Trainee Admissions, Support, and Initial Placement Data

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Briefly describe in narrative form important information to assist potential applicants in assessing their likely fit with your program. This description must be consistent with the program’s policies on intern selection and practicum and academic preparation requirements:

The primary aim of the University of San Diego's Counseling Center internship program is to provide high-quality generalist training in clinical psychology in a university setting so individuals are prepared for an entry-level career in health services psychology. The University of San Diego Counseling Center internship includes the provision of brief therapy utilizing culturally sensitive, evidence-based, and empirically supported practices to an undergraduate and graduate student population within a brief treatment model. An intern’s role and responsibilities include the following: individual therapy, group therapy, crisis and triage support, outreach, consultation, supervision, and assessment. Interns will develop skills at the intermediate to advanced level in each of the following competency areas: Research, Ethical and Legal Standards, Individual and Cultural Diversity, Professional Values and Attitudes, Communication and Interpersonal Skills, Assessment, Intervention, Supervision, Consultation and Interprofessional/Interdisciplinary Skills, and Outreach.

The internship follows a practitioner-scholar model of training. Training components reflect the interdependent nature of the practice and the science of psychology. The program is structured with an initial period of intern self-assessment in collaboration with close supervision. At the onset of the internship, careful observation is utilized to assess interns’ strengths and growing edges. As the internship continues, interns typically have more autonomy. Attention to skill development is prioritized. We focus on models of service delivery that are important not only at universities but also in a wide array of settings in the general practice of psychology. Short-term services, clear assessment, outreach and crisis intervention are emphasized in the services we provide and the skills obtained by our interns. Diversity factors are emphasized heavily in training. In attempting to balance the art and the science of therapy, we view scientific skills as a process and way of thinking in addition to being a source of knowledge about what “works” in therapy. We encourage to view their conceptualizations of clients as hypotheses to be tested and modified as client information confirms or disconfirms the ideas.

Does the program require that applicants have received a minimum number of hours of the following at the time of application? If Yes, indicate how many:

450

Total Direct Contact Intervention Hours: No Yes Amount: 450

Total Direct Contact Assessment Hours: No Yes Amount: 0

Applicants should have successfully completed comprehensive exams toward their doctorate in counseling or clinical psychology.