Mission

The mission of the Clinical Psychology Internship Program (CPIP) at the California Department of State Hospitals-Napa (DSH-Napa) is to provide a comprehensive and individualized training experience for each clinical psychology intern. This experience is grounded in an ongoing assessment of an intern’s training needs and interests. DSH-Napa provides a broad range of training experiences for the intern who is interested in expanding their skills in the assessment and treatment of the severely mentally ill.

DSH-Napa is the second largest forensic hospital in the country. It is located on 2,000 acres in the southeast corner of the beautiful Napa Valley in Northern California. The professional staff includes approximately 50 psychiatrists, 80 psychologists, 50 social workers, 70 rehabilitation therapists, and a large nursing service. Although most of the supervision that psychology interns receive is provided by clinical psychologists, training from other mental health disciplines is provided as well (e.g., Grand Rounds; Weekly Continuing Medical Education presentations; Journal Club), and interdisciplinary collaboration is commonplace in an inpatient setting. In addition to the CPIP, training programs in other disciplines at DSH-Napa (e.g., Forensic Fellowship, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, U.C. Davis) provide supplemental learning opportunities.

DSH-Napa is an Equal Opportunity Employer, which actively recruits individuals from diverse backgrounds. Currently, approximately 60 percent of DSH-Napa’s hospital staff (and approximately 51 percent of its patients) identify as racial and/or ethnic minorities. Such diversity enhances an awareness of the role that racial and cultural factors play in psychiatric treatment. DSH-Napa can accommodate patients, staff, and interns with varying degrees of physical mobility because it is almost completely wheelchair accessible.