Interns work with a supervisor who oversees the intern’s clinical case load. After meeting the clinical staff, interns make supervision requests. The Training Director makes assignments based on these requests combined with supervisor availability and overall CAPS needs.
Assigned supervisors oversee intern’s clinical case loads, provide mentoring, and facilitate professional development. Interns participate in two hours of individual supervision with an appropriately licensed psychologist each week. Interns may request that one supervisor provide both hours of supervision, or may request to work with a primary supervisor for one hour and a secondary supervisor for the other hour. One hour of supervision each week is also provided in the intern’s specialty area. Interns receive one additional hour of group supervision each week focused on the interns’ provision of group therapy. Interns also receive .5 hours of supervision from their co-leader for each group they co-facilitate. Consultation with other senior staff is done on an informal and/or as-needed basis.
Interns are encouraged to work with clients whose presenting concerns and demographics fit their individual training needs and experience, and to maintain a caseload of clients that allows for depth and breadth of experience. Interns are given autonomy with respect to making decisions about client selection with input from their supervisor.
Interns are expected to co-lead one group each semester and may request to co-lead a second group, depending on availability. Groups are co-led with a senior staff member. If the senior staff co-leader anticipates being absent for a group session, psychology interns typically have enough advanced training to lead the group alone. Prior to an intern running a group alone, the senior staff group leader consults with the intern’s primary supervisor.
Couples counseling has become increasingly used by students, which provides interns with the opportunity to work with couples. Interns are expected to work with three couples over the course of the internship year.
Interns receive training and supervision in the area of clinical interviewing. All CAPS clients take the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) at intake and on a continuing weekly basis. Interns receive training in outcome assessment and the use of OQ-45 data in treatment planning.
Interns also develop additional skill in the use of psychological tests related to a university counseling center population. Interns are required to administer psychological tests and provide feedback to a minimum of two different individuals throughout the internship year. Possible tests include personality inventories (MMPI-2, PAI), educational assessments (WAIS-IV, WJ-III), an eating disorder inventory (EDI-III), and inventories of career interests and skills (MBTI, SII-II). Interns attend Assessment Seminar every other week, which provides training and consultation in the use of psychological tests. They also receive ongoing supervision on testing from their supervisors.
Interns are expected to lead outreach presentations based on their training needs and experience. Outreach presentations (e.g., on topics such as stress management, depression, sexual assault prevention) may be assigned by the Outreach Coordinator throughout the semester. Interns are also encouraged to develop their own outreach presentations. Interns conduct two or more outreach presentations each semester.
During the first two full weeks of August, all interns are oriented to Counseling and Psychological Services. By participating in orientation, interns are provided with opportunities to become acquainted with each other, as well as the staff, and become acclimated to CAPS before they begin to see clients.
Seminars are held weekly, and led by senior staff members or other professionals from the university and the community. Topics and leaders are scheduled by the Training Director, with input from both interns and senior staff.
Interns may also have opportunities to attend conferences (e.g., Utah University and College Counseling Centers conference) for professional development and networking. A small conference fund is available for trainees to defray some of the cost.
Case Conference is held on a weekly basis and provides staff members and interns the opportunity to present and consult on a clinical case. During case conference presentations, presenters gain feedback and insight in areas including case conceptualization, interventions, cultural considerations, resources and referrals, and ethical concerns. Presenters prepare in advance using the Case Conference Presentation Format (see Appendix A), and by selecting a brief video clip that illustrates the client/therapist relationship and interactional style.
Interns are expected to present twice each semester; including one clinical case presentation and one assessment case presentation. Completed Case Conference Presentation notes are submitted at the end of the internship year as part of the Internship Completion Requirements.
Interns, in conjunction with their individual supervisor and the Training Director, are encouraged to develop a particular area where they would like to gain more training and experience. Interns are encouraged to develop goals for this area, and to seek out training opportunities during the semester. Specialty Area experience is supervised by a licensed mental health professional.
