Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center
The Clinical Psychology Internship Program at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (WHASC) is located at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (JBSA), San Antonio, Texas. Established in 1968, it has been continuously accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1971 and has been a Member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) since 1976. We are the oldest and largest of the Air Force Psychology Internship training programs. Each year, we accept 8-12 interns who, upon graduation, go on to guaranteed clinical psychology positions in the Air Force. As of October 2025, we have graduated a total of 580 interns and can rightfully claim that we have trained more military psychologists than any other training program.
We emphasize broad-based clinical psychology professional training within a major military ambulatory surgical center alongside the Air Force’s largest Psychiatry Residency Program. These resources plus 36 other graduate medical training programs and 24 graduate allied healthcare training programs create a stimulating environment for professional psychology training and interdisciplinary teamwork. The program emphasizes empirically-based intervention and assessment practices. In addition to traditional training in assessment and therapy, we offer state of the art programs in health psychology, primary care behavioral consultation and evidence-based treatment for PTSD (Prolonged Exposure & Cognitive Processing Therapy). Interns are familiarized with mental health targeted care initiatives aimed at mitigating access to care challenges. Interns learn neuropsychological screening and assessment strategies essential for working with individuals at risk for post-traumatic head injury. They gain invaluable experience in crisis intervention and triage, provide psychological consultation to organizational leadership regarding fitness for duty of individual military members as well as provide prevention and outreach programs in a community psychology context. The program also provides unique training in applying a systematic approach to assessing and addressing community concerns regarding health risk behaviors in target populations through its weekly Population Health Seminar.
Location: Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, 3rd Floor, Section C
Phone: (210) 292-4739
Email: dha.jbsa.brooke-amc.list.saushec-afcpip@health.mil
Facebook: Wilford Hall Air Force Psychology Internship
Overview
Program Length: One year. Interns typically work 45-50 hours per week for the duration of the one-year program.
Accreditation Status: The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1971. The program is accredited through 2034 based on our latest 10-year re-accreditation by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation. Questions related to the program's accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:
Office of Program Consultation & Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Phone: (202) 336-5979 / email: apaaccred@apa.org
Number of Intern Positions Available Each Year: 8-12
APPIC Affiliation #158911: The Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center Clinical Psychology Internship program is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers and follows APPIC policies on internship offers and acceptances. We participate in the APPIC Matching Program. Details of the APPIC program and policies can be viewed on APPIC's website. APPIC's mailing address is:
AAPIC Central Office, 17225 El Camino Real, Suite #170
Houston, TX 77058-2748
Phone: (832) 284-4080
Training Director:
Lt Col Elizabeth Najera, Ph.D.
Lt Col Najera completed her Clinical Psychology Residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas in 2005 and received her Ph.D. in psychology from Texas Tech University. Lt Col Najera has previously served as a group executive, staff officer, and four-time mental health flight commander.
In addition, Lt Col Najera led the Air Force’s Primary Care Behavioral Health program at the Air Force MedicalOperations Agency (AFMOA). Lt Col Najera was later selected as the Chief Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) Psychologist at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany and wasresponsible for the United States European Command’s Reintegration and Post-Isolation Support Activities(PISA). She also served as a Medical Group Biomedical Sciences Corps Executive at the 15th Medical Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Prior to her current position, she was the Behavioral Analysis Service Flight Commander at the 559th Trainee Health Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland.
