Overview of the APA-Accredited Internship

Our vision for the Doctoral Internship in Psychology is to develop health service psychologists with the conceptual and clinical competencies necessary to deliver psychological services in a manner that is effective and responsive to individual and societal needs, both now and in the future.

• We believe that sensitivity to individual differences and cultures in a diverse society and openness to self-reflection and life-long learning are necessary to bring these all together. 
• We will emphasize internship learning as a relational and reciprocal process.  
• We value self-reflection, mindfulness of both therapist and client internal responses in the therapy room, and creativity in fostering client change.
• Our training approach to clinical work is trans-theoretical, multi-cultural, and process-oriented. 
• We believe that the work of learning can often be challenging and involve vulnerability, in a parallel fashion to what our clients experience in therapy.  

So, our overall training focus for Interns will be exploring and discovering answers to the two questions:

1. “Who am I as a therapist?”
2. “How am I therapeutic?”

Answering these questions requires self-awareness/self-reflection and intentional expression of the self in skills and techniques.  Knowing the answers to these questions allows psychologists to adapt to a wide variety of situations and clients while offering consistent, helpful interventions.

We offer a generalist training experience at a college counseling center that integrates science and practice throughout the program and trains future Health Service Psychologists to serve a diverse public.

• Our training is primarily experiential in nature.
• We utilize a use of self model for therapy training that emphasizes attention to the internal experiences of the therapist as an important tool for change.
• We value cultural humility and train for intercultural effectiveness throughout the program.
• Our supervisory model values relationships, attends to culture, and acknowledges the power differential inherent in a supervisor/trainee dyad.
• We train in the context of a religious university, we attend to religion and spirituality in our work with students, and we offer opportunities to discuss and learn about integrating faith and clinical work.
• We incorporate ethical discussion and decision-making throughout the program.
• We provide ongoing assessment of skills with increasing levels of responsibility and independence.
• We strive for continuous improvement in our training approaches and will be asking for your input on a regular basis.

The following is a sample workweek, which may vary by semester or according to the Center’s or interns’ needs or preferences.

Total hours in any given week are typically 40, with occasional exceptions. 

During orientation, semester breaks, and over the summer the schedule may have a much lower percentage of therapy hours:

Direct Service: 18-22 hours

• 14 -16 hours Individual Counseling

• 2 hours Group Work (includes ½ hour supervision)

• 2 hours Initial Appointments or crisis intervention

• 1 hour providing supervision to a Practicum Student

• 1 hour consultation - Supporting Practicum Case Consultation (6 weeks/semester)

• 1 hour providing an active presentation to students (a few times a year)

Indirect Service: 2-4 hours

• 1 hour intern specific projects / individualized training, diversity projects, etc…

• 1 hour preparation for supervision

• 1 hour preparation for supervision of a practicum student

• 1 hour outreach program delivery (variable)

Training: 7-10 hours

• 2 hours Individual Primary Supervision (with licensed psychologist)

• 2 hours Trauma Recovery Supervision Group

• 1 hours Intern Case Consultation (group supervision)

• 1 hours Supervision of Supervision (group supervision)

• 2 hours Intern Didactic Seminar 

• 0.5 hour supervision for group therapy

• 1 hours mentorship for outreach programming (variable)

Administrative: 5-7 hours

• 1 hour Staff Meeting

• 1 hour extended staff meeting for training (1x month)

• 4 hours administrative/records

• 1 hour intern cohort development time (1x month)

Professional Development: Variable

We have earmarked 16 hours each semester specifically for professional development tasks that can be used to attend conferences, research a topic of interest, complete dissertation work, etc.  In addition to this there are regular conferences, presentations and trainings that interns lead or attend, and the time spent on these varies greatly by week and time of the semester.

The following are the minimum requirements for successful completion of the internship:

• A full-time, 2,000 Hour Internship Employment must be completed.
• 500 Direct Service Hours: Direct service includes individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, consultation with clients or concerned family members/staff/faculty, providing outreach services, providing supervision, leading psychological training for trainees or staff, and conducting assessments.
• Successful completion of Trauma Recovery Supervision Group experience.
• Successful completion of Outreach Expectations
• Co-facilitation of a group with a senior staff member: Interns are required to co-facilitate at least one group during their internship year.
• Successful Attainment of Minimum Levels of Achievement (MLA) for both profession wide and site-specific competencies as measured by Intern Competency Evaluation Form.
• Participate fully in Clinical, Multicultural, and Supervision Seminars.
• Attend and submit presentation/workshop proposal to Texas University & College Counseling Centers Conference.  Present if accepted. 
• Participate fully on Intern Selection Committee.
• Attend and participate in the Texas Intern Conference.
• Participate fully in preparation and training of new graduate trainees in June and July, working with Coordinator of Practicum Training, and leading and supporting multiple practicum trainings.
• Complete all written records and reports (including progress notes, assessment reports, intern logs, intern project summary, etc.).
• Complete all required evaluations of supervisors and the training program.
• Interns will document direct service hours and submit to the TD at minimum at the end of Fall and Spring semesters and at end of internship.

*Note: If the intern is unable to complete one of the minimum requirements due to unusual or unexpected circumstances beyond their control, a request may be made to substitute an optional training opportunity. The intern should make this request in writing to the Training Director and/or the Training Committee for consideration at the earliest possible time.  It is the intern’s responsibility to meet all minimum requirements and the Training Committee makes no guarantee that such a substitution will be approved.  However, reasonable efforts will be made to seek out an equitable solution.  The Training Committee will provide the intern with a written response to the request, and an explanation for any determinations made, which will become part of the intern’s records.    

Individual Counseling

Interns see up to 16 hours of individual therapy sessions per week. The Baylor Counseling Center functions primarily within a short-term counseling model. Interns will have the option of seeing 2 clients over a longer period for the training experience of doing some in-depth clinical work. This will be determined in a discussion with their primary supervisor.

Group Counseling

The Counseling Center offers a variety of groups throughout the year. Examples include Mindfulness, Substance Abuse, Trauma Recovery Group, Creative Arts Process, ACT on Anxiety and Depression, Social Confidence, Interpersonal Process, etc… Interns are required to co-lead at least one group with a staff member.

Initial Appointments/Triage

Students who are coming to the Baylor Counseling Center for the first time are asked to attend an initial consultation session as a way of entering the system – called an Initial Appointment. The therapist on initial appointment duty then conducts an assessment interview. Interns will each cover 2-4 hours weekly of initial appointment time. Counselors may also see crises during this time as it serves as our entry point for all types of concern.

Workshops

The Counseling Center provides various workshops and outreach programming to address issues that college students often experience.

Practicum Supervision

The Baylor Counseling Center provides practicum experience for doctoral graduate students in clinical psychology from the Baylor University Psy.D. Program.  Interns provide one hour a week of supervision for a practicum student, and supervise for either a semester or a year, depending on the number of practicum students in a given year.  As part of their supervisory duties, interns are responsible for both the client care and the professional development of the practicum student. This will include reviewing videotapes of the practicum students work. Interns as supervisors in training are also responsible for reviewing practicum trainee case notes. Practicum supervision by each intern is supervised by a licensed clinical staff who also spends an hour each week supervising the same practicum student.  Interns are expected to video-record their supervision sessions, and present clips of them as part of the supervision of supervision experience.

Individual Supervision

Strong supervision is a highlight of our training program and we believe it to be the most essential element of what we offer. Each intern receives 2 hours per week of regularly scheduled supervision from a licensed psychologist. Additional unscheduled supervision and consultation with the supervisor and other staff members are available and encouraged. Although individual supervision may focus primarily on an intern’s counseling cases, cultural humility, ethics, career development, and other professional issues are valuable parts of these discussions.

Trauma Recovery Supervision Group

The Trauma Recovery Supervision Group (TRSG) exists to ensure that the Baylor University Counseling Center provides adequate supervision for interns who are working with clients who have experienced traumatic events.  Specifically, the TRSG will provide developmentally appropriate scaffolding regarding the (a) assessment of trauma-related disorders; (b) the adaptation of evidence-based therapies for use in a university counseling center setting; and (c) the respectful inclusion of the diverse identities of each client and clinician.  An aspirational objective is also that the TRSG would be instrumental in equipping interns to successfully work with trauma-related cases in their future practice.

Group Supervision

Interns meet once a week for an hour of group supervision.  This time may be used for supervision around a variety of clinically related topics.  It is designed to be responsive to the current developmental needs of the cohort.  Interns are expected to prepare for this supervision as directed by the leader of the group supervision, including bringing questions on the assigned topic, showing video and debriefing with the group, or reviewing examples of clinical documentation.

Supervision of Supervision

This weekly meeting involves two interns and two staff members who also spend an hour a week in supervision with the practicum students. Supervision of Supervision provides interns a setting in which to share and discuss their experiences as supervisors, review tape, and receive feedback and guidance in their role as supervisors.

Supervision of Group Therapy

During the training year, interns will co-lead a group with a staff member. This co-leader serves as the supervisor for the intern’s group therapy activities, meeting for approximately one half hour immediately preceding and/or following each group session. This supervision provides interns the opportunity to discuss dynamics, content and interventions specific to the group they are co-leading, as well as discuss group therapy dynamics and interventions in general.

Intern Case Consultation

Interns will meet together with clinical staff members for an hour each week discuss in detail one or more clients/cases. The Case Consultation  involves writing a conceptualization, researching a relevant journal article, choosing questions for consultation, and sharing video for discussion. Interns will each have a 5 week opportunity each semester to share video of the same client, weekly, with a small group of clinical staff, exploring the clinical work with an emphasis on attention to culture and identity.

Didactic Seminar

The Didactic Training Seminar is a 2-hour weekly educational seminar that provides interns with training and information about a variety of professional issues and topics of therapeutic relevance.  It is particularly geared toward enhancing interns skills for counseling center work. Some weeks, this seminar may be replaced by a special opportunity such as an outside presenter or attending a conference or workshop.

Diversity training is explicitly and consistently integrated within each didactic: diversity considerations and learning objectives are part of each topic. The hope is that this matches our professional work, where consideration and discussion of culture and identity are inseparable from our clinical and relational tasks.  Multicultural seminar group also offers a focused attention to topics of culture and identity in clinical work.

Once a month, Didactic seminar focuses on topics related to the provision of supervision, in order to support interns in developing skills in this area, to augment skills learned in supervision of supervision, and to help interns grow as supervisors throughout the year, whether they are supervising currently or not.

Multicultural Seminar Group

The yearlong Multicultural Seminar Group (MSG) is a comprehensive experience designed to provide interns with a developmental and intentional exploration of various topics related to multiculturalism. Led by a consistent staff member and two rotating staff members each semester, the seminar covers a wide range of subjects, with an orientation in August.

Monthly meetings during internship didactics focus on a knowledge-discussion-application format, with the first hour dedicated to reviewing research and engaging in discussions, and the second hour focused on applying concepts and skills to current clinical cases. The seminar's main goals are to help interns examine the needs of students and the impact of their own identities while promoting intercultural engagement and utilizing available resources. 

Capstone Professional Development Presentations

During the summer months, interns create and lead several presentations designed to help them consolidate and showcase their professional skills.  This is part of the developmental transition from trainee to professional. Interns provide professional presentations in the areas of diversity, clinical topics, case presentation, and theory of change. Many of these presentations are created to help train practicum students for counseling center work.  

Trauma Recovery Supervision Group

TRSG meets weekly across Fall and Spring semesters, with an intensive orientation in August. The goal of the time is to prepare and support the interns for work with clients who have experienced trauma.  We are highly invested in the education, prevention, support, and appropriate treatment for students in the areas of interpersonal violence and trauma. Interns may engage in experiences that support the mission and work of the counseling center on campus in this area, as appropriate and as available.

Clinical Supervision of a Practicum Student

Training interns to become skilled clinical supervisors is a highlight of our training program. We use a relational approach within a co-supervision model with the training staff mentoring and empowering interns to hone their skills of being a supervisor. They will meet weekly with their practicum supervisee for one semester, participate in a weekly hour supervision-of-supervision, and provide consultation in the weekly practicum case conference.

Diversity and Intercultural Engagement

We highly value diversity, cultural humility, and intercultural engagement. Interns will engage in experiences that develop these competencies. These experiences include their clinical work, as well as trainings, presentations, supervision, and outreach.  The Multicultural Seminar Group is a focal point for this work.  The interns will discuss their developmental stage of diversity awareness and cross-cultural competency within this group.

Outreach Training Experiences

Baylor Counseling Center staff are asked to provide staff development programs for other departments, present seminars or workshops for student groups, and provide other outreach services on campus.

Interns will be expected to contribute to the mission of the BUCC by assisting with outreach efforts throughout the academic year.  This may include tabling at campus events, promoting BUCC services, providing training for students or faculty/staff on mental health topics and engaging in afterhours outreach events.  They are also expected to offer two outreach programs that they create and/or implement with the support of a staff mentor.  The Outreach Coordinator will provide supervision and support but the intern is expected to show initiative and responsibility. The Coordinator of Outreach Services and the mentors for intern outreaches provide input for the biannual evaluation of the intern’s development of this competency.