Letters of recommendation for students applying for psychology internships in 2016 must now be in a standardized format. Here's what students need to know.
By Alice G. Walton
July/August 2015, Vol 46, No. 7
Print version: page 48
Walton, A. G. (2015, July 1). To the letter. Monitor on Psychology, 46(7). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/07-08/graduate-letter
Heather Sheets, PsyD, campus dean at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, has watched "letter inflation" for years. Supervisors, faculty and others who write letters of recommendation for psychology students applying for internships often heap on the praise and omit students' weaknesses for fear that they might harm a student's chances of getting an internship,
"As a former internship director, I'd get letters saying, ‘Applicant A is in the top 5 percent of students I've trained,' and ‘Applicant B is in the top 5 percent of students I've trained,'" Sheets says. "Everyone is always in the top 5 percent!"
Eliminating such inflation is among the reasons that the Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC) moved to standardize recommendation letters for applicants applying for internships beginning with students who are applying for 2016 internships.
Canadian schools have used standardized letters for over a decade, with great success. "With one or two exceptions most Canadian programs use it," says Rupal Bonli, PhD, training director of the residency/internship program at the Saskatoon Health Region Psychology Residency Program, and past president of the Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs. "As a training director I really like it. Most letters are informative, fair and always helpful to help better determine the fit between where the student's skills are at and what the internship site can offer. Overall, there is consensus in Canada that it has been an extremely useful form."
The new American version of the letter — the Standardized Reference Form (SRF) — is already available on the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) website for evaluators to complete and upload through the Reference Portal (go to APPIC, then scroll down to the "Reference Portal").
In the form, the letter writers complete several short response sections based on their knowledge of a student's competencies in the following areas: evidence-based practice in intervention and assessment; communication and interpersonal skills; professional values and attitudes, ethical and legal standards, and reflective practice; individual and cultural diversity; research; consultation/interprofessional/interdisciplinary and supervision; and other work skills and personal resources. The form also includes a brief section where letter writers discuss areas for growth and development, and a summary section, where the letter writers can note their strength of recommendation.
The new format for letters of recommendation should help internship directors more quickly and thoroughly compare students, says Tony Cellucci, PhD, clinical professor and director of the PASS Clinic at East Carolina University and co-chair of the workgroup on the CCTC that helped to draft the new template.
Under the current letter system, "a narrative format is used, and there is no standard as to what kinds of information to include," he says. "It was very difficult for programs to read the letters and quickly get a sense of the student, and be able to compare across areas."
The standardized format will enable letter writers to express a student's capacities and promise, as well as identify his or her "growth edges," or areas where the student needs development. That latter addition will, understandably, make some nervous, but educators say it will level the playing field and help create more accurate matches in the long run.
"Reference letters are by their nature positive," adds Cellucci, "and standardizing the format is not expected to affect match statistics."
Three groups have spearheaded the new initiative — the CCTC, APPIC and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS). They hope the new letters will ultimately create a more accurate portrait of the applicant.
"As an internship director myself," says APPIC Chair-elect Jennifer Cornish, PhD, "I've often found that the letters are almost always positive, which is great, but it's not always possible to determine whether the candidate is going to be a good fit with internship site, or what areas need development. Letter writers are often worried about saying anything negative, given the internship imbalance. The form is designed so that it levels the playing field. Everyone now has to talk about ‘growth edges.'"
That might be anxiety-provoking for students, but educators say, everyone has areas where they can grow — that is, after all, what an internship is about. The goal is to facilitate better matches.
"Any type of change is going to cause tension," says Candice Crowell, assistant professor of counseling psychology at the University of Kentucky and former APAGS representative on the initiative. "But it's in our best interest as students to be equitably evaluated."
Standardizing the letters of recommendation should reduce inflation, bias, and the fear on the part of evaluators that they might damage a student's chances of matching by mentioning areas for growth. And, of course, the core of the letter is arranged around the student's competences. "As an internship director, you want to know what growth edges there are," says Sheets. "You don't want a student that doesn't have any growth edges. That's just not possible. Or it may mean you get someone who's not open to learning."
APAGS plans to blog about the change, and send out information via its listserv to help students become aware of the new format and make the transition smoothly. There is an FAQ section on APPIC's site to explain the change and answer questions for both students and letter writers.
Students who are applying for internships in 2016 should alert their prospective letter writers about the new letters as soon as possible. "Starting in the fall or before, submit the form to your letter writers, and say, ‘This is how I'm going to be evaluated this year,'" says Crowell.
Also, talk continuously with your letter writers about your development and growth edges. "Students should be going to their advisors and saying, ‘These are the growth edges I think I have — do you agree?'" recommends Crowell. "You shouldn't go to them at the end of year to talk about growth edges. These are something to be worked on every week in supervision."
In fact, says Sheets, you should be talking about your growth edges in your application essay as well. "You can talk about things like, ‘This is how I struggled, this is what I'm working on, and this is what I need to continue working on during internship with my supervisor.'"
Finally, keep in mind that the field of psychology constantly seeks ways to improve itself. Acknowledging areas where we need to grow is beneficial to everyone.
"As a profession, we shouldn't shy away from our own learning," says Sheets. "We have to be constantly sharpening our skill sets, and keeping up with the literature and research to inform our clinical skills. As a profession we should be modeling the expectation of growth, and making sure that's continued in our students."
Alice G. Walton is a journalist in New York.
