Individual Counseling: In both the fall and spring semesters, interns manage a caseload of 9-12 individual clients. In the summer semester, the number of individual clients may increase to as many as 16. The counseling center receives clients who present a variety of concerns ranging from normal developmental issues to serious chronic maladjustment. A short-term counseling approach is the norm at SCS with the therapist and client negotiating a focused therapeutic contract. Each therapist is responsible for diagnosing the clients using the DSM-5 format. All intern clinical services are directly supervised by a licensed senior staff psychologist.
Group Counseling: In the fall and spring semesters, interns co-facilitate 1-2 psychotherapy groups with a senior staff member and receive supervision by that senior staff member concerning their facilitation skills. Interns are encouraged to develop special groups in line with their interests. The following is a partial list of groups which have been offered at SCS:
Groups
- UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS GROUP: General process-oriented groups for students dealing with a variety of concerns (depression, anxiety, stress, relationship struggles, etc). Members explore patterns of how they relate to themselves and others to help change current behaviors and develop greater insight and acceptance.
- UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS GROUP-Anxiety Theme: This group will be similar to the description of the Understanding Self and Others group, with a specific focus on anxiety.
- UNDERSTANDING SELF AND OTHERS GROUP-Graduate and Non-Traditional Students: This group will be similar to the description of the Understanding Self and Others group, but specifically for graduate and non-traditional students.
- ACT Group: The Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Group is for students who want to encounter depression and anxiety differently as well as pursue a full and meaningful life. ACT helps people relate differently to their anxious feelings, depressed moods, worrying mind, self-defeating behaviors and/or anything causing problems. Members explore patterns how they related to themselves and others to help change current behaviors and develop greater insight and acceptance.
- BIPOC GROUP: This group is for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to openly engage in dialogues related to what it means to be BIPOC on a predominantly white campus. The group will be a mixture of both support as well as process and will additionally address general mental health concerns (relationships, depression, anxiety, etc.).
- DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY FOR EATING DISORDERS GROUP: Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders (DBT for EDs) is a semester-long skill-based group for students experiencing a range of body image, disordered eating, or eating disorder concerns. This group comprises five modules: Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Openness/Flexibility. DBT skills help students who wish to improve their ability to regulate emotions, tolerate distress, be mindful and present in the given moment, communicate and interact effectively with others, and become more open and flexible to new experiences. All of which are useful in healing your relationship with food and body.
Workshops
- MOTIVATION & PROCRASTINATION: Three-week, skills workshop in which students will learn to identify factors that contribute to procrastination and low motivation as well as strategies to effectively address these challenges.
- RESET AND THRIVE: Three-week, skills workshop that provides education and application on coping skills to reset and thrive. The series provides a basic understanding of coping skills to utilize in managing stress, adversity, and fostering growth. Topics include self-compassion, motivation, and resilience.
- CREATE YOUR OWN CALM: Three-week, skill-based workshop focused on developing strategies for addressing anxiety, excessive worry, and feeling overwhelmed. Wednesdays
- MOOD MANAGEMENT: Three-week, skills workshop to help increase understanding of emotions and develop strategies to help cope when emotions become distressing and hard to tolerate. The goal is to provide skills to recognize and manage symptoms.
Intake Assessment Interviews and Crisis On-Call: For approximately five hours each week, interns are involved in assessment interviewing and crisis on-call counseling. SCS has established a walk-in intake and crisis response system where clients are triaged for their fit into the agency’s services and risk assessments are conducted if needed. The triage is a brief intake interview, consisting of a 20-30 minute clinical interview. Interns also carry our after-hours crisis phone a week at a time. Because interns receive full staff benefits and 24 vacation days per year, they will be expected to carry the after-hours crisis phone at least 3 times per year in order to ensure a 2000-hour internship.
Supervision of Practicum Student: For 2 hours per week, interns supervise a doctoral level practicum student from the department of Counseling Psychology who is completing practicum training at SCS. Practicum trainees see approximately eight clients per week. These clients are screened through an assessment procedure in terms of the severity and complexity of the case to ensure appropriate assignments.
Outreach and Consultation: An average of one hour each week is devoted to outreach and consultation services. Interns provide outreach services to college students, faculty, staff and campus organizations, based on agency needs, liaison roles, and interest. Interns will be given priority when opportunities for presentations arise. As part of their outreach responsibilities, interns will complete a project. This project will include service to an underrepresented/underserved population of interest and will involve facilitation of relationships between organizations on campus and delivery of an original outreach presentation/workshop. Interns will complete a minimum of five outreach presentations each semester (fall and spring).
Weekly Training Schedule
Fall Semester
| Direct Service: | ||
| Counseling (individual, career, assessments) | 9 hours | Weekly |
| Group Counseling | 3 hours | Weekly |
| Initial Appointment Coverage | 5 hours | Weekly |
| Outreach/Consultation | 1 hour | Varies |
| Supervision of Practicum Student | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Total | 20 hours | |
| Training Received: | ||
| Clinical Case Conference | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Individual Supervision | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Group Supervision | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Training Modules | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Supervision of Supervision Seminar | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Professional Development/Time with Training Director | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Rotating Eating Disorders Case Conference and Group Seminar | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Total | 9 hours | |
| Administration: | ||
| Case Management | 3 hours | Weekly |
| Case Management of Supervision | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Staff Meeting/Staff Professional Development | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Clinical Case Disposition Team | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Total | 7 hours | |
| Special Emphasis Area: | 4 hours | Weekly |
| Grand Total Hours for Fall Semester | 40 hours |
Spring Semester
| Direct Service: | ||
| Counseling (includes individual, career, assessment) | 10 hours | Weekly |
| Group Counseling | 3 hours | Weekly |
| Supervision of Doctoral Practicum student | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Initial Appointment Coverage | 5 hours | Weekly |
| Outreach/Consultation | 1 hour | Varies |
| Total | 21 hours | |
| Training Received: | ||
| Clinical Case Conference | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Individual Supervision | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Group Supervision | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Supervision of Supervision | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Professional Development/Time with Training Director | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Rotating Eating Disorder Case Conference and Group Seminar | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Training Modules | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Total | 8 hours | |
| Administration | ||
| Case Management | 3 hours | Weekly |
| Case Management of Supervision | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Staff Meeting/Staff Professional Development | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Clinical Case Disposition Team | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Total | 7 hours | |
| Special Emphasis Area: | 4 hours | |
| Grand Total Hours for Spring Semester | 40 hours |
Summer
| Direct Service: | ||
| Counseling (includes individual, group, career, assessment) | 16 hours | Weekly |
| Initial Appointment Coverage | 5 hours | Weekly |
| Outreach/Consultation | 1 hour | Varies |
| Total | 22 hours | |
| Training Received: | ||
| Clinical Case Conference | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Individual Supervision | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Rotating Eating Disorder Case Conference and Group Seminar | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Training Modules | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Time with Training Director or Training Administration Seminar | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Total | 6 hours | |
| Administration | ||
| Case Management | 5 hours | Weekly |
| Staff Meeting/Staff Professional Development | 2 hours | Weekly |
| Clinical Case Disposition Team | 1 hour | Weekly |
| Total | 8 hours | |
| Special Emphasis Area: | 4 hours | |
| Grand Total Hours for Summer Semester | 40 hours |
Note: This summer schedule may be adjusted to meet agency needs or interns’ interests, goals, or needs.