CHOC Children’s has received a seven-year reaccreditation for the hospital’s pre-doctoral internship in pediatric psychology, ensuring future practicing psychologists receive the highest quality training to meet the unique needs of medically fragile children and their families.
The reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA) is based on an 18-month national review that includes a 200-page report prepared by faculty members, students, staff and contributors, and an intensive, two-day site visit.
“The reaccreditation lets the public know that they are getting services from individuals who have a high level of training and meet certain training requirements before they even begin their time at CHOC,” said Heather Huszti, Ph.D., director of psychology training, CHOC.
Aside from traditional outpatient psychotherapy and assessment, interns also develop specialized skills for treating medically fragile children through four subspecialties: oncology, neurology, endocrinology and young child development.
CHOC’s seven-year accreditation, which is the highest amount of years granted by the APA, demonstrates the hospital’s adherence to quality training in the area of psychology intervention and assessment. It also recognizes the hard work and dedication of faculty, staff and students, and their passion for serving the clinical needs of CHOC’s patients, said Dr. Huszti.
Since 1992, CHOC has been one of the leading accredited internships in the state of California that provides specialized training to developing pediatric psychology students to serve the needs of medically fragile children in a hospital setting.
