Components of the Training Program

Requirements of the training program and the associated training experiences are designed to support the interns’ learning by providing the experience necessary to achieve learning, with clear messages about expectations for trainee performance.

Psychological Assessment

Philosophical understanding of assessment. The assessment component of our training program is influenced by Stephen Finn’s model of Therapeutic Assessment, which emphasizes the use of testing to create a positive and therapeutic experience for the client. Assessment is seen as the broad method by which psychologists determine the nature of the problems afflicting clients and arrive at a sound treatment plan. Interns receive experience in assessment through three basic components: clinical interviews (initial triage and intake), integration of testing with the intern’s own clients, and if chosen by the intern, the occasional administration of multitest batteries.

At the USDCC, quick, accurate and thorough assessment and referral/disposition of all new clients in need is a priority, reflecting our value of service to the university community. Consequently, all clinical staff members participate on a regular basis in some form of assessment.

Initial assessment and clinical interviewing skills are obtained by participating in the USDCC’s initial intake assessment system. Interns are expected to allocate about four hours per week for initial assessments during the semester, and often more during Intersession and summer term. They are provided didactic and experiential training for this activity during orientation. Consistent with the developmental nature of our training, interns begin assuming initial intake duties with a designated back-up supervisor available at all times. Typically, interns will begin by observing one or more appointments, then perform one under observation, then conduct one with the designated supervisor available for consultation. Once the intern has more comfort in this activity, the intern, and supervisors will decide that there will no longer be a designated back-up immediately available. However, as with other emergency situations, interns are encouraged to seek immediate consultation when needed.  

In addition to clinical interviewing, depending on the needs of any given client, different methods may be used in collecting the data needed for sound evaluation. While for the majority of our clients, intake interviewing supplemented by client information forms, the AUDIT and CCAPS is adequate, some clients benefit from additional testing efforts. Consistent with the practitioner-scholar model, psychological testing supported by research may be incorporated into clinical work. Some clients benefit from an occasional integration of testing data into ongoing clinical work. The occasional use of such data is role modeled by many staff psychologists.

Psychological testing and testing requirements.  Our program aims to expose interns to the use of psychological testing as one method of assessing clients. To ensure that a basic level of exposure is achieved, a minimum amount of testing is required. This standard is designed to be flexible, allowing for interns with different training goals to meet the standard in different ways while still covering the broad range of client concerns typically seen at a Counseling Center.

Psychotherapy.  Individual counseling and psychotherapy. Interns spend the bulk of their time individual in direct contact with clients. Depending on what training experiences they have selected on their service contract, they have between 12-18 client contact hours per week. Most client work will be short-term in nature. Interns may elect to take on one or two long-term clients and are encouraged to keep in mind their training goals as well as the USDCC’s policies regarding length of treatment. Doctoral interns use webcams to record sessions, with permission of clients, for the purposes of clinical supervision. 

Crisis coverage. When a crisis situation emerges with an ongoing, walk-in or intake client, interns should exercise clinical judgment as to whether they should involve a supervisor while the client is still in session, or they should wait until completing the session and debrief immediately afterward.  However, interns must do one or the other:  seek immediate consultation or debrief after a session.  For such supervision, interns should first seek their primary supervisor. If that person is unavailable, interns should look for the Director. If neither of those individuals is available, interns should go to the Coordinator of Training or any available staff member.  If no staff members are available, staff may be interrupted in the following order: first staff involved in administrative work, then staff involved in meetings, then staff involved in supervision, then staff involved in clinical work.

Formal crisis training is achieved with didactic training each year coupled with experience in providing triage and urgent care. 

Group counseling and psychotherapy. Interns are required to co-facilitate a therapy group each semester. Groups will often be co-facilitated and supervised by a senior staff member. In some cases, groups are co-led by interns under supervision. At least one hour of supervision will be provided per week for this activity, often provided in half-hour increments (half-hour pre-group preparation, and half-hour debriefing).

Academic probation clients. All staff members at the USDCC see some clients referred to the Counseling Center because of having been placed on academic probation.

Outreach and Prevention

Outreach and prevention are viewed as an integral part of a psychologist’s efforts in the university counseling center setting. Philosophically, we see outreach as meeting several needs for our population: providing prevention efforts and identifying students who would benefit from services in critical topical areas (e.g., eating disorders, substance abuse), recruiting and providing nontraditional services to underrepresented client populations, reaching beyond the Center’s walls to introduce students to the Counseling Center staff and destigmatize counseling services, and providing creative services in an efficient way to a larger body of students.

Interns’ training in outreach, similar to other areas, is sequential. Outreach Seminar is offered throughout the year to prepare interns for their outreach training experience. As part of this, interns will assess their current level of outreach skill, as well as any individualized training needs they might have in this area. During orientation, interns may observe senior staff members conducting training programs for resident assistants. This gives interns exposure to varying presentation styles. Interns’ training in outreach will be individualized depending on the amount of skill and experience they have in this area; some interns may be encouraged to present several times with more experienced staff, while others may be encouraged to present on their own earlier. In either case, interns’ outreach work will be attended at least twice, ideally once by the outreach supervisor and once by another staff member, to provide interns with support and feedback as they continue to develop their outreach skills. Ongoing consultation with the supervisor is also given on both a formal and informal basis to allow interns to develop outreach skills and to solidify confidence in their ability to provide psychological services within this modality.

Interns may also experience the opportunity to gain consultation experience by participating in university committees and/or consulting with campus agencies. These opportunities vary each year depending on interns’ interests and campus needs. Supervision of such activities is provided by the outreach supervisor or primary supervisor.

Interns are required to present a minimum of eight outreach programs each year in addition to participating in university committees; most interns present more frequently than this. Interns are encouraged to develop a well-rounded experience which may include participating in a variety of different forms of outreach including psychoeducational workshops, committee work, introductions to counseling center services, screening days, or other activities. Although many (though certainly not all) interns experience some anxiety about the outreach training component, we have also found that skill and confidence quickly improve when interns volunteer early and actively in the year. To reach an optimal audience, many of our outreach workshops occur after-hours.

Professional Identity

Because the internship is the last formal aspect of an intern’s predoctoral training, we view the development of sound ethical knowledge and practice, professionalism, and the development of professional identity as a psychologist as integral to the training experience. In our view, this encompasses several components: ethics, deportment, self-awareness, professional judgment, responsible and timely record keeping, maintaining appropriate professional relationships, and emotional stability. These components are addressed through mentoring, supervision, modeling, and didactic training.  Activity in professional organizations is encouraged by the agency and is modeled by staff. Staff members strive to model self-care and to encourage interns to be aware of their limitations.

Summer Project

During the summer, when intern caseloads are low, interns are asked to take on at least one “summer project”, which typically involves assisting one or more USD Wellness Area staff member with an administrative project. Past projects have included assistance with creating several blogs for the Center for Health and Wellness website, assisting with aspects of the USDCC self study, assisting in compiling end of the year Counseling Center statistics and statistics on usage of the after-hours crisis system, compiling a list of assessment resources, researching and making recommendations for the acquisition of various psychometric instruments including eating disorders and strengths-based assessments, creating a practicum policies and procedures manual for the Counseling Center’s practicum program, updating the center referral database, providing programming for the College Bound program, researching mindfulness and strength-based resources, providing assistance in building the group program, creating a curriculum for the DLDRC “Social Smarts” group for ASD-spectrum students, providing assistance to the Coordinator of Training in improving the Training Manual and designing the orientation schedule, and assisting with the development of large-scale outreach projects. These projects may involve administrative, outreach, or clinical planning tasks, and vary each year. Interns are also welcome to suggest summer projects they believe would be a contribution.

Provision of Supervision

Experiences in the provision of supervision can be provided in the supervision of a practicum student's individual caseload or group work. The first is individual supervision with a practicum student from an APA-accredited program in clinical psychology. To prepare interns for the supervision experience, they are provided with a supervision seminar, and during the practicum experience with weekly supervision of supervision that includes a review of supervision session recordings with additional supervision provided as needed. 

In addition to the training requirements described previously, interns have the option of completing one or more clinical focus opportunity in designated areas of interest. Interns may complete one clinical focus area per semester. Clinical focus area includes both experiential activities and supervision or consultation; they may also include didactic training.  Clinical focus area availability can change due to staffing. Below are some options that may be available:

1. Disordered Eating. This rotation includes individual client work, rotation supervision, and collaboration with SHC staff regarding client medical issues. Didactics may be provided depending on the intern’s specific training needs.
2. Group. This is a less formal rotation, but if enough groups are available, offers interns the opportunity to facilitate an additional group in a given semester. This is likely to be available.
3. LGBTQ
4. Male Identified Clients
5. DBT Skills

Interns will identify a clinical focus area if chosen, at the start of each semester in collaboration with their primary supervisor and training director. Interns with clinical focus area are encouraged to make this known so Counseling Center staff can provide mentoring, assist in client referrals, etc..

Individual Supervision is provided to enhance interns' clinical skills.  Given that individual psychotherapy is interns' primary clinical duty at the USDCC, supervision is viewed as an integral part of the training experience.  In order to provide exposure to varying theoretical styles and approaches of the supervisor, supervision rotates midyear. 

Consultation Group is designed to allow interns to receive and provide case consultation in a setting that includes about three staff members, one to two interns and a practicum student.   In this setting, new intakes are presented and staffed, and ongoing cases are discussed.  Interns receive exposure to the clinical work of different staff and have the opportunity to receive feedback from staff not currently supervising them.  Interns are also encouraged to give feedback to staff presenting cases; this is a primary setting in which interns begin to view themselves as colleagues as well as trainees.

Supervision of Group Therapy is provided for each group the intern facilitates.  This experience facilitates the intern's development of effective group therapy skills.  

Supervision with the Coordinator of Training. This group supervision session is held with the Coordinator of Training and the three interns. Within this group, emerging issues in the internship are processed, professional development issues discussed, and clinical consultation provided.

Diversity Consultation facilitated by a staff member. These meetings provide interns with an opportunity to develop a greater sense of self and cultural awareness, and how this impacts their capacity to integrate issues of diversity into their work and their professional identities as psychologists. This consultation group meets weekly.

Supervision of Supervision occurs with training director as a group for interns, supervising practicum students which allow interns to process their supervision experiences. This is also an opportunity to review session recordings of supervision with the practicum students.

Outreach Supervision provides ongoing consultation and mentoring in outreach for intern activities. 

Additional supervision and consultation are available for all staff as needed.

Orientation

Intern Seminar Series