Larned State Hospital - Training / Internships

To provide an integrated educational approach support of the development and maintenance of competent, proficient, scholar-practitioner psychologists serving Kansans in need of mental health services.

Larned State Hospital Psychology Internship Program (LSHPIP) is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). We have also been an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited internship site since 2011.  In 2019, we were granted reaccreditation with our next site visit scheduled for 2028. 

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979
E-mail: [email protected]
www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

LSH is a psychiatric hospital administered by the Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) for the State of Kansas. LSH is one of three state psychiatric hospitals operated by the state. Located in rural Kansas on a 78-acre campus, LSH has three distinct programs (State Security Program, Sexual Predator Treatment Program, and the Psychiatric Services Program). Currently, two of these programs host interns; one intern is assigned to the Psychiatric Services Program and two interns are assigned to the State Security Program. Each intern is assigned to a primary and secondary rotation, allowing every intern at least basic exposure to both programs.

Patients at LSH are provided a full range of psychiatric services that may include: social detoxification, psychosocial rehabilitation, co-occurring disorders treatment, activity therapy, medication management, forensic evaluation, case management, vocational training, behavior support plans, psychotherapy, group therapy, clinical evaluation and discharge planning. All programs/units provide treatment using an interdisciplinary treatment team. Clinical departments who are members of the treatment teams, including psychiatry, psychology (who generally serve as treatment team facilitators), social services and nursing. Other clinical department members at LSH include: activity therapy, clinical chaplaincy, dietary, clinic/laboratory services and pharmacy.

The Department of Psychology at LSH is comprised of caring and competent practitioners. The Director of Psychology is a licensed psychologist who has oversight of all psychology services at LSH. The director supervises three supervising psychologists (one for SSP, one for PSP and one for SPTP) who are responsible for the provision of all psychological services in his/her program. In addition, the Supervising Psychologists provide clinical supervision for psychology clerks (those who are completing a Bachelor's Degree), practicum students (those who are completing a Master's Degree), pre-doctoral interns (those completing a doctoral degree) and post-doctoral fellows (those obtaining the needed training and supervision hours for licensure). The department is composed of licensed doctoral psychologists, licensed master's level psychologists, post-doctoral fellows, clinical therapists, licensed addiction counselors and program consultants.

For the 2022-2023 internship class, secondary rotations were stopped due to COVID-19 precautions. It is unclear at this time if secondary rotations with be offered to the 2023-2024 internship class and will be decided by the internship faculty based on the need for COVID-19 precautions as the year progresses. Each intern will spend the entire year on either the State Security Program or the Psychiatric Services Program. There is one internship position on the Psychiatric Services Program and two internship positions on the State Security Program. Interns spend four hours each week in didactic training and group supervision (Friday afternoons). The strong emphasis on training and professional development provide a rich experience for Larned State Hospital interns.

Psychology interns are matched to a primary rotation in one of the following programs:

1. The Psychiatric Services Program (PSP) provides care and treatment for adults from a 61-county catchment area. Most patients are admitted on an involuntary status after being found to be a mentally ill person who is a danger to self and/or others. All patients must be screened through his/her local mental health center before they can be admitted.
2. The State Security Program (SSP) serves patients who are criminally committed by the court system or transferred from the Kansas Department of Corrections for treatment. SSP provides court-ordered pre- and post-trial assessments (e.g. competency to stand trial assessments, pre-sentence evaluations, etc.), sexual predator evaluations, competency restoration treatment, treatment for patients found not guilty by reason of mental defect, and treatment in lieu of confinement. Also housed on SSP is the Security Behavior Unit (SBU) for civilly committed male patients who have severe behavioral disturbances including extreme aggressiveness. The SSP is the only forensic psychiatric hospital in the State of Kansas, and therefore accepts patients from all counties in the state.

The Director of Training is responsible for coordinating the application and selection process.  Applications are available on the APPIC website and the Director of Training provides proxy access to the training faculty for review of the electronic submissions.  One hard copy of each application is printed and stored by the administrative assistant to the Psychology Department. To be considered for an interview, an intern must have completed a minimum of two practica experiences, submit a redacted report, have prior experience working with an adult population, attend an APA accredited program, and have completed dissertation proposal.  Both in-person and videoconferencing interviews, utilizing Zoom or Facetime, are offered depending on COVID-19 protocols, all interviews may be performed by vidoeconference. Applicants are notified on or before December 15 of their interview status via email.  Final approval of all candidates is made by the intern selection committee (i.e., the Director of Training/Chair of the Internship, Vice Chair of the Internship, and the remaining internship faculty members).  LSH adheres to the procedures established by APPIC for offering psychology internship positions.  Written confirmation of an internship offer follows the match process. 

If selected as an intern, the LSH Human Resources Department will conduct fingerprinting, a criminal background check, and urinalysis drug test, at no cost to you. These steps need to be completed at least one month prior to the start of internship so they can be completed prior to the start of internship.  Certain previous felonies can impact a background check.  Failure to pass the Kansas Bureau of Investigation background check or drug screen will result in the internship at LSH being terminated (see APPIC Match Policy 6b).  If there are any questions regarding how previous convictions and current prescription use of medication may impact your ability to pass a KBI background check and/or a drug test, please contact LSH Human Resources at 620-285-4380.

Interns are classified as temporary employees and an annual stipend of $24,003.20, plus eligibility for employer sponsored health insurance, vacation and sick time off. Pending availability, interns can also receive free on-campus housing.

• Robin Karp, Psy.D., LP
  SSP Supervising Psychologist
  620-804-2077
  Fax: 620-285-4579

 

• David Barnum, Ph.D.
  SSP Clinical Director / Director of Clinical Training
  620-804-2165
  Fax: 620-285-4579

 

• Debra Vondracek, Psy.D.
  PSP Clinical / Doctoral Internship Director
  620-804-1020
  Fax: 620-285-4248

 

• Rebecca Farr, Psy.D., LP
  SSP Psychologist III
  620-285-4069

The mission statement of the LSH Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is: To provide an integrated educational and supervisory approach in the on-going growth and maintenance of competent, proficient, scholar-practitioner modeled psychologists in service to Kansans in needs of mental health services.

Annual income is $49,200 plus eligibility for employer sponsored health insurance, vacation and sick time off.

• Robin Karp, Psy.D., L.P
  Director of Psychology
  620-804-2077
  Fax: 620-285-4579

 

• David Barnum, Ph.D.
  Clinical Director / Director if Clinical Training
  620-804-2165
  Fax: 620-285-4579

 

• Debra Vondracek, PsyD
  Doctoral Internship Director
  620-804-1020
  Fax: 620-285-4248