Training Requirements

All psychology interns must complete a 2000-hour internship, 500-hours of which must be direct service.

Interns are expected to behave according to the Ethical and Legal Standards of Health Service Psychology and to exhibit the Professional Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors as well as professionally appropriate Communication and Interpersonal Skills at all times and in all their professional roles at the agency. Similarly, it is expected that interns will demonstrate knowledge, skill, and competency in the area of Individual and Cultural Diversity, in all their professional functions at the Counseling Center.

CLINICAL SERVICE

1. Individual/couples Therapy: Schedule individual/couples for an average of fifteen (15) clinical hours/week. In order to complete the 500 clinical hours required for completion of the internship, interns may need to have more than 15 clinical hours per week scheduled during some weeks of the semester.

2. Group Therapy: Co-facilitate one on-going therapy group with a senior staff member during the fall and spring semesters.
*Interns who are interested in acquiring more group therapy experience may participate in an optional group therapy rotation, pending supervisor availability.

3. Triage and Intakes: Interns participate in clinical “teams” one day per week. An intern is paired with a senior staff member on their team day. Up to four half-hour triage sessions are scheduled on an intern’s team day. Interns will be scheduled 2-3 Intake appointments/week, except at the start of the training year in which an intern may see more intake appointments to build their caseload. In addition, interns and the other members of the team will distribute among themselves any crisis situations, walk-in appointments, and/or consultations. Interns as well as senior staff members may be called to help with crisis situations, triages, and even intakes on non-team days if the team for that day is managing excessive clinical need.
*The number of Intakes expected per week may vary if an intern chooses to participate in the group therapy rotation.

4. On call: Provide at least one week of on-call/after-hours coverage per semester and one week of on-call/after-hours coverage during the summer.

OUTREACH & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

1. Orientation: Interns participate in at least three outreach programs during student orientation, as well as an RA Suicide Risk Reduction Training.

2. Screening Programs: Participate in at least one screening program during the internship year.

3. Passive Programming: Interns will create (conceive and construct) one passive outreach per semester. They may work individually or in groups, selecting appropriate materials -preventive or affirmative messages/articles- based on the time of the academic year and what students may be facing at that time.

4. Didactic/interactive outreach: Interns facilitate a minimum of three didactic/interactive outreach workshops per semester, for a total of six didactic outreach programs during the internship year. At least one of these didactic/interactive workshops per semester will be a Campus Connect suicide prevention training (see Program Evaluation described below for more details). The remaining programs could be in response to requests received by the Counseling Center or based on an intern’s personal interest. Opportunities for outreach with established audiences include presentations for student leaders and classes on mental health topics offered to peer-educators.

5. Program Evaluation: Campus Connect is a gatekeeper training program that aims to increase knowledge, awareness and skills in identifying and responding to students in distress including potentially suicidal students. The program has been featured in SAMHSA newsletter and is listed in the SPRC and AFSP Best Practices Registry. Over a 175 college campuses have been trained in Campus Connect, including W&M, and this program is a component of W&M’s comprehensive suicide prevention plan.

Interns will conduct a program evaluation of the Campus Connect Suicide Prevention Training. Under the mentorship of an identified staff member, interns will analyze data of the pre and post evaluation obtained from trainings that occur have occurred at William & Mary. The pre and post evaluation forms have already been developed and they will be administered at the start and end of the program. Interns will work throughout the year to analyze data and identify feedback that may improve the program. The project culminates by Interns providing a written document and accompanying presentation to staff at the end of the year.

ASSESSMENT

1. Interns are to complete two comprehensive Case Presentations (one per semester). In doing so, interns are to administer at least two assessment instruments in their case presentations (at least one instrument in addition to CCAPS).
* Interns who are interested in acquiring more experience with assessment may participate in an optional therapeutic assessment rotation, pending supervisor availability.

SUPERVISION

1. Individual Supervision: Interns receive two-hours/week of clinical supervision for individual cases and initial assessment evaluations. When interns begin supervising advanced practicum students in the spring, interns also receive 1 hour of supervision of supervision in additional to individual supervision.

2. Provide Clinical Supervision to an Advanced Practicum Student: Based on the number of practicum students training at WMCC each year, interns will supervise the equivalent of at least one-half of an advanced practicum student’s caseload during the spring semester. All supervision sessions between an intern and advanced practicum student are to be recorded.

       As a component of the supervision of a Practicum Student and in congruence with the
       Developmental-Experiential-Mentorship training philosophy at the WMCC, supervision
       of supervision may involve triad (supervisee-supervisor-supervisor of supervision)
       supervision meetings on an as need and/or as requested basis. The triad model provides:

Practicum students with a) the opportunity to brainstorm ideas in the moment with two supervisors, b) direct contact with the supervisor of supervision, and c) recordable hours of supervision with a licensed psychologist.
Interns with a) the opportunity to brainstorm ideas in the moment with another supervisor, b) regular access to direct consultation and c) mentorship regarding clinical supervision practice.
Supervisor of Supervision with a) direct contact with the practicum student, b) a more direct discussion about the work with clients, c) direct observation of practicum students’ therapy skills, conceptualization, clinical judgment, professionalism and ethical decision making, and d) the opportunity to assess practicum students’ and intern supervisor’s ability to receive and integrate feedback into their clinical/supervisory practice.

All members of the umbrella supervision triad (practicum student, intern, supervisor of
supervision) can request these meetings based on specific goals or needs.

3. Group Therapy Supervision: Interns receive one and a half-hours/week group therapy supervision. Supervision occurs in one-on-one meetings with the group co-leader, as well as in meetings attended by all staff members facilitating groups that semester. Meetings including all staff members will include regular discussion of group progress as well as informal presentations (including showing video recordings) of group therapy.

4. Case Conference. This meeting is considered supervision within a group format and is attended by all staff members. Interns are expected to bring cases and clinical issues in order to hear different perspectives and receive feedback from those in attendance. Peer input is valued and encouraged. Advanced practicum students bring cases to these meetings as well and interns are to provide input as a way to demonstrate their conceptualization and clinical skills.

5. Case Presentation: Interns conduct a minimum of one formal case presentation (including written report) per semester during Case Conference.

6. Supervision Case Presentation: Interns conduct one formal case presentation of their supervision work with an advanced practicum student during Supervision of Supervision seminar in the spring. This presentation should be conceived as an opportunity to highlight your supervision and as an in depth consultation about a specific/salient supervision theme (e.g. cultural aspects in supervision, ethical decision making, etc.)

TRAINING ACTIVITIES

1. Training Seminars: Interns attend and participate in all of the scheduled training seminars, including required readings and presentations:

Integrative seminar - This seminar meets for one hour twice per week during the fall semester. The seminar integrates themes related to clinical, ethical, professional issues, assessment, and outreach experiences.
Diversity seminar – This seminar meets for one hour every other week throughout the academic year. The aim of this seminar is for interns to grow in knowledge and competency in multicultural counseling. Interns will increase their knowledge of self as a cultural being and begin to understand how their identities intersect internally in ways that impact them as a professional psychologist. Interns will also further develop their knowledge of others as cultural beings and begin to establish a professional stance regarding ethical issues in multicultural counseling.
Supervision seminar – This seminar meets for one hour every other week throughout the year. The seminar transitions to supervision of supervision seminar in the spring semester. The aim this seminar is for interns to gain knowledge and competence in the area of clinical supervision by learning about various models of supervision and developing a personal orientation of supervision.

2. Interns participate in all networking and staff development meetings

3. Interns attend and participate in all-staff meetings scheduled throughout the year.

4. Interns attend and participate in meetings with Training Director throughout the year in order to address potential questions, concerns, or feedback about the training program.

5. Interns attend student affairs meetings (including end of semester and end of year luncheons).

6. Optional: Interns may choose to attend and participate in available Student Affairs Task-Force/Committee Meetings.

RESEARCH

It is expected that interns will apply scholarly work and research findings in all activities and roles assumed during the internship year. In addition, interns will give a research presentation as described below.

Research Presentation: Interns present some research you have recently worked on or are currently involved in to an audience, including senior staff members. This presentation can be scheduled at any time during the academic year as part of staff development or can take place during the summer. You can present your dissertation, dissertation proposal or any other piece of research.

TEACHING

Practicum Seminar Presentation: Interns present or co-present on any topic of expertise/interest during the practicum seminar (fall or spring semester).

SUMMER PROJECT

Congruent with our developmental approach, at a stage when interns are moving towards independence, and as a way to demonstrate ability to integrate knowledge into a tangible outcome that can meet a counseling center’s need and be marketable for job search, interns will be involved in a summer project approximately 2-4 hours a week once the academic year ends. The specific project will be one of interest to the intern. Some examples are: review of clinical forms/brochures, improvements to counseling center website, projects identified as Counseling Center needs, and clinical or training related projects as identified by staff, the training committee or director of training, such as collecting training resources or resources regarding specific evidence-based treatments, designing psycho-educational groups, etc. Interns should seek approval of their summer project idea with their primary supervisor(s) and the Training Director.

SPECIALTY TRACKS/ROTATIONS AT WMCC

The training program offers optional specialty tracks in group therapy and therapeutic assessment, pending supervisor availability each year. Tracks contain both didactic and experiential components. Interns have the option to complete a specialty track in addition to the basic training requirements of the program. An intern may decline to participate in a specialty track with no consequence to their standing in the program. If an intern does wish to complete a specialty track, they may only choose one specialty track to participate in over the course of the year. All members of a cohort have the opportunity to participate in a track simultaneously.

The program's Training Committee will meet and discuss supervisor availability and decide if a specialty track will be offered at the start of each training year. An intern's decision to participate in a track will occur during an orientation period at the start of internship after Interns have learned more about the specific requirements of a track and the basic internship training requirements.

Please see Group Therapy Rotation and Therapeutic Assessment Rotation documents for more information on specific training activities required of these optional tracks.

William & Mary Counseling Center Group Therapy Track

A.    PURPOSE. The Group Therapy Track offers interns the opportunity to enhance
       their knowledge and skills in group therapy through a program that aligns with the
        APA Division 49 (Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy) Group
        Specialty Council’s guidelines for specialty training in group therapy: 1

a. A training philosophy that highlights the distinctiveness of group therapy

b. A curriculum that includes preparation doctoral-level knowledge, skills,
and competencies related to group therapy 2

c. Opportunities for gaining the knowledge, skills, and experiences required

B.    LEARNING OBJECTIVES.

                  1.     Enhance interns’ knowledge by providing didactic information related to
                          the theory and practice of group therapy

                  2.     Ensure that approximately 10% of interns’ direct clinical service hours is
                          spent in the provision of group therapy 3

                 3.     Provide interns with additional supervised group leadership experience,
                         above and beyond general internship requirements

                 4.     Assist interns in developing the following group-related skills:

                       a.     Apply evidence-based, scientific principles from the current research
                               to group interventions
                       b.     Design, screen for, plan/organize, orient, and facilitate groups
                       c.     Recognize and address ethical dilemmas that arise in group
                       d.     Select, administer, and assess data from suitable group measures
                       e.     When relevant, apply a supervision model to group work with trainees
                       f.       Use of appropriate group interventions
                       g.     Multicultural competence leading groups with diverse clients

                5.     When relevant, fulfill a portion of the requirements for interns who desire to
                        obtain specialty designation as a group therapist (see section E)

C.    METRICS. Consistent with the APA Division 49 Group Specialty Council’s benchmarks
          4 for doctoral-level competency in group therapy, interns in the Group Therapy Track
          will be evaluated by the following criteria:

Competency:	Expectation:
1. Integration of Science and Practice	Demonstrates the use of evidence-based knowledge and interventions for planning and facilitating groups. Conducts effective group organization practices such as screening, orientation, and group process commentary. Applies the scientific principles from current research findings to group members’ problems, issues and concerns.
2. Ethical and Legal Standards/Policy	Recognizes ethical dilemmas and concerns related to group psychotherapy and uses an ethical decision making model when ethical dilemmas arise in groups.
3. Consultation and Evaluation	Demonstrates an ability to work constructively with interdisciplinary mental health professional teams. Engages in evaluative practices as applied to groups such as cohesion, group progress, and the like.
4. Supervision and Teaching	Applies a supervision model when working with mental health professionals in training, such as in practicum and internship. Presents information relative to group psychology and group psychotherapy in venues such as case presentations, grand rounds and the like.
5. Assessment	Demonstrates an ability to evaluate the group’s and group members’ needs and progress. Uses appropriate assessment measures and instruments for screening and progress.
6. Professional Values, Attitudes and Behaviors	Demonstrates an awareness of personal values, attitudes and behaviors that have the potential to affect the therapeutic process. Conceptualizes and implements a self-reflective process related to group facilitation.
7. Intervention	Facilitates the emergence of group therapeutic factors such as universality, hope, catharsis and cohesion. Effectively intervenes to prevent and/or address problematic group member behaviors, such as monopolizing, story-telling, and help-rejecting. Effectively and safely manages members’ expression of difficult emotions such as anger, fear, guilt and shame.
8. Individual and Cultural Diversity	Facilitates the therapeutic experience for groups composed of diverse individuals. Conceptualizes the role of power dynamics in groups. Demonstrates an ability to intervene effectively when issues such as marginalization and microaggressions occur in groups.

D. TRACK REQUIREMENTS. (see section F for stipulations)

*When relevant, complete 12 hours of formal didactic instruction
*Facilitate a minimum of 4 diverse groups:

Fall: 1 USO group, 1 themed or USO grou
Spring: 1 USO group, 1 themed or USO group
Summer: 1 graduate or open USO group

       *Create and implement a recruitment strategy for the Summer group
       *Assume primary management of one or more Spring groups (e.g., collect
        referrals, arrange pre-group interviews, take the lead in sessions, etc.)
       *Conduct 1 formal group-focused case presentation with assessment results

E.    OPTIONAL EXPERIENCES. To some extent, the Group Therapy Track may be tailored to fit interns’ interests and goals. Additional and optional opportunities could include (1) co-leading with and supervising a practicum student providing group therapy in Spring using a triad supervision model; (2) independent study with the Group Therapy Coordinator emphasizing administrative duties associated with group program development and management; and/or (3) self-designed group-related activities created collaboratively with the Group Therapy Coordinator and/or Training Director. An intern must obtain approval from their primary supervisor(s), the Training Director, and/or the Training Committee to participate in any additional and optional experiences. Approval would take into consideration the availability of groups, developmental level of trainees, and other center-wide factors.

Additionally, interns participating in the track may begin or continue the process of meeting the requirements to acquire specialty designation through various credentialing boards. 5, 6 After completing internship, early career post-licensure practitioners are best positioned to become a certified group psychotherapist (CGP) through the International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists after meeting the following criteria during or following graduate training (as of 2019): 6

Master’s or doctoral degree
Highest state clinical licensure available to practice independently
12 clock hours of didactic study in group therapy theory and practice
300 hours of group therapy experience as a (co)leader
75 hours of group therapy supervision with an approved supervisor 7

An intern’s ability to qualify to become a CGP at the completion of internship will largely depend on their prior training. Nonetheless, participating in the Group Therapy Track could fulfill a significant portion of the CGP requirements.

F. STIPULATIONS. The Group Therapy Track is offered based on the availability of groups and licensed staff psychologists to provide appropriate supervision. Additionally, interns’ participation in the various components of the track will depend on their training prior to internship. For example, interns with minimal or no past experience (co)leading interpersonal process groups may be required to process observe during at least one USO group in the Fall semester.

The general internship expectations for individual therapy hours will be adjusted to accommodate the extra group therapy hours associated with participating in the track. The group-focused case presentation is in addition to the two formal case presentations associated with the general internship requirements. Themed groups may be selected based on the intern’s interest in gaining experience with a specific population or concern, provided that the group receives appropriate referrals and/or the intern is willing to create and implement a recruitment strategy (in addition to the track requirements regarding recruitment for the Summer group). If an intern self-designs a themed group, the topic must be approved by the Group Therapy Coordinator, Training Director, and/or Training Committee. Interns will facilitate an additional USO group in Fall or Spring if a themed group matching the interns’ interests cannot be offered. Similarly, the graduate or general USO group in Summer will be offered as long as the group receives adequate referrals. The Summer graduate group may be led by the intern alone, with another intern, or with a staff clinician (if necessary). Assuming sufficient recruitment and advertising efforts, the intern will not be penalized if the Summer group cannot be offered.

Importantly, interns’ ongoing participation in the Group Therapy Track is contingent upon their satisfactory fulfillment of both the general internship and track requirements. As part of a growth or remediation plan, an intern may be temporarily or permanently removed from the track if their primary supervisor(s), the Training Director, and/or the Training Committee become concerned about their performance.

Footnotes

1. See the APA Division 49 Group Specialty Council’s suggested Education and Training Guidelines for specialty training of group therapists at https://www.apadivisions.org/division-49/leadership/committees/group-specialty

2. According to the Education and Training Guidelines (see Footnote 1), this curriculum should total 96+ hours of didactics and include 50+ hours of group leader experience and 30+ hours of qualified supervision

3. See the APA Division 49 Group Specialty Council’s Taxonomy for Group Training Programs at https://www.apadivisions.org/division49/leadership /committees/group-specialty

4. See the APA Division 49 Group Specialty Council’s Postdoctoral Residency Competencies for Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy Specialty at https://www.apadivisions.org/division49/leadership /committees/postdoctoral-competencies.pdf

5. A specialty certification is offered by the American Board of Group Psychology after post-licensure practitioners have conducted 600+ hours of group therapy; see the criteria at https://abpp.org/Applicant-Information/Specialty-Boards/Group-Psychology/Application,-Specialty-Specific-Fees.aspx

6. See the International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists’ criteria to become a CGP at https://www.agpa.org/cgp-certification/how-to-apply

7. According to the International Board for Certification of Group Psychotherapists, an approved supervisor must be listed or eligible for listing as a CGP and have conducted 600+ hours of group therapy; see https://www.agpa.org/cgp-certification/how-to-apply
William & Mary Counseling Center Therapeutic Assessment Track

PURPOSE: The Therapeutic Assessment Track offers interns the opportunity to develop enhanced skills in therapeutic assessment during the internship year. Interns will grow in their ability to utilize different assessment methods to enhance diagnostic skills to inform treatment planning and the therapeutic process.

This track will only be offered based on availability of licensed staff psychologist.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1. Provide interns with didactic information on applying assessment approaches to therapeutic
treatment planning

2. Expose interns to a variety of measures to assess different aspects of personality and
psychological functioning through:

a. Identify culturally appropriate measures to evaluate the referral question(s)

b. Independently administer assessment instruments

c. Analyze and interpret data to develop appropriate client centered hypotheses

d. Write integrative therapeutic assessment reports

e. Consider how diversity and culture impact assessment results

METRICS:
Consistent with APA’s benchmarks for competency in professional psychology, interns will be evaluated by the following criteria:

Competency:	Expectation:
1.Knowledge of Measurement and Psychometrics	Demonstrates ability to appropriately select assessment instruments and interpret test results based on clients’ clinical needs and diversity characteristics
2. Knowledge of Assessment Methods	Demonstrates ability to use assessment instruments and interpret assessment data being sensitive to clients’ cultural identities
3. Application of Assessment Methods	Demonstrates ability to accurately interpret assessment data according to professional standards and guidelines
4. Diagnostic skills	Demonstrates ability to utilize case formulation and diagnosis for intervention planning in the context of human development and diversity
5. Conceptualization and Recommendations	Demonstrates ability to use assessment data to inform case conceptualization, intervention, and recommendations
6. Communication of Assessment Findings	Accurately, effectively, timely, and sensitively communicates (orally and in writing) the results and implications of the assessment Demonstrates ability to integrate assessment data into comprehensive, culturally sensitive reports

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

The therapeutic assessment track will be facilitated over the course of the internship year as available. Interns will participate in a therapeutic assessment seminar two to three times per semester (depending on the number of interns who elect this track) for didactic and experiential learning. Assessment seminar will facilitated for 1 hour by licensed psychologist who will also provide supervision of assessment cases. The fall semester of seminar will focus on didactics (see below for topics) and the spring semester interns will present one of the current assessment cases. Opportunities to consult and discuss assessment cases will occur throughout the entire year in seminar.

Didactic topics can include:

Experientially teach assessment measures including projective and objective measures
Provide case examples that apply assessment techniques to different problems
Diversity in cultural context impacting the assessment process
Report writing
Comprehensive treatment recommendations
Finn’s Therapeutic Assessment model
Discuss approaches to delivering client feedback
Ethics in the assessment process

Interns will complete a minimum of two assessment cases per semester. Interns will receive referrals through two routes: self-referred from their own caseload and referrals from Center staff. At least one referral for the year should come from an external source unless there are no requests from Center staff or referrals are unable to be coordinated. Interns will utilize at least two assessment measures per case to complete their assessments.

Interns will receive 3 hours of individual supervision per assessment case; additional supervision will be provided as needed and can be requested by either member of the supervision dyad. Assessment reports can be written in either the standard report format or the therapeutic assessment report and interns will be exposed to both styles of report writing throughout the internship year. Both styles of assessment reports will integrate data from across measures in order to answer the assessment question. Once the report is completed, the assessment data will be used primarily for treatment planning and recommendations. The data will not be used for the purpose of formal diagnosis and/or accommodation requests. Interns will be required to present one formal case in seminar for the year. Presentation dates will be set in advance and Center staff (senior staff and interns) may be present for any of the presentations.

Interns who elect this track will be required to participate in additional seminars and supervision than the traditional internship training program outlines, as described above; therefore, intern schedules will be adjusted to account for the additional clinical hours required of this track (2 intake assessments will be removed per semester). Importantly, interns’ ongoing participation in the Therapeutic Assessment Track is contingent upon their satisfactory fulfillment of both the general internship and track requirements. An intern may be temporarily or permanently removed from the track if their primary supervisor(s), the Training Director, and/or the Training Committee become concerned about their performance. Additionally, as part of a growth or remediation plan, an intern may be removed from the track.

EVALUATION ACTIVITIES

1. Beginning of Year/End of Year Self-Assessments

2. Individual Supervisor(s) Evaluations: Interns receive evaluations from supervisors four times during the internship year: The “Evaluation of Psychology Interns by Supervisors” form is used for this purpose. An average score of 4 on each of the major aims of the internship and no less than 3 on any item under each competency area/aim at the time of the last evaluation of the internship year is required to pass the internship.

3. Group Supervisor(s) Evaluations: Interns receive evaluations from their group co-leader at mid and end of each semester.

4. Supervisor of Supervision Evaluations: Interns receive evaluations from their supervisor of supervision at the mid and end of the spring semester.

5. Outreach Presentation Evaluation: Interns receive an evaluation of their outreach programming skills by a senior staff member who observes a presentation over the course of the training year.

6. Interns’ evaluation of supervisors: All supervisors are evaluated by the intern after the intern has been evaluated by the supervisor.

7. Interns’ evaluation of practicum student supervisee: Interns complete the evaluation form for the practicum student they are supervising. They are to complete these evaluations by mid and end of the semester(s) they are supervising. Practicum students may have evaluation forms specific to their graduate program.

8. Supervisees’ evaluation of intern as supervisor: Practicum students will evaluate the intern in his/her role of supervisor using the same mid- and final- evaluation form that interns use to evaluate their supervisors. Practicum students provide the evaluation to the intern supervisor after they have received the evaluation from the intern supervisor.

9. Case Presentation Evaluation: Staff members and trainees in attendance during interns’ presentations will be asked to complete a case presentation evaluation form. The Training Director will collect the evaluations and pass the complete set to the presenter for review.

10. Intern Performance in Seminar:

                   a.Diversity Seminar: Evaluations of performance will be provided at
                      mid-seminar (end fall) and end-of-seminar (end spring).
                  b. Supervision Seminar: Evaluations of performance will be provided at
                      mid-seminar (end fall) and end-of seminar (end spring).

11. Supervision Presentation Evaluation: The coordinator(s) of the Supervision of Supervision Seminar in the spring and all interns in attendance during interns’ presentations will be asked to complete a supervision presentation evaluation.

12. Internship Experience Evaluation: Interns evaluate their internship experience at the end of the year.

13. Evaluation of the Training Director: Interns submit an evaluation of the Training Director at the end of the year.

14. Forms for Academic Programs: Interns are responsible for informing the Training Director and submitting all required forms to the doctoral program if their academic program requires specific forms to be completed. Interns are to provide copies of these evaluation forms to the Training Director and supervisor(s).

Due Process and Grievance Procedures