Train At Pine Rest
Psychology Predoctoral Internship
Predoctoral Internship
Psychology Predoctoral Internship Program
Welcome to the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services pre-doctoral psychology internship! Here you will find helpful information about our top-notch training program, wonderful faculty and outstanding training facilities.
Our program has been fully accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1982.* We had our most recent site review in 2017 and were re-accredited, with our next self-study/site visit scheduled for 2027.
Match Numbers:
137011 Outpatient, SPMI, and SUD
137012 Outpatient, Neuro, SUD, and ASD
137013 Outpatient therapy, DBT, and psychological consultation
Predoctoral Psychology Internship
The Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship at Pine Rest offers the highest quality training to prepare interns for the professional practice of psychology. The training program is based on the Practitioner-Scholar Model, with an emphasis on preparation for independent clinical practice. We provide excellent clinical training in all 9 of APA’s profession-wide competencies and in our program-specific competency: Spirituality.
The Pine Rest internship is designed to allow interns an experience working across our continuum of care and with our multidisciplinary teams, including senior psychologists and psychiatrists, psychiatry residents, social workers, mid-level practitioners, and front-line staff. This training equips graduates with the competencies needed to obtain employment in a variety of applied clinical settings, doing a variety of tasks, from psychotherapy (individual, group, family and couples), assessment, consultation, applied research and quality improvement projects, and supervision. Our training incorporates individual and group supervision, optimal levels of patient contact and didactic seminars to maximize training experience.
Finally, all of this takes place in an organization where psychology is highly valued (e.g. the CEO is a psychologist) and where the general morale is high. Psychology interns are valued and respected members of the inter-disciplinary teams and are mentioned by supportive and expert psychology faculty.
About Pine Rest:
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services is one of the largest free-standing behavioral health organizations in the U.S., providing inpatient, outpatient and residential behavioral health services for over 100 years. (For more information, see our Fact Sheet .)
Pine Rest’s organizational mission is to express the healing ministry of Jesus Christ by providing behavioral health services with professional excellence, integrity and compassion. This mission is accomplished by:
- Providing an exceptional care experience for patients.
- Achieving superior clinical outcomes.
- Maintaining Pine Rest as a great place to work.
The internship training program offers a unique opportunity for interns to learn to effectively integrate spirituality and faith with empirically-supported psychological care.
The internship year begins the first Monday of July and is a 12-month full-time program for four interns. The current stipend is $36,000. Additionally, health insurance is provided to interns, along with vision and dental benefits. Interns have 14 days of paid time off, including sick days, dissertation-related activities, and vacation. There are also six paid holidays. Required textbooks are provided for free, and there is a $100 book allowance per intern for professional development.
Located in Beautiful Grand Rapids and West Michigan
All internship rotations are located in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, one of the hottest locations for new medical development. Since 2005, the Grand Rapids Medical Mile has been home to the Van Andel Institute (a world-class primary research facility), Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Grand Rapids Community College’s Calkins Science Center, Spectrum Health’s Butterworth Hospital complex, Grand Valley State University’s Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences and more.
Grand Rapids and the surrounding West Michigan area offers a friendly, welcoming community for families as well as singles and couples. Residents can enjoy both the vibrant downtown with plenty of museums, restaurants, theater, nightlife and festivals, as well as beautiful rural landscapes and peaceful suburbs with easy access to miles of beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline. There’s always something for everyone!
Key industries in the local community include:
- Medical
- Education
- Automotive
- Manufacturing
- Engineering
- Furniture
- Hospitality
- And many more
Housing is very affordable and there are excellent school districts in the immediate area.
The beaches of Lake Michigan are only a 40 minute drive away from Grand Rapids. West Michigan is home to numerous natural wonders including swimming, golfing, boating, biking and sightseeing.
There are also cultural opportunities such as ArtPrize which engages the whole community. We believe that our staff and residents should enjoy a balanced life as well as a comprehensive education, and be a part of this welcoming environment. Here are a few of the latest headlines about the great things happening in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We invite you to see it for yourself!
- #1 – Best Places to Raise a Family (Rocket Homes)
- #1 – Metro for Living a Balanced Lifestyle (MagnifyMoney, 2018)
- #1 – Housing Market in the U.S. (Trulia, 2018)
- #6 – 25 Best Affordable Places to Live in the U.S. (US News & World Report, 2019)
- #9 – Hottest Hipster Market in U.S. (Realtor.com, 2017)
- #10 – Annual International Housing Affordability Survey (Demographia, 2019)
- #13 – Best Place to Live in U.S. (US News & World Report, 2019)
- #21 – Top 100 Places To Live (Livability.com, 2020)
- Grand Rapids named one of the best places to live in the country (U.S. News & World Report, 2022-23)
Grand Rapids Events & Resources
- Hello West Michigan – Information on relocating to West Michigan
- Experience Grand Rapids – Things to do, places to see and more in West Michigan
- GR Now – A great site with restaurants, events and local entertainment
- Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce – Businesses, events and life in Grand Rapids
- The Right Place – Economic development corporation for West Michigan
- West Michigan Tourist Association – Travel, lodging and vacation ideas
- Grand Rapids Association of Realtors – Homes for sale and more information about living in West Michigan
- 2021 Best of Grand Rapids Readers’ Poll
- Local news and information
Gerald R. Ford International Airport – Offering 100+ nonstop daily flights


*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: apaaccred@apa.org
Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation