Who are the Trainees?
Trainees are graduate students carefully selected to participate in our program. CAPS works with both doctoral students in psychology and second year MSW students. Trainees usually work 16-20 hours per week, which can be adjusted to meet the needs of each individual trainee. Full-time and part-time predoctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows are not being considered at this time.
Progression of Training
The training program is designed to be a planned sequence of clinical experience. Trainees will be given the opportunity to shadow senior staff in doing initial assessments, then begin to do their own assessments, and gradually build their own caseloads. The size and breadth of caseloads are expanded as the trainee develops during the course of the year. There are opportunities to provide crisis intervention as part of the daily triage rotation.
Goals of the Practicum Training Program
Practicum students will be developing skills in brief therapy, including building rapport with clients, assessing and setting short-term counseling goals, and continuing the process through to termination. Students will gain experience with both in-person and telehealth delivery of service.
By the end of the year, students will be expected to demonstrate:
- Assessment skills - being able to accurately evaluate the client's presenting concerns, personality dynamics, and psychosocial history.
- Diagnostic and conceptual skills - being able to generate an overview of client's presenting concerns and make an accurate differential diagnosis.
- Theoretical and research knowledge skills - being able to develop skills and habits in seeking and applying evidence-based practices in the clinical setting, including applying scientific knowledge.
- Treatment plans - utilizing assessment and conceptual skills to formulate appropriate goals for brief therapy and/or community referral.
- Group skills - develop a beginning level of understanding of group dynamics and develop the ability to function as a group co-leader.
- Cultural humility skills - including personal awareness, knowledge of the intersectionality of identities and cultural factors, and skills in culturally-sensitive psychological services. Develop an ongoing commitment to this critical component of this profession.
Personal growth will also be a primary area of emphasis, with students expected to demonstrate:
- Awareness of emotional and cognitive response to client in the context of the counseling relationship.
- Insight into how clinician's personal life experiences can impact oneself, the client, and the counseling process.
Professional development is the final area of emphasis. Students will be expected to demonstrate:
- Principles of ethical practice and decision making, and legal knowledge related to the practice of psychology.
- Ethical awareness of client/therapy issues, including one's own limitations with clients, and how to make appropriate referrals.
- Articulation of professional knowledge and presentation of case material with one's colleagues.