The internship year is a time of incredible evolution and transition in your professional growth. Our internship program is developed to facilitate this process for graduate students in counseling or clinical psychology. We designed the training program for interns who intend to enter professional positions in the general practice of psychology, as well as those wishing to work in a university setting.

Our training philosophy emphasizes the in-depth acquisition of core competencies. We also provide for a negotiation process that will allow for the development of other specialized skills, as outlined below. The Counseling Clinic's staff follows the Practitioner-Scholar training model. Consequently, research infuses the training program and actively informs our service delivery.

Furthermore, we adhere to a developmental perspective. We believe that in preparing to be a psychologist the intern should systematically increase her or his confidence and skills in providing a range of interventions to various client types and organizational systems. This objective is pursued through collaborative work with experienced professional staff and intensively supervised clinical practice.

We believe that individuals learn best when provided an opportunity to engage in self-exploration. Often at staff functions, limited personal self-disclosures occur. For example, during orientation, we often discuss the career path each member of the professional staff took in acquiring their degree and credentials. When discussing diversity issues, we also frequently share the impact of diversity on our personal and professional development. As an intern, you would be encouraged to participate in this process. Likewise, to the extent that personal difficulties interfere with service delivery, you may be asked to share relevant information in order to facilitate staff support and referral to community resources.

In keeping with the APA ethics code (section 7.04), no intern is required to participate in self-disclosure unless it is necessary "to evaluate or obtain assistance for students whose personal problems could reasonably be judged to be preventing them from performing their training- or professionally related activities in a competent manner or posing a threat to the student or others."

APPIC standards require that interns receive at least two hours of didactic training each week throughout the internship. Our training program provides three separate seminars that fulfill this requirement. The clinical seminar series consists of 2 one-hour seminars focused on different clinical topics. In recent years one seminar hour has been yoked with group supervision so that topics covered didactically in the seminar are reinforced and applied in the group supervision setting. Typically, this series focuses on strengthening case conceptualization skills in the fall and then moves on to the integration of interpersonal/relational/advanced process skills in the winter and spring. The other seminar hour is devoted to more general clinical topics determined by both relevance to service demands and intern developmental needs and interests. Interns (and the entire staff) also participate in a regular seminar focused on diversity issues. This seminar meets bi-monthly for 1 hour. This division of subject matter, of course, is somewhat misleading in that clinical issues must take diversity into account and diversity seminars focuses on effective clinical work with diverse populations, but the separate seminar series allow for a focused approach to each aspect of our work. Thus you will receive 2.5 hours of didactic training per week throughout the internship. Attendance at seminars is mandatory.

We recognize that for many students, internship is the last opportunity to acquire regular, structured, intensive educational experiences that focus on both theoretical and applied aspects of our profession. You are expected and encouraged to actively participate in trainings offered as evidenced by being prepared for seminars, completing assigned readings, engaging in verbal exchange of ideas, and making use of critical thinking skills.

The staff at The Counseling Clinic is comprised of licensed psychologists, licensed mental health counselors, and a licensed marriage and family therapist. In addition, there are two intern positions available each year. Our professional team members employ a variety of intervention modalities and represent an integration of a variety of theoretical orientations including cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, humanistic, psychodynamic and feminist approaches.

Biographical information about the staff is provided on the Counseling Clinic Staff page.

The internship begins with a comprehensive orientation. During approximately the first two weeks, you will become acquainted with agency policies and procedures, applicable state laws, university regulations, ethical considerations, and local referral sources. You will also be introduced to the elements of the core training program. One important goal for this orientation is the opportunity to interact and become more comfortable with the staff. Thus, you will begin the academic year with direction, knowledge of the work environment, training plans, and a foundation of collegial contact.