The mission of training at the SCS is to develop knowledgeable, compassionate, and authentic practitioners in the art and science of counseling and psychotherapy. We believe becoming a skilled professional is a life long process that requires continuous personal exploration, enthusiasm for learning, openness to change, and growing self-awareness. Fostering honor and respect for diversity is an essential part of this mission.

We believe becoming a skilled professional is a life long process that requires continuous personal exploration, enthusiasm for learning, and openness to change. We strive to provide a safe environment that promotes understanding of one's self, passion for the work, development of therapeutic skills, growing autonomy, commitment to the craft and an investment in one's personal and professional journey. Furthermore, we value an affirming attitude towards all forms of diversity including, but not limited to: racial,ethnic,cultural and/or gender identity, sexual orientation, abledness, age, spirituality and social class.

The foundation of our approach to training is a practitioner model. The emphasis is upon learning through the practical application of evidence-based practice in psychology. "Evidence-based practice in psychology is the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences." (American Psychologist, May-June 2006) More information about evidence-based practice in psychology can be found here. The intern is expected to increase his or her knowledge and skills by providing service to clients and engaging in related professional behavior while under close supervision. It is the intern's relationships with clients, supervisors, other practitioners (including other interns), and the professional literature which provide the information for learning. The intern intervenes with clients based upon the information obtained, reflects upon the process and outcome of the interventions, and then plans future interventions based upon an integration of the experience. Through this pragmatic approach, the intern becomes both more effective in applying general knowledge to specific cases and better able to generate useful theories for future testing through application. Didactic, skill building seminars, individual and small group tutorials, role-modeling and consultative guidance are used as supplementary learning methods.

We take a developmental view of our training mission, aiming to help the intern transition from the student- trainee role to professional colleague. This begins with the selection of well-prepared intern applicants who value a life-long learning process. During the early phases of the internship year the intern is oriented and immersed in the life of the agency. Throughout the entire year, interns are respected and valued as important and contributing members of the staff. As the intern makes progress through the year, he or she is encouraged to act with increasing independence and autonomy.

We believe exiting interns should exhibit a high degree of professionalism. This includes:

• adherence to appropriate ethical and legal standards,
• a scholarly approach to their work,
• an awareness of significant challenges and trends within the field,
• the development and implementation of life-long professional development activities,
• awareness and skill with individual and cultural diversity,
• a continual examination of personal world views and their impact on professional functioning,
• effective organizational behavior,
• a healthy relationship between personal and professional life,
• and a sense of responsibility to contribute to the welfare of the profession and society.

Each internship position, formally entitled "Psychology Intern," is a full-time (40 hours per week) university employee position. Consequently, interns are provided with certain employee benefits and are given opportunities to take advantage of others. These benefits are listed below.

1. Sick Leave accrued at the rate of eight hours per month.
2. Annual leave accrued at the rate of eight hours per month, which may be used after three consecutive months of employment have been completed.
3. Staff holidays (approximately 13 days, most of which occur between fall and spring semesters).
4. Release time and funding (2007-2008: $1000) for professional development activities (e.g., conventions, workshops).
5. After the first 90 days of employment, required participation in Group Life Insurance program.
6. Required participation in TRS.
7. After the first 90 days of employment, eligibility for the following optional insurance programs:
   1. Health Insurance
   2. Additional Life Insurance
   3. Dependent Life Insurance
   4. Long-term Disability Insurance
   5. Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefit.
8. Workers' Compensation coverage provided at no cost to the employee.

During the current 2006-2007 academic year, the State of Texas is providing for each employee the sum of $344.41 per month for employees without dependents and a variable amount up to $557.79 per month for employees with dependents, to be applied to health insurance and basic life insurance.

Intern salaries for the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year are projected to be $26,420. The following internship training year will begin on August 1, 2008 and will end on July 31, 2009. Salary will be received in monthly installments beginning September 1, 2008, and ending on August 1, 2009.

Notes:

1. * 1 group = 2 hours (1.5 hrs of counseling and .5 hrs of supervision by the co-leader.)

Most of the activities required of interns mirror the normal direct service and administrative schedules of the full-time psychologists employed at the SCS. Additionally, interns participate in a standard set of supervision, educational, and support meetings. The activities, which constitute the internship experience, are described below.

Clients are seen for an average of 6 sessions. The Student Counseling Service provides the greatest benefit to the most students in the shortest amount of time. Staff conceptualize clients from a variety of theoretical perspectives.

Each intern is required to co-lead with a senior staff member at least one group during the fall semester. During the spring interns are required to co-lead 1 academic or career group plus one other group of their choice. It is expected that one of the groups will be processed oriented. Although individual counseling at the SCS is offered through a brief therapy model, group counseling can be longer term in nature.

Expressed needs of SCS clients determine the number and content of groups. Sometimes, in order to meet a newly defined need or to deal with client press, new groups are formed during the course of the semester. Types of groups that are offered include general process groups, structured groups, and groups with a particular theme.

Training in crisis intervention occurs in the initial orientation of interns and throughout the year as each intern works closely with several staff psychologists in the delivery of crisis services.

In an initial session an intern is responsible for clarifying the presenting problem(s), assessing the need for immediate intervention, creating an initial treatment plan, and evaluating the appropriateness of the SCS to meet the client's needs. It is incumbent on the intern to make an appropriate disposition.

The SCS is strongly committed to assisting students with academic performance and career development issues. Training in academic counseling focuses on services for students on or at risk of academic probation. Additionally, academic counseling services at the SCS are designed to support retention of first generation college students. Training in career counseling uses a holistic approach.

Interns provide supervision to practicum students during the fall with the option of continuing in the spring. Practicum students most often come from the doctoral counseling psychology program at Texas A&M, although relationships with the Texas A&M clinical psychology program and counseling-related programs at other nearby universities have also been established.

Interns provide consultation with faculty, staff, and family members of students. Outreach consists of topical presentations to various campus groups. Interns are required to conduct at least ten outreach programs during the internship year.

Quality supervision is seen as the cornerstone of our training program and is highly valued by the entire staff. The intern is assigned two primary supervisors, both licensed psychologists, during the year, one for the Fall semester and one for the Spring and Summer terms. Intern preferences are strongly considered in the selection of supervisors. Primary supervisors meet weekly with the training director to consult with each other regarding training issues and work on enhancing the supervisory process.

Most professional staff members will, at some time during the year, interact with each intern in supervision and/or consultation roles. This unscheduled supervision/consultation occurs regularly in crisis intervention situations, co-facilitation of groups, co-therapy and case conference.

During the fall semester, interns receive scheduled consultation from a staff counselor or psychologist who is especially skilled in academic and career counseling. Interns have the option of additional consultation in the spring.

Interns meet as a group for two hours each week for supervision of supervision of practicum counselors. The interns are supervised by two psychologists who co-coordinate the SCS practicum program.

Throughout the year, interns meet as a group for supervision regarding group issues with the Group Coordinator. Additional supervision is provided by the SCS staff member who is facilitating a group with the intern.

Professional seminars are designed to provide theoretical and applied information related to SCS service delivery. Additionally, these seminars are created based on intern needs. Some of the topics typically presented are listed below:

• Change Process Conceptualization
• Couples/Marriage Counseling
• Job Search Strategies
• Client Issues (e.g., grief and loss, eating disorders, personality disorders, abuse survivors).
• Psychological Evaluation
• Ethical and Legal Issues
• Empirically Based Treatment Practices

Interns meet weekly as a group with the training director. Interns openly discuss all aspects of the internship such as quality of intern seminars, case management concerns, staff/intern relationships and professional development issues. The training director serves as an advocate for intern growth and development.

Interns are expected to spend at least two hours per week preparing for supervision. Activities during this time include reviewing tapes, reading, and consulting with other staff.

The weekly case conference meeting provides an open forum for interns and professional staff members to share and consult regarding current counseling cases. Through case conference, interns gain insight into how other professional staff members conceptualize client issues and deliver direct service. The composition of the case conference groups is changed at the beginning of each semester, which allows interns to interact with most of the professional staff in a small group format during their training year.

Options are developed in order to provide interns greater flexibility in tailoring their internship experience to meet their unique interests and needs. Interns may negotiate and contract with a SCS psychologist/counselor to receive specialized training in an area of mutual interest.

The following list of options is provided as a sample of the many creative possibilities that may be negotiated as a Training Option. Please view this list as examples that may or may not be available every semester. Additionally, an intern can create his/her own Training Option based on finding a staff member who has interest in the topic.

Providing direct service in a special area that is above the requirement. Some examples are co-leading an extra group, co-therapy with a couple, providing biofeedback treatment (Steve Wilson), supervising an additional practicum student, and adding an extra academic/career slot.

Some examples with the staff member with similar interests: Interpersonal Process (Robert Carter), Multicultural Case Studies (Gisela Lin), Crisis Intervention/strategic one-session work (Kerry Hope), Alcohol & Drug Abuse (Dennis Reardon), Clinical Hypnotherapy (Ron Lutz), Existential Focus (Ron Lutz), Brief Therapy (Ted Stachowiak), and Psychological Assessments (Brian Williams).

Receiving supervision focused on a special interest area such as: Anxiety Disorders (Carlos Orozco), Eating Disorders (Kristin Clemens, Mary Ann Covey), Trauma Work (Kristin Clemens, Nancy Welch), Working with Student Athletes (Mary Ann Covey, James Deegear), and Sexual Orientation (Mary Ann Covey).

Receiving supervision related to the following issues that fall into the administrative category such as: Dissertation Focus (Kerry Hope), General Administrative Issues (Maggie Olona), Administrative Issues Related to Clinical Services (Ted Stachowiak).

Receiving information regarding a topic related to working in a college counseling center such as: Distance Learning (Lyle Slack), Outreach and Consultation (Andy Smith), and Helpline Training (Susan Vavra).

From the outset of the training year, interns are viewed as administratively responsible individuals whose opinions and skills are highly valued. Consequently, interns can participate in one of the following two committee meetings throughout the year

The purpose of the Clinical Services Committee is to ensure that Texas A&M students receive the most prompt, effective, ethical and appropriate clinical services possible at any given time. This is accomplished through on-going evaluation of the service delivery process and the drafting of recommended service delivery policies and procedures. The committee is chaired by the associate director who coordinates clinical services.

The Training Committee has several purposes: to provide for the continuity of the training program (including the internship and practicum programs), to assess the training program regularly as it relates to departmental needs, and to facilitate improvements in various aspects of the training program. The committee is chaired by the training director.

The topic multicultural seminar will meet during orientation, early fall and early spring semesters. These seminars will provide interns with information regarding specific topics related to the APPIC Guidelines regarding multicultural competencies.

Topics may include, but are not limited to: Racial Identity, Ethnic or Cultural Identity, Gender, Level of Acculturation, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Abledness, Age, Spirituality/Religion, Social Class, Language, and Aggie Culture/Corps of Cadets.

The applied multicultural seminar will meet during orientation, early fall and early spring semesters. It will follow the topic multicultural seminar and provide the opportunity to process the information from the topic seminar as well as discuss relevant cases.

During the course of the year the interns will participate in four six hour "mini" marathon groups where the focus is self awareness and the use of self related to multicultural issues. Two professional staff members will lead the group where interns are encouraged, but not required, to explore historical influences of self that may affect subsequent clinical practice related to culture. The internship training program functions in a manner consistent with the American Psychological Association's 2002 Ethical Standard 7.04 (Student Disclosure of Personal Information) as contained in the Revised Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2002).

Interns take part in a comprehensive orientation during their first month at Texas A&M. The primary goals of the orientation program are to give interns a substantial amount of basic information about the SCS and acquaint interns with the individuals with whom they will be working in a variety of professional relationships.

The SCS and the larger university community present the interns with many possibilities for learning beyond those specified as core activities and training options. Interns are exposed to all of the resources and opportunities listed below and sometimes utilize them to develop specialized training options.

Each intern is required to give two formal case presentations, with assessment instruments, to the SCS professional staff. The case presentations focus upon the intern's work with academic/career issues as well as personal concerns. Presenting a client case provides an opportunity for interns to articulate to the SCS staff their theoretical orientation and demonstrate their case conceptualization skills. This type of experience should also help prepare the intern to discuss his or her therapeutic style and give effective case presentations in future job interviews.

The Texas A&M University Student body is composed of students with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Students from all over the world are enrolled in graduate or undergraduate programs. This cultural diversity gives interns the opportunity to gain experience in multicultural counseling with international students as well as with Hispanic and African-American students. Interns are encouraged to co-lead the International Cultural Group and deliver other programs to international students. Also, the more than 2,000 international students create and attract a wide variety of cultural events throughout the year. Opportunities with Hispanic and African-American students include co-leading support groups, drop-in counseling, and outreach programming, To enhance their own personal growth, interns can find opportunities for networking and socializing with cultural groups similar to and different from their own.

A biofeedback training program is available to students upon the recommendation of SCS professional staff members or Health Center Staff members. Interns are trained in the use of biofeedback and can receive adjunct supervision in this modality.

The SCS employs two full-time, board certified psychiatrists whose primary functions are providing services for SCS clients and consultation with SCS staff. Interns have opportunities to be involved with the psychiatrists in a number of training program activities including observation and occasional participation in client evaluations, consultation regarding treatment strategies, and information exchange regarding professional development and special areas of expertise. In addition, the psychiatrists provide didactic presentations regarding psychopharmacology, assessment procedures and treatment interventions.

The HelpLine provides a "listening ear," information, support, referrals, and crisis intervention for Texas A &M students. Interns have many training options available through the HelpLine. During initial HelpLine training, interns have often provided content sessions, demonstrations, and supervision of the small-group role play training that occurs daily during the six days of the training week. Interns have occasionally provided continuing education sessions for the HelpLine workers. Interns can co-lead, for one or more semesters, one of the on-going weekly small group supervision sessions required for all HelpLine workers. Interns may also elect to provide direct coverage of the HelpLine or assistance with the administrative side of running a crisis hot line.

Interns have the chance to serve as informal role-models and mentors to HelpLine students, many of whom are planning to enter the mental health or medical field. Interns report hat this is quite enjoyable and fulfilling, and it provides a nice balance and contrast to the more typical interactions they have with students through the counseling relationship.

Our most recent programs were: Understanding the Model Minority Myth, Race, and Culture of the Asian American College by Dr. Alvin Alvarez and Dr. Karen Suyemoto; Increase Cultural Competency to serve Cultural Diversity College Students by Dr. Stanley Sue; Ethics, Treatment, and Assessment in College Students of Color by Dr. Stanley Sue; Building for Eternity by Thomas Yarham; Blatant & Covert Racism by Joe Feagin; QPR Suicide Risk Assessment and Risk Management by Dr. Paul Quinnette; QPR Gatekeeper Instructor Certification by Dr. Paul Quinnette; Helping Students with Attention Deficit Disorder by Hillary Jessup and Cindi Riccio; Personality Assessment Inventory (PAl) Workshop by Dr. Leslie C. Morey; and Harm Reduction and Relapse Prevention in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors and CO-Occurring Disorders Part I and II by Dr. Alan Marlatt.

During each supervisory rotation, supervisors and interns are involved in both formal and informal evaluations of each other. In accordance with the SCS view that the supervisory experience should be mutually rewarding, supervisors and interns are encouraged to discuss openly with each other areas needing attention. At the end of each rotation, supervisors and interns complete formal written evaluations of their experiences. The completed evaluation forms are kept by the training director who uses the information in assessing the progress of interns and in assessing needs in the supervisory aspect of the program.

At the end of each rotation (twice per year), the training director corresponds with each intern's home academic institution regarding the intern's progress in the internship program. These letters are based on the supervisor evaluations, training coordinator and other administrator observations and information from the weekly meetings of the supervisors and training director.

Interns also are encouraged to give feedback to the training director regarding the training program. This information is solicited in individual meetings during each rotation, and all during the year in the weekly training director meeting/intern support group. At the end of the internship year, interns are asked to give written evaluations of the training program. Additionally, former interns are surveyed regarding the effectiveness of the internship several months after the completion of the internship. The training director uses this information to modify the internship program.