PhD (Psychology) Internship

1. Research Architecture, & Topic Refinement (50 hours)

Narrowing broad interests into a precise, meaningful research topic
Understanding feasibility vs. passion in topic selection
Working through confusion, overwhelm & research paralysis
Structuring a research roadmap that is realistic and sustainable
Identifying gaps in existing literature to build a unique contribution
Managing self-doubt, perfectionism, and fear of “not knowing enough”
Learning how to keep research aligned with long-term academic goals

2. Academic Writing Mastery, PhD Resilience & Publication Preparation (50 hours)

Developing clear academic writing that reflects analytical depth
Learning how to move from “draft thoughts” to structured academic sections
Creating a consistent writing rhythm without burnout
Managing writer’s block, procrastination, and imposter syndrome
Understanding what makes a manuscript publication-ready
Preparing abstracts, literature reviews & conceptual papers
Building a PhD portfolio that represents scholarly identity and research vision

3. Future Pathways for PhD Scholars (14 hours)

Career routes in therapy, academia & applied research
Identifying your niche & long-term professional identity
Turning your PhD work into meaningful specialization
Building visibility: publishing, presenting & collaborations
Navigating common PhD challenges & sustaining growth

4. Literature Review Mastery, Research Systematisation & Insight Mapping (65 hours)

Building a strong annotated bibliography that actually guides your research
Extracting insights and theoretical patterns from 100+ research papers
Conducting a systematic and thematic literature review
Identifying debates, gaps, contradictions & emerging directions
Theme clustering and creating visual research maps
Organising literature into conceptual buckets that strengthen your thesis
Using AI tools ethically for summarisation, organisation, and insight extraction
Translating scattered literature into a coherent, publishable review

5. Expert Interviewing, Insight Building & Case Understanding (30 hours)

Insight-focused interviewing
Extracting emotional themes and hidden narratives
Identifying core beliefs, defense patterns, and unmet needs
Structured interviewing formats for deep understanding

6. Presentation Skills & Viva Readiness (31 hours)

Preparing conference-level presentations
Handling difficult academic questions
Structuring your scholarly narrative
Building confidence for viva/defence

Internship Outputs

Refined PhD research topic + structured research roadmap
Drafted literature review with annotated bibliography
2–3 expert/participant-style interview transcripts with insight themes
Academic writing samples (abstract, conceptual section, or paper outline)
Conference-ready presentation deck + viva preparation notes