Setting | Program | Supervisors | Past Interns | Application

THE INTERNSHIP
TRAINING PROGRAM

Training Team	Training Agreement
Training Model and Underlying Values	Evaluation
Ethical Standards	Competence
Internship Training Activities	Objectives
Dissertation Support	Duration, Salary, and Benefits
Orientation	Liability Insurance

Training Team

Administratively, the internship program is under the direction of the Training Team which is composed of the Director of the CS, Training Director, psychologists and counselors on staff, and an intern representative.

Training Model and Underlying Values

As a staff, we value our training program and make training activities a very high priority with a focus on supervised, hands-on experience. We recognize that learning to be a professional psychologist is a complex process requiring many years of preparation. We believe in providing a congenial yet challenging environment with emphasis on mentoring interns in the development of their personal identity. Our intrinsic goal is the development of ethical, competent, generalist psychologists trained in the scientist practitioner model, who are respectful of diversity, and who contribute to their communities and to the field of psychology. Our educational focus is preparation in the applied practice of clinical and counseling psychology based upon the body of scientific knowledge and scientific principles of our profession. Our primary mode of training is "learning by doing." Consequently, we provide an array of training seminars, training supervisors, and other training experiences with a practical, experiential approach. To the extent possible, we use the naturally occurring events in this university community as opportunities for training. These experiences often provide a valuable means of meeting training objectives.
Our internship program is committed to the following underlying values:

• Value #1: We are committed to training in a scientist-practitioner model, and particularly the "local clinical scientist" model (Stricker & Trierweiler, 1995).
  Our internship subscribes to the scientist-practitioner model, but emphasizes applied practice. Training is based upon bringing the scientific knowledge base of psychology and the scientific attitudes of the scientist to address all of our tasks as psychologists. We recognize the value of local observations and local solutions to problems, and these solutions are informed by the body of accumulated scientific knowledge in psychology.

 

• Value #2: We are committed to a broad range of skill development encompassing counseling, therapeutic, programmatic, and educational interventions.
  Our aim is to train professionals who are oriented toward the development of individuals as well as the remediation of pathology. As a result, interns will be trained in areas such as consultation, outreach, workshop development, and teaching along with training in individual and group psychotherapy, assessment, crisis intervention, diagnosis, and treatment planning.

 

• Value #3: We are committed to training in understanding and respecting diversity and to providing effective services to diverse clientele.
  Our belief is that interns must be prepared to understand and competently provide clinical services to a diverse student population. Interns will be asked to examine their own cultures, beliefs, attitudes, and biases as they relate to providing services to diverse clients. We provide training in this area through supervision on diverse clients, diversity training seminar for interns, and additional training seminars for the whole CS staff focused on areas of diversity.

 

• Value #4: We are committed to facilitating the development of professional identity and professionalism.
  Our intention is to help interns bridge from the student role to forming a comfortable identity as a professional psychologist. Our emphasis is on gaining self-knowledge, making sound, ethical, clinical and personal judgments, demonstrating sensitivity to cultural differences, and experiencing a sense of responsibility to oneself, the community and the profession. As a staff, we facilitate this through mentoring and supervision, modeling, and professional interaction.

 

• Value #5: We are committed to flexibility in developing each intern's training program.
  Our internship combines required training experiences in broadly applicable areas with elective training options designed to meet individual interns needs, interests, and backgrounds. Interns, with their supervisors and the Training Director, develop training contracts each year that specify individualized goals and activities for each intern.
  

• Individual Psychotherapy
  Individual psychotherapy is the primary focus for the internship year. Interns typically see 13-16 individual psychotherapy clients per week. The majority of clients are seen within our brief therapy model, but a few clients may be seen long-term. Each intern’s caseload varies depending upon other clinical activities (groups, consultation, supervision of a practicum student, or teaching), demand for services, and other factors.
  Supervision is a highly valued experience here at Counseling Services for both interns and senior staff. We consider ourselves to be “intern-centered.” Interns are assigned two supervisors with whom they meet weekly for an hour (two hours total). Each intern’s caseload is divided between the two supervisors so that each case has one designated supervisor. In addition, interns are actively encouraged to seek regular consultation with their supervisors throughout the week, as the need arises. Our staff has an open door policy and a strong commitment to training and consulting with each other.
  
• Group Therapy
  Interns may co-lead a psychotherapy group with senior staff during either fall or spring semester and during the summer semester, interns may co-lead a psychotherapy group with a peer. Typically, we offer a variety of process groups and psycho-educational workshops throughout the year. Interns receive at least one hour of supervision for their group work each week.
  
• Couples Therapy
  Interns have an option to work with one or more couples. Senior staff can either provide supervision or conduct co-therapy with interns.
  
• Crisis/On-call
  Counseling Services provides daytime on-call services on site. Each intern provides daytime on-call for one 4.5 hour time block during the week. Senior staff also covers on-call and is back-up for the interns when consultation is needed.
  
  After hours emergency consultations services are provided to Counseling Services clients via an outside provider.
  
• Assessment and Psychological Testing
  Interns are required to write at least 4-6 interpretive reports based on both objective personality measures and informal measures. Assessment seminar meets biweekly and helps advance skills in psychological assessment and report writing. Attention is paid to integrating observations, interview, and test data. Particular focus is on integrating psychological testing into the therapeutic process focused on clients’ needs, goals, and questions.
  
• Outreach
  Our staff and interns are actively involved in outreach to the K-State community. We encourage interns to develop outreach activities in areas of interest to them. Interns and staff also meet requests for outreach activities from the K-State Community. Interns participate in a monthly outreach seminar.
  
• Liaison to K-State Community
  Most of our staff has an on-going liaison relationship with a department, housing hall, and Women’s Center, health, or student services on campus. Interns are encouraged to become involved in these consultation and liaison activities.
  
• Teaching
  Interns are required to co-teach one of two sections of Career and Life Planning (around 15 students) with a fellow intern during the Fall semester and interns may independently teach or co-teach the two sections of the course during Spring semester. Teaching is under the supervision of the Career Development Coordinator.
  
  There are frequently additional optional co-teaching possibilities in leadership, creativity, graduate level courses in Counseling and Educational Psychology, or academic performance enhancement. Senior staff and academic faculty provide supervision of intern teaching.
  

• Case Conferences
  Case Conference provides an opportunity for all staff and interns to present and review individual client cases and to process their own feelings and reactions. Conferences alternate between more formal large group sessions and small informal group sessions. Small case conference allows for feedback in a supportive and collegial environment. The small groups are comprised of both interns and senior staff. Large case conference provides senior staff and interns a more formal, large group, grand rounds type conference which requires a fairly complete report on the case. Case Conference rotates between small and large case conference. It is held weekly and is required for all staff and interns.

• Career Seminar
  Career Seminar focuses on the development of interns’ career counseling and development competencies. Seminar highlights the importance of career exploration and decision making to college student development. It provides a setting for: (1) reviewing quantitative and qualitative career assessments, interpretation strategies, and the strategic use of assessments in providing career interventions, (2) critically appraising current trends and topics in career counseling and vocational psychology, (3) supporting the teaching of Career and Life Planning course, (4) discussing career counseling cases, and (5) supporting the intern career development and job search. Career seminar meets for 8 weeks each term for an hour and is required for interns.

• Diversity Seminar
  Diversity Seminar facilitates the development of multicultural competence in the multiple professional roles of psychologists. This is accomplished through continuing to: (1) integrate multicultural competencies and guidelines into professional practice, (2) build upon intercultural communication skills, (3) understand oneself as a cultural being, (4) critically review multicultural/diversity literature and products, and (5) understand the strengths and blind spots of one’s view of multiculturalism and diversity. Seminar time is spent in processing the impact of culture on all areas of practice. Interns are expected to develop multicultural competence in individual, group, and career counseling, teaching, supervision, assessment, consultation/outreach, and research. The focus is on (but not limited to) American ethnic groups, international cultures, LGBT culture, disability, religious perspectives, gender, and socio-economic status. Diversity seminar will provide a more advanced discourse about issues of diversity beyond what a student would likely find in a 1-term multicultural counseling course. The goal is to increase critical thinking about these issues. If an intern does not have a foundation in multicultural counseling, there is an assumption that s/he will seek further reading/consultation/training outside of the seminar. Diversity seminar meets weekly for 8 weeks every term and is required for interns.

• Group Seminar
  Interns meet weekly in group seminar with the Group Coordinator to discuss group theory, and issues common to the various therapy groups. Interns are paired with a senior staff to develop, co-lead a group and process their group experience.

• Supervision of Supervision Seminar
  This weekly seminar combines a supervision training seminar with group supervision of the interns' practicum supervision experience. This seminar meets for 1 hour each week and focuses on developing supervisory skills. Topics for the didactic portion of the seminar include supervision models, supervisory roles and process, ethics, cross-cultural supervision, etc. Sup of Sup provides interns a setting in which to share and discuss their experiences as supervisors.

• Assessment Seminar
  This biweekly seminar provides an overview of the current trends in university assessment. Attention is paid to integrating observations, interview, and test data for the appraisal of personality, as a guide for helping students explore strengths and areas of growth to facilitate positive change. The seminar will explore the integration of assessment and diagnosis as a skill building focus to promote professional growth. Particular focus on integrating psychological testing into the therapeutic process and on using psychological testing in a therapeutic manner focused on clients’ needs, goals, and questions. Informal and formal assessments used by psychologist at Counseling Centers will be explored, applied, and results integrated into the treatment plan.

• Outreach Seminar
  Outreach seminar is held monthly and is a working meeting where interns can focus on their outreach projects. These projects may include presentations, on-line programs, table displays, and brochures. Interns may work individually or in groups on projects. Additionally, this meeting provides a forum for discussing experiences with outreach activities in order to promote interns’ growth and development in outreach.

• Intern Seminar
  This biweekly seminar provides a forum for examining the interns’ training and professional work as well as a time to explore their own growth as an emerging professional. The seminar prepares interns for the expanding world of psychology that includes the multiple facets in this dynamic, contemporary field. Time is spent exploring career goals and career opportunities. Interns are encouraged to bring up issues and interests to explore. Additional skills such as mindfulness and integration of the various intern seminars will be covered.

• Training Seminar
  Training seminar is held monthly for two hours and provides interns and staff to a wide variety of topics in psychology. Staff and interns select topics to be presented. Some examples of past seminars include: ethics and managed care, empirically supported treatments for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, DSM-IV-TR diagnosis, group psychotherapy, and therapy with international students.

• Biofeedback/Performance Enhancement
  Biofeedback introduces interns to a wide range of strategies, uses, and theories related to biofeedback. Our computerized equipment allows for simultaneous monitoring of skin temperature; sweat production, muscle tension, and heart rate. We also do some work with brain wave training. This seminar/class meets weekly and is optional for interns. It can be taken for credit to allow interns to work towards certification in biofeedback.

• Research
  We approach training in research with a mentoring model; therefore, interns are encouraged to get involved with staff research projects that interest them. This can be work on their own dissertation, working on a research committee within Counseling Services such as our on-going outcome research, or designing and carrying out their own research project with staff supervision.

• Sports Psychology
  Interns in this elective will gain a better understanding of the special needs, concerns, and context of the scholar athlete at a large university. Interns will work with scholar athletes in therapy, train athletes in performance enhancement strategies and mental aspects of performance, design group experiences, and do consultation with athletic groups.
  

4. Interns will demonstrate respect for the dignity and worth of the individual.
5. Interns will demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to human diversity in both their colleagues and among the clients they serve.