Internship Activities

Individual Psychotherapy (approximately 11-13 hours per week).   Interns’ caseloads are comprised of  a combination of brief and longer-term psychotherapy cases. Decisions about the duration of therapy and frequency of sessions are based on the assessed needs of the client and are made by the client and therapist in consultation with the therapy supervisor.

Group Psychotherapy  (1.5 hours per week). Interns co-lead an interpersonal process therapy group with a staff member for the duration of the training year.

Assessment (2-3 hours per week). Interns conduct 2 regular initial consultations per week throughout the training year; if clinical need warrants and initial consultations increase to 3, there is a one-hour reduction in the individual psychotherapy expectation.

Crisis Consultation (2 hours per week in the summer). At the end of spring semester, interns provide two hours of walk-in triage/crisis coverage.

Supervision and Training of Externs (1 hour per week for 9 months).  Interns provide one hour of individual supervision for the psychotherapy work of an advanced psychotherapy and contribute to their evaluations, under the supervision of the training staff.

Outreach and Consultation (variable hours throughout the training year). All interns are expected, individually and/or as co-facilitators, to implement at least three psycho-educational outreach programs as well as design at least one original outreach program.

Rotations Community Service, Multicultural, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, ADHD, Mind-Body, and Outreach are potential specialized rotation opportunities (two hours per week), briefly described below:

• Involvement in community services, such as counseling at a refugee treatment clinic for survivors of political torture;
• Co-facilitation of an ACT-based group focused on managing anxiety;
• Co-lead/lead 60-minute ADHD skills-based groups, see clients in 1:1 sessions, and/or run drop-in office hours for in-the-moment help with executive functioning skills. 
• Diversity, equity and inclusive efforts on campus and in the Center, including development of a social justice or diversity project;
• Co-facilitation of 4-week mind-body workshop series such as self compassion, mindfulness, and managing your mood;
• Outreach and primary prevention efforts on campus, as well as involvement in the administrative functions of outreach services.

Supervision (approximately four to six hours per week).

• Primary Supervision: Each intern meets individually two hours per week throughout the year with a Primary Supervisor, who has responsibility for the intern’s overall experience, including the majority of their psychotherapy cases and general professional development.
• Secondary Supervision: A second training staff member provides another hour of weekly individual supervision as Secondary Supervisor for initial consultations and two long-term cases, to focus in greater depth on the therapeutic dynamics, including transference, counter-transference and parallel processes as they develop over the course of treatment. Video/audio tape is reviewed in both primary and secondary supervision experiences.
• Supervision of Group Therapy: Group therapy work is supervised by another member of the training staff, who also generally co-leads the treatment group with the intern, for 30 minutes per week throughout the year.
• Clinical Consultation Team Meeting:  This weekly consultation creates space for trainees (interns/post-docs) and clinical staff to consult with each other about various clinical needs. We break into smaller groups of 5-6 people to facilitate the process.
• Group Consultation:  This monthly group consultation meeting serves as a space for UIC Counseling Center staff clinician and trainee group co-facilitators to share, discuss, process, and consult about group therapy related dynamics, concerns, and successes. Areas of discussion have included but are not limited to the following: (1) stages of group, (2) group conflict, (3) termination, (4) ethics, (5) multicultural development and issues in group, (6) transference/countertransference, (7) different levels of intervention (e.g., individual, interpersonal, group-as-a-whole), (8) co-leadership dynamics, and (9) group policies (e.g., the group contract, attendance issues, and the treatment frame).
• Supervision of Supervision: The intern’s supervision of a single case of an advanced psychotherapy extern is supervised by the Associate Director for Training in a group format in the Supervision Seminar, which meets one hour per week for 9 months. Theory, ethics, principles, multicultural factors and developmental stages of supervision are examined and applied. The learning process is structured around group discussion, individual presentations of supervisory session material, and assigned readings. 
• Supervision of Rotation: Weekly supervision of the intern’s rotation activities is provided by a designated staff member for half an hour to one hour per week.
• Supervision of Outreach: Additional supervisory coverage and specific consultations are arranged for outreach.

Primary, Secondary and Group Supervisors are assigned by the Training Director and the Assistant Director of Training during orientation, based on the interests and preferences of the trainees and the recommendations of the Training Committee, with the option of re-assignment by the Training Director to another supervisor later in the year when warranted. While we attempt to honor trainees’ preferences, we are not able to guarantee that you will be assigned to your top choice as we try to also balance clinical needs and other logistical issues. This multilevel approach to training is designed to allow the intern to work closely with several supervisors over the course of the year to promote effective alliances and learn from differences in perspectives and approaches in the development professional identity.

Seminars (following orientation, ranges from two to four hours per week). In keeping with the goals of the training program, seminars are intended to explore core theoretical, technical, ethical, scientific, multicultural, and diagnostic issues as they relate to the delivery of clinical services in a university setting. Seminars are developmental in nature. To those ends, both general readings and case-based presentations are used to facilitate interns’ conceptual formulations and integration of theory, research and practice. Seminar leaders and other participants provide peer consultation regarding case materials of each intern.

• Assessment: (first three weeks of orientation). This team-taught seminar focuses on ethics, principles, and practices for clinical evaluation, including the consultation process, diagnostic screening, crisis assessment, mental status examinations, and diversity considerations. Emphasis is given to the development of a multiculturally-sensitive interview, comprehensive treatment disposition, options and recommendations. and on organizing relevant information in a concisely written psychological report. Integration of assessment-related data and norms and practices for clinical documentation are also addressed. The format includes didactics, discussion, intake observation of staff and staff of trainees, and assigned readings.
• Group Psychotherapy: (weekly for Fall semester). This seminar is devoted to the theory and practice of interpersonal process group therapy, including preparation and selection of members, co-therapy dynamics, group norms and cohesion, critical incidents, and termination. Presentation of the interns’ group work usually provides the focus and material for discussion of conceptual, multicultural, and ethical issues.
• Multicultural:(weekly, year-long)  This experience supports interns in developing as culturally responsive clinicians. Through case consultation, readings, and reflective dialogue, interns explore intersecting identities, power, privilege, and oppression, and integrate multicultural and social justice frameworks into their clinical work. The seminar emphasizes self-reflection, brave space creation, and practical application, culminating in two case presentations that integrate diversity, equity, inclusion and belongingness considerations into case conceptualization and treatment planning.
• Outreach and Consultation: (weekly for Fall semester). This seminar focuses on the philosophy and techniques of outreach and consultation. The seminar centers the application of social justice principles in outreach and consultation to address the mental health needs of underserved students. Seminars focus on critical exploration and discussion, tailored readings, and practice applying outreach and consultation skills. Topics include outreach and prevention models, accessibility and equity issues, responding to difficult situations, needs assessment and program evaluation, and innovative outreach programming. Seminar time is also reserved for special topics chosen by trainees to practice applying outreach and consultation skills. Interns also receive guidance and support in the development of their specialty projects.
• Professional Issues: (approximately two times per month for ten months). A series of presentations and discussions relating to both theoretical and applied aspects of clinical work is led by clinical staff, postdoctoral fellows, and outside experts; interns, externs, and postdoctoral fellows attend, and staff have the option to attend. Multicultural issues with different populations, empirically supported therapies, integration of theory, ethical and legal dimensions of practice, and future professional directions are examples of the topics presented. While Center staff and outside experts present most of the topics, a major learning experience for interns is the requirement that each lead a session of the seminar to address a relevant clinical subject of their own choosing.  The intern thereby has the opportunity to develop more expertise in presenting a professional topic with the integration of research and to prepare for subsequent post-doctoral or employment interviews, in which such a presentation may be necessary.

• Trainee Selection (variable). All interns participate in application review for the externship and internship searches, and  serve on either the Intern or Extern Selection committee for interviewing and selecting the following year’s interns and/or externs. At times, there are other opportunities to serve on Counseling Center committees that deal with organizational matters, such as preparation for accreditation review or for the multicultural retreat, in order to provide experience in the management and decision-making processes of an educational and mental health agency.
• Intern Support Group: Interns have a weekly scheduled support group meeting at a time that they identify among themselves and without staff involvement. The meetings are encouraged as an opportunity for interns initially to better their relationships with each other and develop mutual support, as well as to subsequently discuss or process the internship experience or other areas of mutual interest.
• Meeting with the Director of Training: In order to promote regular and open communication with the interns, the Director for Training meets with the interns bi-weekly during fall semester and together a determination is made whether to reduce meetings to monthly over spring and/or summer semesters.
• • Multicultural Retreat:  During Fall and Spring semesters, all staff and trainees gather together for an extended multicultural meeting.  Dates will be circulated in advance, and everyone is expected to cancel clients and other commitments in order to attend.