredited as a Doctoral Internship Program in Clinical Psychology by the Canadian Psychological Association in 2009, and after our site visit in 2014 it was re-accredited for a 7-year term, from 2013-14 to 2020-21. Our re-accreditation site visit was recently completed in July 2021 and were re-accredited for a 5-year term.

Accreditation Office

Address: Canadian Psychological Association
141 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 702
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5J3
Telephone: 1-888-472-0657
Email: accreditationoffice@cpa.ca
Website: http://www.cpa.ca/accreditation/

Diversity and Non-Discrimination Policy

The London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium is firmly against and condemns racism and oppression impacting individuals and systemically. Consistent with the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples is held in highest regard. In addition, the member sites of the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium are committed to employment equity, welcome diversity in the workplace, and encourage applications from all qualified individuals including members of visible minorities, Indigenous persons, and persons with disabilities.

The London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium endeavours to provide an accessible work place for residents with disabilities. All sites can provide work space, parking, and equipment to meet the needs of residents with disabilities and successful accommodations have been made for residents in the past.

Applicants who have specific questions about access and accommodations available at our setting are encouraged to contact the Director of Clinical Training early in the application process in order that their concerns or needs may be fully addressed, including during the application process.

APPIC Policies

All selection procedures follow the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) guidelines. This Consortium agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at these training facilities will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any applicant. The eight positions will be offered to applicants in order of their ranking within the Tracks through the National Matching Service. All ranking and offers will be in accordance with APPIC Match policies.

APPIC regulations make it clear that acceptance of a position is binding. We therefore ask that applicants and their Directors of Training or Department Heads carefully review their program’s requirements for releasing the student to go on internship, to ensure that students who are applying for positions in our Consortium will indeed be allowed to begin their training experiences on Tuesday, September 2, 2025.

For both residents and programs, the deadline for submissions of their Rank Order Lists to the National Matching Service for Phase I has been set by APPIC for February 7, 2025, and Phase I Match Day has been set by APPIC for February 21, 2025. If any of our residency positions remain unfilled after Phase I of the match, we will follow APPIC guidelines for participation in Match Phase II. As with our Phase I process, all interviews will take place remotely through videoconference and/or telephone contact.

Policy on Handling Your Personal Information

In accordance with federal privacy legislation (Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act), you should be aware that we are committed to collecting only the information in your application that is required to process your application. This information is secured within Psychological Services at London Health Sciences Centre and is shared only with those individuals involved in the evaluation of your application. If you are not matched with our Consortium, your personal information is destroyed one year after Phase II Match Day.

If you are matched with our Consortium, your application and CV will be available only to those directly involved in your supervision and training including your rotation supervisors, your Track Coordinator, the Director of Clinical Training, and relevant administrative support staff. We will place an electronic copy of this material on a secured section of the relevant Consortium Site networks that will only be made available to those individuals directly involved in your supervision and training.