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Tina Goldstein, PhD (Pittsburgh Foundation Endowed Professor in Psychiatry Research, and Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Psychology), and Michele Levine, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Psychology), co-directed the Department of Psychiatry’s Clinical Psychology Internship Program for more than 10 years. In 2025, Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Levine concluded their outstanding leadership of the program, transitioning its direction to Rebecca Price, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Psychology), and Leslie Horton, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology). 

We recently spoke with Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Levine about their tenure as co-directors. They described the program’s legacy since its direction by Paul Pilkonis, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology) and Marsha Marcus, PhD (Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry), including major strengths in training structure, community, and collaboration, which have been cultivated as essential guideposts. “We inherited a program that we were both fortunate to have graduated from, which has a long-established, incredible tradition of training and support,” said Dr. Levine. 

In addition, they spoke about the development of new initiatives and areas of opportunity for interns, as well as the program’s bright future under the leadership of Dr. Price and Dr. Horton.

How do you foster and maintain deep collaborations in the program?

The clinical psychology internship has a foundational philosophy that scaffolding is tremendously helpful, particularly as people launch their careers in a new city. We developed a big siblings program so that each of our five incoming interns are paired with a clinical mentor who also serves as a role model and support. This initiative is led by two psychology intern alums, Karen Jakubowski, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology), and Mary Woody, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who thoughtfully pair interns with early-career faculty members to provide academic mentorship, general guidance, and local knowledge. 

Overall, it has been important to foster this large community of psychological clinical scientists in our Department. The community is quite a force and we’re proud of that! A few years ago, we had a Zoom reunion for graduates going back to the 1980s, and it was nice for interns, postdocs, and faculty to reflect on this thread that binds us together, and highlights the far-reaching legacy of the program. 

Describe some of the work you did to integrate clinical psychological science training with other training programs in the Department.

We’re lucky to be in a department that trains many different clinicians. Early in our tenure as co-directors, we worked with the Office of Residency Training and the clinical fellowship leaders to think creatively about new initiatives to bridge the psychology interns with residents and fellows. We knew they were meeting each other on clinical service units, and their skills are so complementary. We formalized the ways in which the residents now teach interns about pharmacotherapy through a training series led by Holly Swartz, MD (Professor of Psychiatry). Residents receive didactic instruction and supervision in evidence-based psychotherapy approaches by former psychology interns and internship training committee members. The family therapy training clinic is another program in which residents and psychology interns train and provide care together, which further strengthens learning and interdisciplinary collaboration.

And the interns and residents participate in social events together as well, which is helpful for those who are new to Pittsburgh, and builds community.

How have you provided support around interns’ clinical service?

Over the years we have navigated together some thorny clinical issues and systemic changes. We have weekly group supervision that includes the co-directors and the five interns. During these meetings, we talk about interns’ experiences over the week, and provide clinical supervision, but also ensure that everyone has opportunity to talk about challenges and support one another in navigating changes. It's definitely a growth year for the interns.

In addition to Friday supervision, each intern selects a licensed psychologist faculty member with whom they meet weekly to discuss their career trajectories, clinical work, and generally receive guidance and support. We also aim to foster peer support, because we know that the year (and career) is not going to be a nine-to-five job.

Tell me about the work you’ve done to enhance the training timeline.

The National Institute of Mental Health-sponsored Clinical Research Training for Psychologists T32 program (directed by Dr. Levine), which is a next step for many interns, was recently renewed for another five years and includes an additional postdoctoral training slot. And the NIMH Child Mental Health T32 program (directed by Dr. Goldstein) has multiple postdoctoral and predoctoral spots as well. These opportunities help bring great minds into the Department!

As partners—one of us focusing on youth mental health and the other on adults—we have also been able to bring a lifespan perspective to both the internship and the postdoctoral programs. That has helped us grow the program in terms of clinical rotations and continues to attract some of the most promising clinical scientists in the field to our Department. Sometimes our system can be a bit siloed, but having relationships in clinics throughout the system that complement one another has helped open doors for our trainees. 

How were cultural humility training and DICE developed?

The Diversity, Inclusivity, Cultural Humility, and Equity Committee, known as DICE, began in 2019, and has become an incredibly important part of the internship. The program now includes cultural humility training that impacts every aspect of the program, thanks to the work of Sarah Pedersen, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Clinical and Translational Science, and Psychology), and many others, as well as critical support from our Department Chair. DICE meets monthly, and every year new interns are invited to join the DICE committee, which enables us to be responsive to trainees’ needs.

Any words of wisdom for the new co-directors?

We came into this directorship role by inheriting a tremendous program. As much as we will miss being so closely connected to future intern classes, we’re excited because this program is in great hands with Dr. Price and Dr. Horton, and we're excited to see where they take it. It is truly an honor to help guide the next generation of clinical scientists! 

Thank you, Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Levine!