Brattleboro Retreat’s Psychology Internship Program Accredited

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — The Brattleboro Retreat announced that its psychology internship program has been awarded a full seven-year accreditation from the American Psychological Assoc. (APA) Commission on Accreditation (CoA).

APA-CoA is recognized by both the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the national accrediting authority for professional education and training in psychology.

“This is nothing short of national recognition for the high-quality treatment and training that takes place at the Brattleboro Retreat,” said Kurt White, the Retreat’s director of Ambulatory Services. “Very few APA-accredited training programs are available in Vermont, and this will certainly help us attract the most qualified interns from across the U.S. to come here to train and work with us.” 

The Retreat launched its psychology internship program in 2011. Since then, 14 individuals have completed the year-long commitment, working 40 hours per week in various programs, including the Retreat’s uniformed service program, Birches Treatment Center, and pain management program as part of their doctoral training in professional psychology.

The rigorous process of achieving APA accreditation required the Retreat to submit a detailed self-study designed to assess the internship program’s ability to meet APA accreditation requirements and also to gauge the Retreat’s overall ability to support a quality training environment. 

Following approval of the self-study, APA-selected site visitors conducted a two-day survey in late 2017 that included meetings with hospital administrators, faculty, and students. An accreditation determination was then made following an extensive APA committee review of all documents and findings. 

“A great deal of work was involved in making this happen, especially on the part of Retreat clinicians Frank Gallo, Ph.D., and Jilisa Snyder, Ph.D.,” added White. “We’re very proud of the outcome and excited to look forward and see how the internship program will develop and grow.”