Group Services
CMHC's group program is a strong and established program and an integral part of our agency, as it is our main resource to provide long-term services to clients. During the Fall and Spring semesters, we typically offer more than twenty psychotherapy, structured, and theme groups on a variety of topics. We also offer a smaller number of groups in the summer. Group topics vary from year to year depending on student needs and staff interest and expertise. Some examples of groups offered include: general process groups, eating disorders groups, gay and bisexual men's support group, and a group for survivors of abuse. To view a complete list of our groups from the current semester, please see our group services page.
Groups are assigned at the beginning of each semester based on intern preference, training needs, schedules, and availability. Psychology interns generally co-lead two groups per semester with a senior staff member, although interns may be able to co-lead a group with a fellow trainee (depending on previous experience).
Group Supervision and Training. All interns receive one hour of individual supervision weekly for each of their groups. This supervision may include group skills development, conceptualization, group development, co-leadership processing, use of self in group therapy, etc. If an intern's co-leader is a senior staff member, this senior staff member is also his or her supervisor. If an intern's co-leader is another trainee, a senior staff member serves as the supervisor for both group leaders.
Additional supervision for group takes place in a group format in a Group Seminar that all interns attend. This seminar generally meets weekly for 1.5 hours. The format is semi-structured with significant experiential and process components, though it is not a process group. The seminar assumes basic knowledge of group theory and emphasizes critical thinking about the application of theory to the groups each member is offering. Thus, the discussion stays relevant to what is actually occurring in trainees' groups.
Additional Training Options. Due to the size of our center and the role of groups in our agency, trainees are able to develop skills in marketing groups and in making effective group referrals. Occasionally, interns have the opportunity to be involved in developing and leading an entirely new group. There are also opportunities to learn specialized treatments for certain disorders in group format, such as in our anxiety, eating disorders, and survivors of abuse groups. In addition, Austin has an active and energetic Group Psychotherapy Society that includes current and former CMHC staff members.
Program Development
During a typical year, Program Development reaches over 15,000 students with its campus outreach programs designed to provide help to students who are dealing with developmental issues and mental health concerns.
Program Development encompasses a wide variety of activities and programs. Student organizations, residence hall staff, and other groups often request workshops on such topics as stress management, romantic relationships, time management, procrastination, eating disorders, body image issues, and many others. CMHC staff members are also dedicated to providing programming for specific population groups such as GLBT students, international students, Hispanic students, and African-American students. In addition, under a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the CMHC Voices Against Violence program provides extensive services addressing issues of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking.
In addition to workshops, Program Development sponsors larger campus-wide events such as Body Image Awareness Week and Stress Fest. At these and other times, interactive tabletop displays are created that provide information on a variety of mental health topics. Program Development also offers a wide range of psycho-educational brochures and handouts, many of which were designed and written by staff and interns.
Interns can get involved in the Program Development area in a variety of ways, including developing and presenting workshops on a wide range of topics with diverse populations, assisting with the implementation of the CMHC-sponsored campus-wide events listed above, serving on the Program Development team, and developing brochures/handouts. Interns may also choose to work closely with specific populations and/or student groups.
Program Development Training. During the August Orientation and Training program, interns are provided with an orientation to the Program Development area. In addition, interns receive training on the development and presentation of programs. Throughout the training year, interns co-lead workshops and receive feedback from other CMHC staff members.
Additional Training Options. Interns choosing to focus additional attention in the Program Development area may do so by proposing various projects to the Outreach Coordinator and Associate Director for Program Development for approval. Past examples include: designing and implementing needs assessments, developing marketing proposals/strategies, and developing and implementing new programming initiatives.
Training
Interns have the opportunity to supervise doctoral-level counseling or clinical psychology practicum students during the Spring semester. Interns may supervise group practicum students and telephone counselors as well.
Supervision and Training. During the Spring semester, interns receive an extra hour of individual supervision from their primary clinical supervisor focused on their supervision activities, and participate in a weekly Supervision of Supervision seminar. In this seminar, various models of clinical supervision are discussed, and videotapes of interns' supervision of doctoral-level practicum students are reviewed.
Diversity Training
Training in diversity issues is an essential component of our training program, and interns have been an active and visible force in the agency's efforts to educate ourselves and the campus community regarding these issues.
Diversity training begins during the August Orientation and Training program, as a variety of workshops on diversity topics provide the basis for acknowledging and addressing these issues over the course of the internship year. The Diversity Seminar continues this training by addressing a broad spectrum of multicultural issues throughout the year. Other seminars (i.e., Individual Therapy, Group Therapy) also incorporate these issues into the training experience.
In our clinical services area, the University's large and diverse student body provides interns with exposure to persons of differing cultures, ethnicities, sexual/affectional orientations, genders, physical abilities, religious orientations, and ages. Interns work with their clinical supervisor and referral office to ensure that their caseload is diverse. Our group services area also provides interns with the opportunity to co-facilitate one of our many special populations therapy/support groups, which may include (depending on the semester) groups for women, men, African-American students, Hispanic students, Asian-American students, gay men, and lesbian women, to name a few. Other areas of special interest to an individual intern may be identified for inclusion in her/his group therapy experience.
Through our Program Development area, interns are involved in workshops, outreach programs, and consultation projects that expose them to a wide range of interventions with diverse populations.
Our center also has a "Diversity Task Force" (DTF) that focuses on developing diversity training experiences for our staff, recruiting of diverse staff and trainees, and ensuring that our center is welcoming to students from all backgrounds. Currently, the DTF is focusing on developing a "Diversity Plan" for our center and is leading the revision of our Statement on Diversity (originally adopted in 1991).
Additional Training Experiences
Intern Support Group. Interns meet for one hour per week in a support group format. The general purposes of this group are to foster integration of personal and professional growth, facilitate supportive and genuine peer relationships, and develop insight and perspectives related to organizational and professional role issues.
The group leader is selected by the Training Director, is not a staff member of CMHC, and is usually not affiliated with The University. Therefore, interns can expect confidentiality and an absence of dual role conflicts. Interns have found this group to be a unique opportunity and a very important aspect of their internship experience.
Professional Issues Seminar. Issues of professional development are an integral part of this seminar. Topics may include legal and ethical issues, career opportunities in psychology, insurance and managed care, private practice, professional organizations, risk management, licensure process, etc. This seminar also provides extensive support for interns' job search activities.
Diversity Seminar. Diversity topics are an important focus at CMHC and are included in this weekly seminar. Issues include ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic class, and religion, as well as other topics of interest.
Apprenticeships. We define apprenticeships as those on-the-job training experiences in which an intern works alongside a senior staff member to carry out a service activity. The emphasis of the apprenticeship is on "learning by doing" and the modeling of skills by the senior staff member. The types of apprenticeships that are available are limited only by the interns' and staffs' creativity, providing an excellent opportunity for interns to tailor the program to meet their training needs. Interns are allocated a certain number of hours each week to participate in apprenticeships with senior staff.
Examples of apprenticeships include: serving as a co-therapist for couples counseling, working on an project with an administrator, jointly designing and implementing a psychoeducational outreach program, developing and implementing specific interventions with a special population, etc.
Preceptorships. We define preceptorships as one-on-one or small-group tutorials where interns are able to study a focused topic with a senior staff member. Like apprenticeships, preceptorships allow interns to concentrate on areas of personal interest. Examples of preceptorships might include focused study in such areas as anxiety disorders, counseling center administration, women's developmental theory, use of psychotropic medication, treatments for sexual trauma, and diversity issues. Again, opportunities are limited only by the creativity and interests of staff and interns.
Research. CMHC supports the interns' dissertation work in several ways. Interns may choose to devote some of their apprenticeship/preceptorship hours for their dissertation throughout the year. Skilled research consultants are available on campus to assist with research design, data analysis, statistics, and computer usage, and U.T. has the seventh largest academic library in the United States. Access to computers for data analysis and word processing are also available.
In addition, interns may become involved in research activities within the Center and may choose to collaborate with senior staff in developing research projects or publication activities. CMHC is also the national coordinating site for The Research Consortium of Counseling and Psychological Services in Higher Education, composed of over 50 centers participating in standardized, nationwide studies.
In 2004, the consortium embarked on a new national study on suicidal ideation among college students. Data was collected during Spring of 2006 from more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students at 70 colleges and universities across the nation. As data collection progresses, it is clear that results of the study have serious and profound implications for college counseling.
Telephone Counseling Rotations. Interns may elect to spend time at Telephone Counseling. This rotation offers interns experiences in responding to crisis situations, developing training programs for telephone counselors, and providing supervision to staff members.
August Orientation and Training Program
A distinctive feature of our internship is the August Orientation and Training Program that begins upon the interns' arrival. A variety of presentations, experiential workshops, and other activities are scheduled to help acquaint interns with their roles and responsibilities at CMHC. Assessment of baseline competencies in various areas of professional functioning is also performed in order to determine each intern's areas of strength along with areas needing improvement.
In addition to the variety of training activities offered during this program, informal social events are scheduled to help interns build group cohesiveness and to aid in meeting CMHC staff members. Such events have included brown-bag lunches and picnics. Below is a listing of sample topics for the August Orientation and Training Program (subject to change each year).
August Orientation and Training Program
Sample Topics
- Orientation to CMHC services areas
- "CMHC Voices Against Violence" Program
- Students with Disabilities
- Mindfulness Training
- Taking care of your playful self
- Counseling students older than average
- Managing urgent care situations
- Working with GLBT students
- Counseling students with motivation problems
- Ethical & legal issues
- Gender issues in counseling
- Multicultural counseling
- Specialized clinical interventions, including eating disorders and PTSD
- Psychotropic drug use in treatment
- Short-term therapy models
- Family and couples therapy
- Crisis and suicide intervention training
- Overview of the MindBody Lab
- Principles of Managed Care
Weekly Intern Training and Service Activities
The psychology internship training program at CMHC reflects a belief in a generalist training model that exposes interns to the many functions and service delivery areas common to university counseling center settings. The training program has been designed to promote each intern's personal and professional development and to be sensitive and responsive to individual needs and interests.
Although internship training can be intense and stressful at times, interns are actively encouraged to limit themselves to a 40-hour work week. Of course, as with most university counseling centers, we experience heavier demands for our services during certain times of the year that require additional hours from staff and interns. Nevertheless, learning to set limits, establishing reasonable goals, and taking care of oneself are important components of the training experience at CMHC.
The table below describes anticipated time allocations for each major training and service activity for interns during 2008-2009. Please note that the activities and hours listed are illustrative only and are subject to change each year.
Psychology Intern Time Allocations: 2008-2009
(Subject to Change)
|
