CONTACT
Sonaly Silva, Psy.D.
Assistant Director for Training
702-895-3627
christeensonaly.silva@unlv.edu
Dylan Vas, M.A.
Clinical Supervisor: Alyssa Newman, Psy.D.
Dylan (He/Him) was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and obtained his bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Oregon in 2017. He has also completed a master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Denver in 2019. Dylan is currently completing his Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver. In therapy work, Dylan integrates behavioral, humanistic, solution-focused, contextual, and multicultural models. He is passionate about maximizing performance – whether in athletics, academics, or performing arts. Further, he centers his approach with cultural humility, identity inclusivity, learning, and collaboration. With free time, Dylan enjoys playing and watching sports, reading, cooking, hiking, calling his friends, and playing video games with his partner.
Eli Feldman, M.S.
Clinical Supervisor: Emily Slife, Ph.D.
Eli Feldman (He/Him) is completing his doctorate at the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium, where he earned his Masters degree in 2021. Eli defended his dissertation in 2023, which focused on the therapeutic alliance in couples therapy. He earned his BA in psychology from Yale University in 2016. Eli has extensive experience working with couples, attachment trauma, childhood abuse, and behavior change/substance abuse. He utilizes an integrative approach, drawing most often from time-limited Psychodynamic, Motivational Interviewing, and Emotion Focused Therapy for couples. He also draws on aspects of CBT, Narrative Therapy, and ACT. In his free time, Eli enjoys playing tennis, reading interesting thought pieces, and tending to his oversized succulent garden.
Riley Harper, M.S.
Clinical Supervisor: Michael Browning, Psy.D.
Riley (He/Him) received a BS in Psychology at BYU–Idaho, and a MS in Counseling from Cal State–Fullerton. He is a fifth-year Counseling Psychology doctoral student at Iowa State University where his clinical interests include meaning making, recovery, trauma, relationships, personal empowerment, and identity development. His approach to counseling incorporates psychodynamic theory and interpersonal process therapy from a feminist and queer-affirming lens with a touch of cognitive techniques.
Sophia Ramirez, M.A.
Clinical Supervisor: Cheryl Chakranarayan, Ph.D.
Sophia Ramirez (She/Her) is a doctoral intern from Alliant International University, CSPP. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Chapman University and her master's degree in clinical psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Pepperdine University.
Sophia has experience working with diverse individuals and families across the life span. She has experience working with individuals, couples, and families struggling with life transitions, anxiety, depression, substance use and severe mental health issues. Sophia’s objectives include using a strengths-based approach, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and structural family therapy.
Sophia believes in walking alongside her clients on their journey of growth by creating an empathic, non-judgmental, and collaborative space. Her approach is to meet clients where they are and support them in regulating their emotions, creating more compassion for themselves, finding more capacity to feel the hard emotions, and developing more understanding of how to cope with the many challenges of life while making more room for connection, purpose, and happiness.
The professional staff at CAPS consists of psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed couple and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, psychological assistants, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and a care manager. Additionally, there are a number of administrative staff and student workers who support the clinical staff and assist in CAPS operations. Each year, we typically have approximately 4-5 graduate-level practicum counselors and four doctoral interns.
The primary goal of CAPS services is to provide high quality services and programs that assist the students of UNLV with educational, social, and personal concerns that may interfere with their academic and developmental progress. We strive to provide quality, multiculturally-skilled, and wellness-focused counseling, training, education, research, consultation and outreach services in order to promote student academic success, healthy student development and to positively impact the university culture.
Our clinicians specialize in dealing with problems commonly experienced by college students of all ages and backgrounds. We collaborate with students to increase self-understanding and develop the skills necessary to overcome personal concerns that interfere with their academic functioning. In providing clinical services, the staff attends to remedial, developmental, and situational concerns, recognizing that the interaction between the stress associated with the academic environment and individual developmental periods may lead to problems that can be alleviated through brief therapeutic interventions.
Services and Program Objectives:
- Provide initial assessment and recommendations concerning student problems
- Provide crisis assessment, intervention, and follow-up care for students who present at risk for harm
- Provide effective brief clinical interventions to assist students in managing their personal and mental health problems so that they can return to their previous level of functioning
- Provide psychological services sensitive to the cultural and individual diversity of students
- Provide quality services in as short a time as possible
- Provide necessary referral to community providers for students who present with conditions that are beyond CAPS’ scope of services
- Provide assessment, documentation, and referrals in the interest of supporting students’ academic standing
- Provide consultation to students, parents, and spouses of students whose education at the University has been disrupted by personal problems
- Provide consultation and educational services to University faculty and staff for the assistance and referral of students who may be in personal distress
- Provide educational programs, workshops and materials which increase student understanding of common psychological concerns and enable students to take responsibility to develop the personal management skills needed to succeed in the university environment
- Provide comprehensive training to UNLV graduate students who are pursuing careers in the mental health profession
- Provide consultation to students, faculty and staff on psychological processes and issues that will enhance learning and academic success
- Provide ongoing quality assurance of services and programs
Student Wellness Mission Statement
The mission of Student Wellness is to advance the optimal wellness of UNLV students, thereby enhancing their lives and their academic success. To fulfill our mission, Student Wellness affirms the importance of working in partnership with the greater university community; respecting individual differences and cultural diversity; and providing quality services and programs that address the physical, emotional, social, environmental, intellectual, spiritual, and occupational dimensions of life.
CAPS Staff
The professional staff consists of psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed couple and family therapists, psychological assistants, a psychiatrist, two psychiatric nurses, and a care manager. Additionally, there are a number of administrative staff and student workers who support the clinical staff and assist in CAPS operations. Each year, we typically have approximately 4-5 graduate-level practicum counselors and four doctoral interns.
UNLV CAPS adheres to the procedures established by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) for the recruitment and selection of doctoral interns. The internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. APPIC Code: 2293
CAPS is part of the Student Wellness cluster, which embraces balanced, holistic health, and wellness. The doctoral internship is designed to train interns to be competent, entry-level generalist psychologists. The internship training program emphasizes professional identity development, ethical decision making, and multicultural competence. CAPS provide a setting in which interns increase and ;strengthen their abilities to practice psychology throughout their year. Interns successfully complete their internship when they reach a skill level of intermediate to advanced competence practice defined by having a sufficient ability to practice core skills without ongoing supervision. Training involves developing both core skills, and a positive professional identity that is essential for the work of an entry level psychologist. Interns work with a multidisciplinary staff who offer diverse backgrounds and various theoretical orientations, including evidence-based treatments. Interns have the opportunity to work within a university counseling center that includes a Behavioral Health Team, which serves as a bridge between the Student Health Center and CAPS to offer collaborative and integrated care. Interns gain experience by participating in a wide range of supervised professional activities within a large, urban, and diverse university counseling center, including:
- Individual, couples, and group therapy from a brief treatment model.
- Crisis assessment and intervention.
- Assessment and diagnosis.
- Individual Supervision.
- Group Supervision (Supervision of Supervision, and Case Conference)
- Seminars (Multicultural Seminar, Outreach & Consultation Seminar, Clinical and Professional Issues Seminar, and Professional Development Seminar).
- Provision of Supervision.
- Case management and referrals to community mental health care.
- Outreach, educational workshops and presentations, and consultations across the campus.
- Research, training, professional development, and other activities.
- Attendance and participation in staff, Clinical Assessment Team (consultation), Joint Provider (Student Health Center), and Cluster (Student Wellness unit) meetings
- Rotation Areas: Behavioral Health, Trauma, LGBTQ+, Sport Psychology, and Eating Disorders. Rotations include one hour of individual ;supervision/week with licensed staff.
UNLV CAPS Internship Competencies
The internship training program at UNLV CAPS reflects APA’s required Profession Wide Competencies for internship programs listed in the Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation, 2015).
Competencies of CAPS Psychology Internship Program:
- Research
- Ethical and Legal Standards
- Individual and Cultural Diversity
- Professional Values and Attitudes;
- Communication and Interpersonal Skills
- Assessment
- Intervention
- Individual Therapy
- Crisis Intervention
- Group Therapy
- Supervision
- Consultation and Inter professional/Interdisciplinary
Program Disclosure
After applicants successfully match to our site, they must also do a background check and screening for eligibility requirements. This is a standard procedure for all UNLV employees as doctoral interns are classified as UNLV staff. Further information is available here:
Internship Program Admissions
Briefly describe in narrative form important information to assist potential applicants in assessing their likely fit with your program. This description must be consistent with the program’s policies on intern selection and practicum and academic preparation requirements
The University of Nevada-Las Vegas Student and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is currently accepting applications for four full-time, one-year, paid (2000 hour) positions for the 2024- 2025 internship year. All the internship training is based on a Practitioner-Scholar model with a primary emphasis on competence in the practice of professional psychology that is influenced by the science of psychology. Theory, research, and practice mutually inform each other. Interns are guided and encouraged in their pursuit of observing, inferring, formulating, and evaluating clinical hypotheses. The integration of science and practice is encouraged through the use of seminars, readings from scholarly publications, generating clinical hypotheses to explore in supervision, learning the empirical bases that guide the use of comprehensive assessment, and participating in professional development activities on best current practices in clinical practice. A part of competent practice also includes being informed about the influential and current theoretical and research-bases of psychology and other related fields, especially evidence-based treatment.
| Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at time of application? If Yes, indicate how many: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total Direct Contact Intervention Hours | Yes | Amount: 400 |
| Total Direct Contact Assessment Hours | No | Amount: 0 |
Describe Any Other Required Minimum Criteria Used to Screen Applicants
Required Qualifications
We do not require any additional supplemental materials other than what is part of the standard AAPI. Please send an electronic copy of all materials via the AAPI website.
We require applicants to have the following:
- Applicants must be enrolled in a program currently accredited by APA or CPA or enrolled in a program that has successfully COMPLETED at least one of the following concrete accreditation milestones by the application deadline:
-
- Submitted for Intent to Apply status
- Submitted an accreditation self-study
- Has been granted an APA/CPA accreditation site visit
-
- 400 hours (minimum) AAPI intervention hours
- Interns who match to our site must have successfully completed all required coursework (specified by their academic program) prior to the start of internship.
- Doctoral comprehensive exams must be passed by ranking deadline.
- Applicants should include as part of their AAPI three references, at least one of whom must have served as a clinical supervisor or directly observed some of the applicant's clinical work.
- Dissertation proposal must be approved by start of internship.
Preferred Qualifications
- Clinical experience with college student population preferred.
- UNLV CAPS seeks individuals who are team players, have strong communication skills, practice good self-care, are open to learning, value consultation and supervision, and value self-reflection as a tool for professional development.
Application Procedures
APPIC Match Number: 2293
Refer to the for more details and complete application instructions for applying online. All application materials listed below are uploaded via the APPIC applicant portal. We do not accept any paper materials. Interested candidates should submit:
- Completed AAPI online.
- Cover letter.
- Current curriculum vitae.
- Official graduate transcript(s).
- The Academic Program’s Verification of Internship Eligibility and Readiness.
- Three letters of recommendation, with at least two from clinical supervisors who will speak directly about the quality of your clinical work and your engagement in clinical supervision.
- Background check upon hire, based on Student Wellness requirements.
All materials must be submitted for review online by November 15, 2024. This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. We will notify applicants of selection for an interview by December 16, 2024. Interviews will be conducted by zoom and will be set up and conducted in early-mid January 2025. APPIC Phase I Match Day is Friday, February 21, 2025.
We will notify applicants of selection for an interview by December 16, 2024. Interviews will be conducted by zoom and will be set up and conducted in early-mid January 2025.
APPIC Phase I Match Day is Friday, February 21, 2025.
Financial and Other Benefit Support for Upcoming Training Year*
| Annual Stipend/Salary for Full-time Interns | $45,000 |
|---|---|
| Annual Stipend/Salary for Half-time Interns | N/A |
| Program provides access to medical insurance for intern? | Yes |
If access to medical insurance is provided:
| Trainee contribution to cost required? | No |
|---|---|
| Coverage of family member(s) available? | Yes |
| Coverage of legally married partner available? | Yes |
| Coverage of domestic partner available? | Yes |
| Hours of Annual Paid Personal Time Off (PTO and/or Vacation) | 120 hours |
| Hours of Annual Paid Sick Leave | 80 hours |
| In the event of medical conditions and/or family needs that require extended leave, does the program allow reasonable unpaid leave to interns/residents in excess of personal time off and sick leave? | Yes |
Other Benefits (please describe): If an intern needs parental leave, they should consult with the Training Director as soon as feasible, who will consider a multitude of factors and come up with a plan that is in the best interest of the intern’s training needs, CAPS, cohort members, and UNLV.
Initial Post-Internship Positions
Provide an Aggregated Tally for the Preceding 3 Cohorts
| 2021-2024 | |
|---|---|
| Total # of interns who were in the 3 cohorts | 11 |
| Total # of interns who did not seek employment because they returned to their doctoral program/are completing doctoral degree | 1 |
For 2021-2024
| PD | EP | |
|---|---|---|
| Academic teaching | 0 | 0 |
| Community mental health center | 0 | 2 |
| Consortium | 0 | 0 |
| University Counseling Center | 0 | 6 |
| Hospital/Medical center | 0 | 0 |
| Veterans Affairs Health Care System | 0 | 0 |
| Psychiatric facility | 0 | 0 |
| Correctional facility | 0 | 0 |
| Health maintenance organization | 0 | 0 |
| School district/system | 0 | 0 |
| Independent practice setting | 1 | 1 |
| Other | 0 | 1 |
Note: “PD” = Post-doctoral residency position; “EP” = Employed Position. Each individual represented in this table should be counted only one time. For former trainees working in more than one setting, select the setting that represents their primary position.
The UNLV CAPS Doctoral Internship is a 2000-hour experience, with the expectation of 500 hours of direct service activities. Interns will be able to gain experience through a wide range of activities, some of which will be negotiated individually by each trainee based on their interest areas and the needs of the center. The doctoral internship in professional psychology includes these components:
Direct Service:
- Initial Consultations/ Intake Assessments
- Brief Individual and Couples Counseling;
- Group Counseling
- Crisis Services (4 hours per week)
- Supervision of a therapist in training
- Consultation
Training Activities:
- Training Seminars, including: Multicultural Seminar, Clinical Issues Seminar, Outreach & Consultation Seminar, and Teaching, Lifelong Learning, and Consultation Seminar
- Individual Supervision
- Group Supervision (Intern Case Conference, Supervision of Supervision)
Other Activities:
- Prep time/Admin time/Dissertation time
- Emphasis area related work depending on the intern interests and center needs
| Intern weekly Activities | Fall Hours/Week ܲܲ–D |
Spring Hours/Week Գܲ–M |
Summer Hours/Week Ѳ–Jܱ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Service | |||
| Individual/Couples Therapy* | 12-13 | 12-13 | 14 |
| Initial Consultations | 3-4 | 3-4 | 4 |
| Group Therapy | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Crisis Coverage | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Clinical Total *Hours will adjust depending on the number of groups |
20.5-21.5 | 20.5-21.5 | 23.5 |
| Other Service | |||
| Supervision of Practicum Student | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Outreach/Consultation | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Other Service Total | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Training | |||
| Clinical Issues Seminar | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Individual Supervision | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Supervision of Group Counseling | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Intern Case Conference (every other week) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| CAT Meeting | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Supervision Seminar/Sup of Sup (weekly) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Multicultural Seminar (every other week) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
| Emphasis Area Supervision | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
Teaching Lifelong Learning and Competency Seminar |
0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
|
Outreach Seminar (rotate every other week) |
0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Training Total | 8.5 | 8.5 | 6 |
| Support Activities | |||
| Dissertation/Research Time | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Administrative/Case Management | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Staff Meeting | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Support Activities Total | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Total | 40-41 | 40-41 | 40.5 |
The UNLV CAPS doctoral internship recognizes the importance of cultural and individual differences and diversity in the training of psychologists. The training program is committed to providing a rich multicultural experience for interns. As a campus community, U.S. News and World Report named UNLV as tied for the most diverse college campus in 2016-2017. Additionally, UNLV was designated as a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) by the U. S. Department of Education in December 2012. See the following links for additional information:
The University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) is a large, urban, and diverse campus located in the heart of Las Vegas. According to the 2013 US Census estimate, the population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 2,027,828. The 2018 Census reported that the racial composition of Las Vegas was 62.7% White, 32.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Black or African American, 6.7% Asian, 4.8% Multiracial, .7% Native American and .7% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. At UNLV, the main Paradise campus, where CAPS is located, is just over a mile east of the Las Vegas Strip.
UNLV is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer Committed to Achieving Excellence Through Diversity.
CAPS offers bilingual therapy (Spanish).
CAPS/Student Wellness has ADA approved wheelchair accommodations for doors, hallways, and an emergency wheelchair stairwell system (Evacu Trac).
The UNLV CAPS internship program has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since November 8, 2016. For questions related to the internship program’s accreditation status, please contact the APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First St., NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
Phone: 202-336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org