Counseling
Training Program: Philosophy
Internship is a time to continue the development of professional skills and to make the transition from graduate student to professional. The internship program offers training in a variety of areas related to the profession of psychology. We attempt to provide an atmosphere that is conducive to learning by providing interns with an appropriate blend of support and challenge. We see interns as emerging professionals and treat them accordingly, giving a great deal of autonomy and responsibility. At the same time, we try to provide the professional and emotional support necessary to allow for growth and development. We focus on interns' "growth edges" and attempt to facilitate interns' growth throughout the course of the year.
The internship focuses on the intern developing remedial, developmental, and preventative skills. The following areas are the primary focus during the internship:
- Intake Interviewing and Assessment
- Crisis Intervention Skills
- Individual Psychotherapy
- Couples Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Outreach Programming
- Consultation
- Professional Ethics
- Supervision of Practicum Trainees
- Substance Abuse Counseling
- Gender Issues
- Multicultural Counseling
While there is a basic "core" program of training, interns are encouraged to tailor-make their intern experience to meet their specific needs. Interns have the opportunity to customize their training in terms of the types of clients that they work with, the types of outreach programs and consultation projects that they undertake, and the types of groups that they run.
The Center staff offers a diversity of theoretical orientations to which interns are exposed: psychodynamic, gestalt, experiential, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, feminist, interpersonal, and eclectic. They also possess a wide variety of professional interests in areas such as: clinical hypnosis, eating disorders, math anxiety, multicultural issues, men's issues, women's issues, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered concerns, stress management, couples/marital therapy, and group therapy.
Evaluation and feedback is an important part of the internship experience. Clinical supervisors, group supervisors, and members of the training staff evaluate and provide feedback to interns twice each semester (at mid-term and again at the end of the semester). This feedback focuses on the development and progress of each intern, with the focus always being on helping interns identify areas of strength and areas for growth. Interns, in turn, evaluate their clinical supervisors and the training program once each semester.