Training

Psychology Internship Training Program

Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation
American Psychological Association

Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
American Psychological Association
750 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Phone: (202) 336-5979
Email: apaaccred@apa.org


APPIC Match Number:
159811 - Psychology Internship

The University Counseling Center (UCC) at the University of Utah is committed to providing training that facilitates professional growth and competence. The multidisciplinary training and varied theoretical orientations of professional staff provide a rich environment for intern development.

The internship in psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), and the UCC is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS). The UCC is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC), the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA), the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), and the Association for the Coordination of Counseling Center Clinical Services (ACCCCS).

Introduction

The UCC was established in 1950. In 1972, three independent campus mental health agencies--the Marriage and Family Clinic, the Mental Health Unit of the Student Health Service, and the Counseling Center--were consolidated into the UCC. Thus, UCC employs a multidisciplinary approach to service delivery with practitioners from the disciplines of psychology, social work, and psychiatry. The Center serves a student population of over 31,600 individuals, as well as approximately 12,200 faculty and staff. As the flagship of the Utah System of Higher Education, the University of Utah attracts students from all 50 U.S. states and more than 110 foreign countries. Opportunities are available to work with nontraditional, international, and ethnic minority students.

The Setting

Founded in 1850, the University of Utah is the oldest state university west of the Missouri River. The University is situated on a sprawling landscaped 1,534-acre campus with more than 300 buildings and a research park. It is a center of community culture with active research institutes, libraries, art museums, a natural history museum, laboratory and professional theaters, modern dance and ballet, and a wide variety of music programs. Approximately 2700 faculty members have made distinguished contributions in teaching, research, fine arts, and public service.

The University is located in the foothills of the awe-inspiring Wasatch Mountains at the eastern edge of Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah. A four-season climate and surrounding alpine country invite outdoor activity such as camping, hiking, canoeing and fishing. Seven world-famous ski resorts are located within 45 minutes of the campus. Vestiges of the frontier spirit and rugged individualism remain in the metropolitan and rural areas of Utah. Salt Lake City is the home of a nationally recognized symphony, ballet company, opera and repertory dance company, as well as several active theater groups. Sports enthusiasts enjoy professional basketball (the NBA Utah Jazz), professional soccer (the MLS Real Salt Lake), minor league baseball (the Salt Lake Bees), and minor league hockey (Utah Grizzlies). Salt Lake City was the site for the 2002 Winter Olympics, with the University serving as the athletes' village and the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. In addition there are five National Parks in Utah: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion; seven National Monuments; and two National Recreation Areas.

Mission

The purpose of the University Counseling Center (UCC) is to facilitate and support the educational mission of the University of Utah. We provide developmental, preventive, and therapeutic services and programs that promote the intellectual, emotional, cultural, and social development of students, staff, and faculty. We advocate a philosophy of acceptance, compassion, and support for those we serve, as well as for each other. We aspire to respect cultural, individual and role differences as we continually work toward creating a safe and affirming climate for individuals of all ages, cultures, ethnicities, genders, gender identities, languages, mental and physical abilities, national origins, races, religions, sexual orientations, sizes, and socioeconomic statuses.

Multiculturalism

The University Counseling Center (UCC) provides counseling, educational, and developmental services to the university community. The UCC is committed to increasing awareness and knowledge about human diversity and culture such that respectful human interactions and effective interconnections can occur. Our goal is for all eligible students, faculty, and staff to be able to access our services and receive acceptance regardless of culture, gender, generation, ethnicity, lifestyle, spirituality, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, national origin, language, or physical and mental functioning.

As mental health professionals who adhere to the respective professional ethics and standards of the various mental-health disciplines represented at the UCC, we have a personal and professional responsibility to:

  • Identify and understand our own attitudes, biases, assumptions, and values about human behavior;
  • Recognize and demonstrate awareness of the client’s world-view, including his/her attitudes, biases, assumptions, and values;
  • Educate ourselves so that we can better understand the influence and impact of our culture within the counseling relationship;
  • Provide culturally competent and effective counseling (e.g., appropriate help-giving practices, intervention strategies, and cultural structures) to all eligible students, faculty, and staff; and
  • Promote the cognitive, emotional, psychological, and/or spiritual development of our clients and campus community.

In order to meet this goal, we consistently strive to integrate multiculturalism into the everyday functioning and structure of our agency, including the organizational, administrative, training, service, and individual levels. While this integration of multiculturalism is reflected in the UCC’s policies, procedures, and programming, our mission to promote multiculturalism and eliminate prejudicial and discriminatory practices (APA, 2003) extends not only to ourselves, but also outside our agency to the campus and surrounding communities.

Training Philosophy

The doctoral internship program in psychology offers broad education and training with a focus on the specializations of Counseling Psychology and Clinical Psychology.  The UCC espouses a Scientist-Practitioner philosophy of training responsive to its multicultural setting within a university community.  The UCC is committed to providing generalist training that facilitates growth and competence and integrates the application of current scientific knowledge, principles, and theories in the provision of professional services.  Interns learn to apply their skills within a multicultural and ethical service delivery environment. 

The internship training program builds on professional knowledge acquired during doctoral training related to the following substantive content areas of general psychology: biological bases of behavior, cognitive-affective bases of behavior, social bases of behavior, and individual behavior (Belar & Perry, 1992).  Interns are expected to integrate science and professional practice sufficiently to demonstrate assessment and intervention skill and ability with diverse target individuals and groups.  As articulated by Stoltenberg, Pace, Kashubeck-West, Biever, Patterson, and Welch (2000), our training program envisions the Scientist-Practitioner as a professional who is trained “to identify a problem, gather relevant data, formulate hypotheses, and test these hypotheses in a systematic manner.”  For example, integration of the Scientist-Practitioner philosophy is evident in the training provided in session-to-session utilization of the Outcome Questionnaire-45 data in the assessment, intervention, and evaluation of individual counseling at the UCC.  (We are currently also collecting the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychology Symptoms, or CCAPS, on a session-to-session basis as part of an outcome research project.)  We agree with the assertion of Stoltenberg, et al. (2000) that “the scientist role is as important in the moment-by-moment process of clinical activity as it is in conducting controlled empirical studies.”

The Scientist-Practitioner philosophy of training is closely tied to the UCC model of service delivery.  The UCC service delivery model is based on the Interactive Cube Model (Pace, Stamler, Yarris & June, 1996) adapted from the Cube Model (Morrill, Oetting, & Hurst, 1974) in which interventions are defined in terms of their targets, purposes and methods.  Interventions may be directed toward the (a) individual; (b) individual's primary groups (e.g., family, couple, close friends); (c) associational group (e.g., class, club); or (d) institution or community.  Purposes of intervention may be (a) remediation; (b) prevention; or (c) development.  Methods of intervention can be through (a) direct service; (b) consultation and training; and/or (c) media.  The Interactive Cube Model is responsive to changes in higher education and the world-at-large with increased emphasis on flexibility, interdependence, and collaboration within the university community.  The internship training program is structured to expose interns to a variety of targets, purposes, and methods of service delivery.  Thus, the UCC internship prepares broadly trained professional practitioners to offer services that are preventive, developmental, and therapeutic. 

The primary purpose of the UCC is to facilitate and support the educational mission of the University of Utah.  We do so by providing preventive, developmental and therapeutic services that range from learning skills and career development to psychotherapy and crisis intervention.  All psychology internship positions incorporate generalist training in individual, couple and group psychotherapy; assessment; crisis intervention; classroom teaching of credit-bearing courses; provision of clinical supervision; consultation and outreach; research; and professional development.  In addition to training within the UCC, psychology interns are encouraged to collaborate with professionals outside the Center and to provide service within the broader University community.  Training related to ethical, legal, and multicultural/diversity issues is infused throughout the program. 

An over-arching goal of the psychology internship training program is to prepare professional psychologists who demonstrate “a research orientation in their practice and a practice relevance in their research” (Belar & Perry, 1992).  The training program prepares interns for careers as staff members in university and college counseling centers or as faculty members in academic departments at institutions of higher education.  Interns who complete the program also are prepared to work as professional psychologists in other outpatient practice settings (e.g., community mental health agencies, primary care medical clinics, etc.)

Interdisciplinary Setting

The UCC provides a rich environment of interdisciplinary training for psychology interns, psychiatry residents, and social work interns. In addition, all doctoral students in Counseling Psychology from the Department of Educational Psychology complete a counseling practicum at UCC, and doctoral students in clinical psychology from the Department of Psychology participate in a clinical assessment practicum and/or a psychotherapy practicum at UCC. The UCC also trains undergraduate peer educators to promote health and wellness through the Student Athlete Mentor and Alternative Spring Break programs sponsored by the Center for Student Wellness.

Focus of Training at UCC

The UCC provides services that are preventive, developmental and therapeutic and that range from crisis intervention and psychotherapy to career development and learning skills. The UCC mission encompasses provision of mental health services within a diverse University community, preventive and developmental programs designed to help students take maximum advantage of their university experience, consultation and outreach to enhance the campus environment for student development, training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, teaching at the undergraduate level, and research and evaluation of program effectiveness. The UCC staff is diverse in professional training and theoretical orientations. All psychology internship positions provide generalist training in individual, couple and group psychotherapy; assessment; crisis intervention; classroom teaching; clinical supervision; consultation and outreach; research; and professional development. Training related to ethical, legal, and multicultural/diversity issues is infused throughout the program. In addition to training within the UCC, psychology interns are encouraged to collaborate with professionals outside the Center to provide service within the broader University community.

Training Goals

An over-acrhing goal of the psychology internship training program is to prepare professional psychologists who demonstrate “a research orientation in their practice and a practice relevance in their research” (Belar & Perry, 1992). The training program prepares interns for careers as staff members in counseling centers at colleges and universities or as faculty members in academic departments at institutions of higher education. Interns who complete the program also are prepared to work as professional psychologists in other outpatient practice settings (e.g., primary care medical clinics, community mental health agencies, etc.). It is expected that intern applicants will have achieved basic didactic education in the following areas (Belar & Perry, 1990): biological, cognitive/ affective, social, and individual bases of behavior. In addition, applicants are expected to have engaged in supervised practicum experiences in counseling and psychotherapy. The developmental focus of the internship training program is to facilitate integration of these components with applied practice, so as to advance each intern's level of professional competence. (Please see Projected Service Agreement and Planning Your Schedule in the Training Manual.)

General Program Goals

The training staff at UCC has identified 9 major internship training goals:

1. Assessment: Interns will acquire intermediate to advanced skills in clinical and psychometric assessment.

2. Clinical Conceptualization and Intervention: Interns will acquire intermediate to advanced skills in case conceptualization and clinical interventions, and will demonstrate the use of these skills with clients with a variety of presenting concerns in a variety of modalities (i.e., individual, group, and couples therapy).

3. Cultural and Individual Diversity: Interns will increase their awareness and knowledge of cultural and individual diversity.  They will use their awareness and knowledge to provide culturally competent professional psychological services to individuals and groups representing various dimensions of diversity, broadly defined.

4. Consultation and Outreach: Interns will acquire understanding and skill to perform consultation and outreach functions in a university setting.

5. Supervision: Interns will acquire intermediate to advanced skills in clinical supervision.

6. Career Development: Interns will acquire intermediate to advanced skills in career assessment and counseling.

7. Research: Interns will complete the dissertation research project or its equivalent.  Interns will be involved in other research-related activities of the intern’s choosing once the dissertation is complete.

8. Ethics & Standards: Interns will demonstrate ethical decision-making and conduct consistent with the ethical and legal standards of professional psychology.  Interns will understand professional standards (i.e., licensing and credentialing) and be able to initiate the next steps toward licensure.

9. Professional Development: Interns will acquire habits of ongoing professional development and lifelong learning.

Method

The primary training method is experiential. Interns spend approximately 65% of their time in direct service activities including individual, couple, and group counseling; advanced and "Same Day" intakes; providing clinical supervision; engaging in consultation and outreach; conducting psychological assessments; and teaching or co-teaching classes. With permanent staff, interns co-lead therapy groups and conduct couples co-therapy. In addition, interns spend four hours a week in research and scholarly activities.  (Please see Projected Service Agreement and Planning Your Schedule in the Training Manual.)

While the UCC internship is generally a 40 hour per week experience, there is some variability due to the academic calendar and university holidays.  During peak periods, interns can expect to work a few hours more than 40 hours per week; during university break periods, however, interns may be less heavily scheduled.  The internship program is defined as a 2000 hour experience.  Therefore, in a year comprised of 50 weeks, interns are responsible to average 40 hours per week in order to fulfill internship requirements.  One-quarter of this time, or 500 hours, will be spent in the provision of direct service, or "Mental Health Therapy," as defined by Utah statute. 

Training methods and activities are sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity. For example, interns acquire skills for conducting intake interviews in the following sequence:

1. During Orientation & Training, they receive didactic instruction in the policies and procedures for conducting intake interviews, read the UCC clinical services manual regarding intake interviews, watch video recordings of intake interviews role-played by UCC permanent clinical staff members, and engage in role-played interviews with peers;

2. Interns observe, in vivo, permanent clinical staff members conducting actual intake interviews;

3. When prepared, interns conduct intake interviews in the presence of a permanent clinical staff member who observes and provides feedback; this is repeated until a permanent clinical staff member approves the intern to conduct intake interviews independently.  This is referred to as being “cleared for independent intakes;

4. Interns conduct intake interviews independently;

5. In the multidisciplinary Clinical Team meeting, interns present brief, emergent case conceptualizations and oral summaries of the intake assessment for case disposition, incorporating clinical interview assessment with data from the OQ-45 and the CCAPS.

6. Interns receive feedback from the Team regarding their intake presentations

7. Interns may consult with their Team Leader or any other permanent clinical staff colleague regarding problematic intake interviews either while the client is in the session or after the session.

8. Interns have the opportunity to test their intake hypotheses by comparing their clinical interview assessments to the OQ-45 and CCAPS scores of intake clients and by following up with the ongoing assigned therapist, who is usually a member of the same Clinical Team, to determine the accuracy of their initial evaluations.

Training in other service delivery areas of the UCC is similarly sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity.

Training methods and activities also utilize the unique aspects of the environment at the University of Utah to provide comprehensive training and experience in principles of multiculturalism. For example, since 22.2% of clients presenting for intake identify as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), a training module in the initial orientation and training schedule acquaints interns with cultural practices, religious beliefs, unique terminology, and church resources as they relate to the practice of psychotherapy in this public university. Interns can use this knowledge and awareness with their clients, so as to communicate accurate empathy and develop appropriate treatment plans that are respectful of clients' religious, spiritual, and cultural values. Similar training sessions are held for other client populations of interest, such as LGBTQ clients. During Fall and Spring Semesters, the Multicultural Development Seminar series affords interns and staff members an opportunity to expand their knowledge of varied aspects of diversity such as race/ethnicity, ability/disability, language, sexual orientation, gender, spirituality, and socioeconomic status through selected readings, discussions, invited speakers, and clinical case presentations. In Spring Semester, interns are expected to implement their theoretical knowledge about a particular underserved population representing one or more aspects of diversity by planning and implementing a clinical, psychoeducational, or research-based Diversity Initiative to meet an identified need in the campus community.

Psychology interns receive two hours each week of regularly scheduled individual supervision with their primary supervisor, a psychologist who has been licensed for at least three years. All interns have two different primary supervisors at UCC during the training year. In addition, interns receive half an hour of individual supervision from their group therapy co-leaders who are permanent staff members. These supervisors may be from disciplines other than psychology (e.g., social work). Interns who are providing couples therapy with a permanent staff member also receive supervision with their co-therapist staff member. Again, permanent staff co-therapists may be from disciplines other than psychology. Interns typically receive additional individual supervision on research, testing, outreach and process consultation activities from the persons responsible for training in those areas. Interns also may receive individual supervision/consultation from any permanent staff member as needed.

Interns typically receive 4-6 hours a week of small group supervision and training through consultation and seminar groups. These provide a forum for presentation of cases, discussion of clinical and multicultural issues, exchange of ideas, mini-lectures on selected topics, review of research and theoretical articles, and monitoring of ethical concerns. Some training seminars are exclusively for psychology interns (e.g., Psychology Training Seminar and Supervision Seminar), some are for social work and psychology interns (e.g., UCC Training Seminar), and others are attended by interns and permanent clinical staff members (e.g., Multicultural Development Seminar, Clinical Case Consultation, and Staff Development). Interns attend consultation groups relevant to the work they are doing in the agency. They also receive a half-hour per week of small group supervision for the teaching they are providing that semester.

General Outcome Measures

Interns are invited to choose training experiences from a wide spectrum of activities. During orientation and training sessions at the beginning of the training year, interns plan and set goals for service delivery and training activities which include counseling, teaching, outreach/consultation, research, and providing clinical supervision. This initial plan is refined after the preliminary review that occurs early in fall semester or as the need arises, so that interns can adapt their training experiences in light of their own needs and those of the Center.

A Projected Service Agreement (PSA) is used each semester where all members of the UCC staff, including interns, specify portions of time to be spent in each service delivery area. This targeting system provides interns with a structure to ensure their participation in diverse training opportunities as well as to practice negotiating with colleagues and peers to achieve personal training goals, while meeting the service delivery mandates of the UCC.

Evaluation. Interns are expected to achieve intermediate to advanced competency in each of the 9 goal areas described above. Evaluation is both formative and summative. Interns receive performance feedback on a daily or weekly basis as they function in various capacities within the UCC. A Preliminary Review is held early in fall semester where all permanent clinical staff members discuss their observations of each intern’s performance. If deficits are identified, then the primary supervisor discusses the concerns with the intern, and together they plan training experiences to increase the intern’s level of skill. There are two Performance Evaluations, one at the end of fall semester and one just prior to the end of the internship, where interns receive oral and written feedback concerning their performance. If an intern’s performance is not considered to be at the intermediate or advanced level of competency then the supervisor, along with the Director of Training, works with the intern to develop a plan, so that the intern can achieve the necessary level of proficiency to successfully complete the internship.

Proximal evaluation measures include:

  1. Review of the content of interns' Projected Service Agreement and activity summaries.
  2. Contributions in training seminars.
  3. Staff observations recorded in the preliminary review and in the two performance evaluation meetings.
  4. Titanium reports and documentation of number of intakes and ongoing counseling hours completed.
  5. Monthly reports from the Director recording the percent of actual to targeted hours of intake and returning appointments, and the range of these percentages for permanent staff over the same time period.
  6. Primary supervisor’s written evaluation of intern’s performance.
  7. Client reports of behavior change via the Outcome Questionnaire-45 and/or CCAPS.
  8. Written instructor evaluations regarding intern’s teaching.
  9. Ratings by practicum supervisee(s) on supervisor evaluation forms.

Distal evaluation measures include:

  1. Length of time to complete doctoral degree following internship.
  2. Obtaining a professional position in psychology relevant to the intern's long term career goals.
  3. Achieving licensure as a psychologist.
  4. Professional contributions of former interns to their institutions or agencies, their communities, the discipline of psychology, and/or national or international issues related to research and practice in psychology.
  5. Presentation records of former interns at national, regional, state and local professional meetings.
  6. Publication records of former interns who are in academic and applied settings.
  7. Participation of former interns in local, regional, national, and international professional organizations.
  8. Alumni Follow-up Survey.

UCC Services

Direct services provided by the Counseling Center include preventive, developmental, and therapeutic procedures designed to: (a) remove existing psychological barriers to personal growth and functioning and (b) assist in the actualization of individual, group, and institutional capabilities and resources.

Counseling and Psychotherapy

Individual and Couples: Through a 12-session brief therapy model, clients are assisted in increasing their personal and academic functioning. To gain experience in providing long-term therapy, interns may carry a selected number of clients long-term. Psychiatric evaluation by a psychiatric resident or staff psychiatrist, as well as referral to more appropriate community resources, may be part of an assessment/treatment plan.

Group: UCC has a strong program in group therapy. Each intern participates as a co-therapist for a process-oriented therapy group. There are several theme or special issue groups including an LGBTQ2 Group, Graduate Student Group, Subtance Abuse Recovery Group, Students of Color Group, Women's Process Group, Mindfulness & Meditation Group, as well as general Yalom-type, Interpersonal Process Groups.

Intakes and Crisis Intervention: All UCC clinical staff members, including interns, provide brief intake appointments on a weekly basis which are scheduled in advance. All UCC clinical staff members, again including interns, also provide urgent or emergency coverage by offering "Same Day" intakes for a specified period of time each day. Interns always have permanent clinical staff back-up in the agency while they are providing these services. This dual approach to intake appointments provides rich clinical training in assessment and crisis work for interns and accessible services for UCC clients.

Teaching (Credit-bearing University Classes)

Interns teach undergraduate courses in Strategies for College Success and/or Introduction to Multicultural Issues. These classes are conceptualized as preventive and developmental interventions that are psychoeducational in nature. Teaching opportunities are dependent on sufficient course enrollment.

Strategies for College Success (ED PS 2600). Two interns will teach sections of this class which is designed to encourage academic success through focusing on critical thinking, study skills, note-taking, test-taking, time scheduling, and stress management. The class addresses issues of diversity and career development and also acquaints students with various university resources (3 credit hours).

Introduction to Multicultural Issues (ED PS 3010): Interns co-teach a course that meets the diversity education requirement of the University of Utah. They assist students in exploring similarities and differences among men and women from various cultures, religions, sexual orientations, economic classes, and geographical locations. They provide selected readings, films, panel discussions, and guest speakers to supplement experiential learning, lectures and discussion (3 credit hours).

Collaborative Consultation & Outreach

Outreach Presentations: Interns present two or more psychoeducational workshops in classes, for student clubs and organizations, or for staff and faculty groups every semester.

Faculty and Staff Consultation: Interns may provide process consultation services to administrative units, academic departments, and student service agencies. Activities may include: (a) responding to campus crises, (b) helping faculty or staff members manage psychological or social problems they encounter with employees or students, (c) skill training (e.g., stress management, communication), (d) organizational development, and (e) assisting faculty with test selection, administration, and interpretation.

Diversity Initiative. As discussed elsewhere, an important application of consultation and outreach for interns at UCC is the design and implementation of a Diversity Initiative. Interns identify a population which may be marginalized or traditionally underserved which becomes the focus of a year-long initiative.

Clinical Supervision

Interns provide individual clinical supervision to practicum counselors who are doctoral students in the local Counseling Psychology program. They participate in a weekly Supervision of Supervision Seminar which includes small-group supervision of supervision, discussions of models of clinical supervision, case presentations of supervision, and didactic readings and discussions of supervision issues.

Assessment

Interns conduct assessments including clinical interviews and selected standardized measures of ability, personality, and achievement with individual clients. Interns are expected to write one formal integrated assessment report each semester as well as a written summary of results and recommendations for the client's use. They participate in an Assessment Seminar, a module within the Psychology Training Seminar, where principles of assessment in clinical practice are discussed and test reports are reviewed.

Counseling Center Staff

Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Clinical Social Work, and Psychiatric perspectives are readily accessible to interns. The core professional staff is supplemented by selected staff associates, including Student Affairs professionals, faculty members in academic departments, and practitioners in the community who provide additional training. Staff members participate in agency administration and serve as coordinators of intervention areas. Co-therapy with permanent staff members is characteristic of agency training.  Permanent clinical staff members provide back-up for interns dealing with clients in crisis. Interns consult with staff psychiatrists about issues related to medication and hospitalization.

Supervision, Feedback and Evaluation

Psychology interns receive feedback concerning their performance as UCC staff members. This ongoing, shared assessment is an integral part of the learning process and includes evaluation of ethical and professional behavior and assessment of skills and individual styles of counseling. Copies of "Trainee Rights and Responsibilities and Due Process Procedures," "The Comprehensive Evaluation of Student-Trainee Competence in Professional Training Programs," and "Personal Disclosure Policy for UCC Trainees" are provided during the initial orientation and training period. (Please see the Training Manual.)

The agency employs a comprehensive evaluation model developed by a task force of the APA's Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC; APA, 2004).  This model recognizes the importance of evaluating not only the acquisition of counseling, intervention, and teaching skills, but of other elements of professional development and functioning (i.e., cognitive, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, technical, and ethical functioning). 

A licensed psychologist is responsible for the direct supervision of an intern's counseling and psychotherapy cases. Interns meet with their primary supervisor for two hours a week and may consult more frequently as needed. Each intern also receives regular feedback about other UCC experiences from permanent clinical staff members directly responsible for those activities. Early in the training year a preliminary review is conducted so that adjustments in interns’ training and responsibilities may be made when needed. Twice a year, the intern's primary supervisor provides a formal, written evaluation. (Please see Evaluation of Trainee in the Training Manual.) This evaluation is discussed and shared with the intern, and a copy is placed in the intern's permanent file. Similarly, interns complete written evaluations about the quality and style of the supervision that they have received and share that information with their supervisors twice a year. (Please see Supervisor Skills Evaluation Form in the Training Manual.) A written report on each intern's performance is sent semiannually to the director of the intern's academic program.

Training Opportunities

Clinical Supervision: All interns receive two hours of individual weekly supervision from UCC psychologists who have been licensed a minimum of three years. Formats are diverse, including observation, co-therapy, review of electronic recordings, case discussion, and review of written case documentation. In addition, interns conduct couples and group therapy with permanent staff co-therapists who serve as the supervisors for those training experiences.

Multicultural Development Seminar: Interns and staff participate in structured diversity training in Fall and Spring Semesters.  Each year the agency chooses a different focus related to the broad theme of Multicultural Development.  For example, during the 2011-2012 year we are focusing on clinical case conceptualizations from multicultural perspectives.  Permanent staff members and training staff are collectively presenting a variety of didactic diversity training modules this year, as well as discussing case conceptualizations from multicultural perspectives.

UCC Training Seminar:  Psychology and Social Work Interns meet jointly for this weekly seminar which runs Fall and Spring semesters.  Seminar topics rotate and are presented by UCC staff and guest speakers with expertise in each of the following areas:

  • Multicultural & Diversity Issues (10 Weeks)
  • Consultation and Collaborative Outreach (4 weeks)
  • Group Therapy (4 weeks)
  • Couples Therapy (4 weeks)
  • Ethics in Mental Health Practice (4 weeks)

Psychology Training Seminar:  Psychology Interns meet in a weekly seminar led by agency psychologists for discipline-specific training in the following areas:

  • Assessment Training (10 weeks)
  • Clinical Case Conceptualization (5 weeks)
  • Empirically-supported Treatments (5 weeks)
  • Professional Development Issues (8-10 weeks)

Supervision Seminar: Theoretical and experiential supervision issues are discussed and small group supervision-of-supervision is provided. Trainees present their supervision work with doctoral practicum counselors via electronic recordings and discussion. They give and receive feedback on their supervisory skills. This training group meets every week for one hour throughout the academic year.

Diversity Initiatives:  In Spring Semester interns design and carry out a Diversity Initiative to meet the needs of under-served populations on campus.  These initiatives often involve collaboration with other Student Affairs agencies or student groups on campus.  Diversity Initiatives of previous interns include collaboration with the director of the LGBT Resource Center to develop a mentoring program; collaboration with faculty members at the LDS Institute of Religion to acquaint them with services offered at the UCC and to identify ways to best meet the needs of students who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; development of counseling brochures to address unique concerns of American Indian, Spanish speaking, LGBTQ, and first generation students; coordination with the Veteran's Support Center on campus to determine how UCC can better serve veteran and active military students; and collaboration with staff at the Center for Disability Services to increase physical accessibility of UCC services for students with disabilities.

Clinical Team Meeting: Interns meet weekly for one hour with members of their integrated vertical clinical teams to present intake assessments, effect disposition of clients, and acquire their case loads. They observe permanent staff role models and provide modeling for practicum counselors on their teams with respect to presenting cases, giving and receiving feedback, and providing recommendations. They learn to collaborate with colleagues to provide the best disposition and treatment planning for each client.

Psychiatric Consultation: Interns may refer clients to staff psychiatrists for joint case management including diagnostic consultation and/or medication evaluations. Interns are encouraged to participate in these diagnostic interviews.

Other Training Activities

Research: Interns may participate in program evaluation research and needs assessment. They may collaborate with other UCC staff and interns related to ongoing UCC research projects or may initiate their own projects. Research activity is supported through access to data and/or research participants, allocation of weekly research time (4 hours/week), and consultation on experimental design and analysis.

Administration: Trainees serve on at least one standing committee within the UCC such as the Training Committee, Research Committee, or the Multicultural Development Committee. They also may serve on ad hoc UCC committees. Opportunities also are available to serve on university-wide committees such as the "Love Your Body Week" program committee.

Program Development: Trainees are encouraged to contribute their expertise to improvements in services, programs, and training. Past trainee contributions include presenting a seminar on effective counseling strategies with Arab American clients, developing and implementing a career development workshop for Pacific Islander high school students, developing and delivering a feminist therapy group, conducting a joint research project presented at an international conference, and developing and implementing a workshop on White privilege.

Staff Development: A seminar series of invited speakers provides continuing education to permanent staff and trainees every month. Topics usually relate to clinical issues.  Recent presentations included "Racial Inequality in Higher Education: A View Through Critical Race Theory;"  "Wilderness Therapy for Young Adults;"  "One Woman, Two Countries, and Three Cultures;"  "DBT Network of Utah; Walking with Clients on the Middle Path Toward a Life Worth Living;" and "Counseling the Transgender Person. "

Clinical Case Consultation (Optional): Interns may attend this meeting for one hour every week where problematic cases are discussed and consultation obtained with the Clinical Director, staff psychiatrist, substance abuse specialist, and other permanent staff members. Once a month, this meeting focuses on clients who are being treated for disordered eating.

Trainee Peer Group: Psychology and Social Work interns participate in a bimonthly peer group meeting. They decide on format and content based on their needs.

Intensive Workshops: From time to time, intensive workshops are provided by UCC for psychology interns and other UCC trainees. For example, recent workshops have been offered on Red Cross Crisis Response and on Campus Mental Health Issues. Permanent clinical staff members and interns have also received training on working with student-veterans, and have visited the Utah Pride Center in downtown Salt Lake City for LGBTQ-related trainings.

University Agencies Associated with Training

University agencies provide interns with opportunities for outreach and consultation. These agencies include Career Services, Women's Resource Center, University College Advising, Center for Ethnic Student Affairs, Center for Disability Services, International Center, LGBT Resource Center, Housing and Residential Education, and University Student Apartments. Time permitting, trainees are invited to attend Psychiatry Grand Rounds and Grand Rounds at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute.

Physical Facilities and Equipment

The UCC is located in the Student Services Building and provides individual offices for interns, group therapy rooms, a conference room, and a professional library with reference materials. Individual offices are equipped with network-linked personal computers and digital recording and viewing equipment.  Via the Student Services Computer Network one can access MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer and Outlook, and various library databases. SPSS is available to trainees via a UCC laptop computer. The agency uses Titanium, a scheduling and record-keeping software system accessible in every intern office. In addition, three group rooms and three individual counseling offices are equipped with one-way mirrors and digital video recording equipment.

The Student Services Building is centrally located on campus and also houses Career Services, University College Advising, Financial Aid and Scholarships, Admissions, and Registration.

The University Testing Center is part of the Counseling Center and provides administration and scoring of interest, ability, personality and values inventories. Manuals are available for tests administered at the Center. The Learning Enhancement Programs (including Supplemental Instruction and the Tutoring Center) also are part of the UCC. Services include courses in Strategies for College Success (Ed. Psych. 2600), workshops, consultation, and self-instructional materials. Supplemental Instruction consists of group tutoring for students in particular academic courses. The Tutoring Center provides one-to-one academic assistance for a nominal fee. The Center for Student Wellness (CSW), another branch of the UCC, promotes a healthy campus environment and serves as an information and referral center for students, faculty, and staff. The CSW also is responsible for federally mandated substance abuse prevention and education programming.

Application for Internship

We welcome applications from all interested and qualified Psychology Intern candidates! Applicants will apply to the internship by forwarding all materials via AAPI Online.  Details about AAPI Online can be found at the APPIC web site: www.appic.org.

Preference in the selection of psychology interns will be given to applicants who have completed their preliminary (or comprehensive) examinations and who expect to complete most or all of their dissertation research prior to beginning the internship. Criteria for selection include academic performance, clinical experience, letters of recommendation, the correspondence of an applicant's interest and experience with a university counseling center setting, evaluation of the applicant's supplemental written case summary, and performance in a telephone interview and follow-up telephone discussion.

Supplemental Materials:
Please note that we require applicants to submit a 2-3 page case summary describing successful assessment and intervention strategies with a recent client. 
Please see Psychology Internship Application for more detailed information and an application checklist.

Interviews & Open House:
In an effort to avoid undue financial burden for any intern applicant and to standardize our interview process, we do not conduct in-person interviews. All top candidates are interviewed by telephone. However, we are very proud of the UCC physical facilities and are happy to have you visit us during an optional Open House that we will hold on Friday, January 4, 2013. Please click on the Open House Invitation for more specific information. The Open House is an opportunity for you to visit our site and meet informally with some of the permanent staff members with whom you would be working during internship. Current interns will also be available to respond to your questions. Attendance at the Open House is not a consideration in the selection process; the Open House is for your information and is not intended to be selection tool for us.

APPIC Match Statement:
The UCC follows the APPIC Match Policies and agrees to abide by the APPIC Policy that no person at the UCC will communicate, solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information prior to the release of the Match results.

UCC Policy Regarding Academic Programs Requesting Additional Contracts and/or Evaluations:
The UCC psychology internship program at the University of Utah endorses the APPIC Match process as binding.  UCC therefore does not enter into additional training contracts or written training agreements beyond what is required to participate in Match.  If your academic program requires such a contract, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your Director of Clinical Training (DCT) about this requirement now.

Similarly, as detailed above, interns at UCC receive ongoing formative and summative evaluative feedback from supervisors throughout the training year. These evaluations are based on our program's philosophy of training, training model, and the goals, objectives, and competencies that define the internship.  At mid-year and again at the end of the year the internship Training Director sends the academic program DCT a letter summarizing the intern's performance to date.  If requested, the DCT may also receive a copy of the primary supervisor's evaluation of the intern. Therefore, if you are enrolled in an academic training program that requires additional departmental program evaluations, these will not be completed by UCC training staff at the University of Utah. Your program may choose to use the data from our evaluations to complete their own forms.  Again, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your DCT if you have questions about such requirements.

University Employment Requirements:
Employees at the University of Utah must meet certain pre-employment requirements as outlined at http://www.hr.utah.edu/careers/pre-employment-requirements.php  These requirements include eligibility for legal employment in the U.S. (sometimes called the I-9 requirement) as well as the ability to pass a criminal background check to verify that candidates have no criminal or other record that would preclude employment in the University's judgment. For more information on the University's criminal background checks, please refer to University Rule 5-130 B which can be found online at: http://www.regulations.utah.edu/humanResources/rules/rule_5-130B.html Background checks are conducted following the APPIC Match, but the outcome of these checks has the potential to preclude employment (see APPIC Match Policy 6.b).

Finally . . .
We hope that you will strongly consider applying to the Psychology Internship at the University Counseling Center at the University of Utah, and wish you the best of luck in the application and match process!

References

American Psychological Association (2003).  Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists.  American Psychologist, 58, 377-402.

American Psychological Association (2004). The comprehensive evaluation of student-trainee competence in professional training programs. http://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/cctc.html

Belar, C.N., Bieliauskas, L.A., Larsen, K.G., Mensh, I.N., Poey, K., & Roehlke, H.J.(Eds.). (1987). Proceedings: National conference on internship training in psychology. Washington, DC: Association of Psychology and Postdoctoral Internship Centers.

Belar, C.N., & Perry, N.W. (1992). National conference on scientist-practitioner education and training for the professional practice of psychology. American Psychologist, 47, 71-75.

Belar, C.N., & Perry, N.W. (Eds.). (1990). Proceedings: National conference on scientist-practitioner education and training for the professional practice of psychology. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Morrill, W.H., Oetting, E.R., & Hurst, J.C. (1974). Dimensions of counselor functioning. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 52, 354-359.

Pace, D., Stamler, V.L., Yarris, E., & June, L. (1996). Rounding out the cube: Evolution to a global model for counseling centers. Journal of Counseling & Development, 74, 321-325.

Stoltenberg, C. D., Pace, T. M., Kashubeck-West, S., Biever, J. L., Patterson, T., & Welch, I.D. (2000). Training models in counseling psychology: Scientist-practitioner versus practitioner-scholar. The Counseling Psychologist, 28, 622-640.

Stone, G.L., & Archer, J., Jr. (1990).  College and university counseling centers in the 1990's:  Challenges and limits.  The Counseling Psychologist, 18, 539-607.

Whiteley, S. M., Mahaffey, P. J., & Geer, C. A. (1987). The campus counseling center: A profile of staffing patterns and services. Journal of College Student Personnel, 28, 71-81.

Weigel, R. (1994).  University Counseling Center: History, services, future.  Paper presented at the Student Affairs Directors Meeting, University of Utah.  (Available from the University of Utah.)


The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and seeks to provide access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. Reasonable prior notice is needed to arrange accommodations.
All interested persons are encouraged to apply.

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