Counseling & Psychological Services

While the staff strives for generalist training of health service psychologists, there are plenty of opportunities within the structure of the internship to specialize in areas that might be of particular interest to an intern. Each intern who chooses to specialize individually designs the specialization, in consultation with the training director and supervisors. There are numerous possibilities for the manner in which specilizations might be structured, but below are examples of activities in which interns have engaged in different specialty areas in the past. Please be advised that for various reasons (including the needs of the center and its clients, the interests of the other interns in a given cohort, etc.), we cannot guarantee that all opportunities within a specialization will be available in a given year or semester, and we encourage you to contact the Training Director if you have specific questions about a given specialty area. Given the extensive generalist training that is provided throughout the internship, potential applicants should be aware that a limited amount of time will be dedicated to specialty areas throughout a typical week (typically 1-4 hours). Interns may choose to do additonal work outside of the 40 hour work week, though this is not an expectation or requirement of our interns.

Administration

• Serve on a Counseling Center committee such as the training committee, clinical committee, or outreach committee
• Meet regularly with the director, training director, or clinical director to discuss issues related to the administration of those areas
• Assist with administrative projects
• Serve on university-wide committees

Eating Disorders

• Assist the coordinator of the Eating Concerns Treatment team
• Conduct eating concerns assessments and consultations
• Provide group therapy through the Food Mood group
• Provide individual therapy sessions for clients with body image and eating concerns
• Participate in special outreach offerings associated with Eating Disorders Awareness Week

Group Therapy

• Co-lead two therapy groups each semester
• Assist the Group Therapy Coordinator with the set-up and advertising of groups
• Complete a research project related to group therapy
• Co-lead a group with a practicum student during the spring semester, providing supervision of the co-leader (depending on group therapy and supervision skills)
• Present a professional training seminar on a topic related to group therapy

LGBTQ+

• Serve as a co-consultant to LGBTQ+ student groups/clubs on campus
• Co-lead the LGBTQQ+ support/therapy group
• Work with the LGBTQ Center on a special project
• Provide outreach programs for LGBTQ+ students

Multicultural

• Serve as liaison/consultant to offices that serve students from a wide variety of identities and backgrounds
• Serve on the Counseling Center's Outreach Team
• Complete a special project that will help meet the needs of and/or help the CC connect with underrepresented populations
• Provide individual and/or group therapy to students with a wide range of identities
• Provide a training seminar, lead a lunch and learn (or other professional development activity) related to working with students from underrepresented populations

Mindfulness/Mind-Body

• Co-lead a mindfulness-related Group
• Present outreach programs related to mindfulness
• Apply mindfulness-based approaches in work with individual therapy clients
• Present a professional training seminar on Mindfulness or Mind-Body approaches

Supervision/Training

• Supervise an additional practicum student in one or more semesters
• Serve as the lead of a co-led therapy group (if you have already obtained substantial group experience)
• Assist the Training Coordinator in the provision of group supervision for practicum trainees
• Participate on the Training Committee
• Present a training seminar on a topic related to supervision and training

Trauma

• Co-lead a trauma-focused group 
• Participate in planning for Sexual Assault Awareness Week
• Present outreach programs related to trauma
• Participate as a co-consultant for groups such as the Women's Center or the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART)
• Maintain a clinical caseload that includes clients dealing with trauma-related concerns
• Use trauma instruments, such as the Trauma Symptom Inventory, in work with clients
• Present a professional training seminar in the spring related to trauma

Athletics

The Athletics specialty area provides a scaffolded approach to intern development, offering developmentally appropriate opportunities based on the intern’s experiences prior to internship and limited availability with certain teams. This typically results in more shadowing, didactics, outreach planning, and workshops in the Fall semester, with the opportunity for workshop work with specific teams in the spring and summer when available. Additionally, there are opportunities to work with athletes in individual therapy within the Counseling Center. Please note that participation in the athletics specialty area usually involves a higher level of schedule flexibility for opportunities that take place after hours. These opportunities are sometimes beyond the 40-hours per week. Additional possible experiences include:

• One hour per week of individual consultation with a member of the Sport Psychology team for one semester.
• Shadow staff sports psychologists' participation on the Athletics Department’s Elite-Performance Team. 
• Co-present or present outreach and prevention-based trainings to teams and Athletics staff.
• Assist the sports psychologists with Summer Orientation presentations and mental health screeners for incoming athletes.