Internship Activities

Provision of Psychological Services
The type of service activity and the minimal amount of time spent in each of these areas were carefully developed to provide a balance between acquiring experience and the opportunity to receive training. In addition, the activities are consistent with the typical duties of a psychologist in a university counseling center setting. These activities include:

Initial Appointments/Consultation & Assessment (Intakes)
Interns are typically expected to allot at four hours per week of initial appointments. This activity is designed to give interns experience with initial/intake assessment, referral, short-term treatment intervention, crisis intervention and psychiatric consultation.

Individual/Relationship Therapy
Interns provide therapy to students who present with a wide range of issues such as depression; anxiety; interpersonal relationship problems; grief and loss; suicidal ideation; sexual and physical assault; identity and self-esteem; personality disorders; and personality development. Interns will typically carry an average caseload of 10-15 clients per week.

Group Therapy
Interns will be given the opportunity to co-facilitate either a process-oriented therapy group or a structured, support, or psycho-educational group during the fall and spring semesters. Interns will usually be paired with a senior staff psychologist to co-lead the group in the Fall. In the past, the Counseling Center has offered time-limited interpersonal process-oriented groups, general therapy groups, and psycho-educational groups. Interns may have the opportunity to co-facilitate a group with a clinical psychology graduate assistant or a mental health counseling intern in the Spring. Interns are encouraged to explore the possibility of developing a group based upon individual interests and campus needs.

Crisis Intervention and Consultation
Interns will have the experience of providing daytime on-call crisis intervention services and consultation services to students, as well as faculty, staff, families, and others who may be concerned about students. Interns can expect to spend two to four hours per week performing these services. Interns will gain experience in crisis intervention, consultation, referral and psychiatric consultation. In the event of campus tragedies, interns may also be involved in providing crisis post-vention services to members of the campus community.

Assessment
Interns will provide therapeutic assessment to students using symptomology assessment and measures that track the progress of therapeutic services offered.

Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Assessment & Education
The Counseling Center has a dedicated AOD counselor who provides assessment and education to campus.  Interns may have the opportunity to work with the AOD counselor if interested.

Outreach
Interns will take an active role in the Center’s outreach activities.  Staff members provide training, psychoeducation, and experiential workshops to the campus community on a variety of topics such as anxiety, healthy relationships, mental health concerns, and suicide prevention.  Outreach efforts are particularly targeted towards reducing barriers to care for students, helping students connect with mental health resources as soon as possible, and as a method of prevention.  Interns are required to participate in at least 4 outreach opportunities each semester. 

Liason
Interns develop a liaison relationship with another campus department. These liaison relationships can enrich intern’s perspectives on how to collaborate and meet the needs of students belonging to various campus departments.  This experience typically includes relationship-building, strategic planning, consultative and psychoeducational components, and program building.  Interns are expected to meet once a month with the office they have a liason relationship with, as well as, participate in planning and developing a program for their liasonship once a semester.   

Provision of Supervision
Interns will have the experience of providing supervision to a doctoral student in clinical psychology or to a master's student in mental health counseling. Each intern will be expected to supervise during the Spring semester. In addition, interns may have the opportunity to provide supervision during the Summer session.