Research psychology interns' formative training experiences

This article uses in-depth, open-ended individual interviews and a 'contextualist method'-based thematic analysis to explicate the training experiences of eight research psychology post-interns. The experiences present internships within a specific training site as a messy and complex experience, as a process of professional socialisation, and as a space that evokes uncertainty about career identity, career opportunities, and financial independence. While there was some variability in how participants made sense of their unstructured transition into a trans-disciplinary professional space, their talk highlighted the troubling and affirming emotions inherent to the process of professional socialisation and the influences of life choices and financial considerations on professional decisions. Structured supervisory support may be crucial within life-oriented internship training.