Doctoral Psychology Internship Program

Sample Weekly Schedule: 40 hrs per week

Clinical/Experiential Activities

Training Activities

Administrative Activities

Clinical/Experiential Activities

Triage/Initial Assessments, Consultation, and Crisis Intervention
Each intern is assigned a weekly 4 to 4.5 hour Triage/Initial assessment shift per week to provide Initial Assessments, Consultations, and Crisis Interventions. Students or consultees can initiate services by completing a Triage/Initial Assessment (IA). During Initial Assessments, interns gather information about client concerns, assess client needs, and recommend services inside and outside the center. During a Crisis Intervention, a thorough risk assessment and crisis management is provided. In case of a life-threatening crisis, hospitalization may be facilitated. Finally, Consultation services to members of the campus community are also offered during Initial Assessment. During consultation, recommendations regarding how to provide support or connect an individual of concern to EKUCC are offered. Additionally, consultations are provided to students seeking referrals to outside providers.

Individual Psychotherapy
Interns typically provide approximately 12 hrs of Individual Psychotherapy per week. Individual Psychotherapy appointments are scheduled if recommended during the Triage/Initial Assessment appointment. Individual Psychotherapy is primarily individual, although some exposure to couples’ therapy is available. Sessions can be weekly, biweekly, or less frequently depending on client needs. Although the Center’s orientation is toward briefer therapy, Interns may retain 2-3 long term therapy clients. Interns are encouraged to seek case assignments that facilitate clinical growth and contribute to their training in areas of specific interest or areas of specialization. Interns’ Individual Supervisor, Training Director, and Clinical staff provide input on appropriate case assignments.

Group Intervention
The Counseling Center offers a variety of appointment-based (scheduled, screened), process-oriented therapy groups and specific identity-based drop-in support groups. Each intern has the opportunity to co-lead at least one 1.5-hr process-oriented psychotherapy group during the internship year with a Senior Staff member. Examples of process-oriented groups include: Grief Group, Cleaning House: A Group for Students Impacted by the Substance Abuse of Others, Start from Now: Addressing Body Image and Disordered Eating, Integrate to Regulate: Coping Skills for Trauma Survivors (EMDR Group), Understanding Self & Others/Interpersonal Process (USO), andLeveling Up: Support through D&D Gaming. Drop-in support groups have been offered for first-generation students, students with a health disability, international students, LGBTQ+ students, and students of color.

Outreach/Community Intervention
Outreach activities and programs allow EKUCC to extend its expertise to the broader university community. Outreach activities include targeted programming that raises awareness of the Counseling Center and services offered, encourages help-seeking and prevention, reduces stigma, and responds to the University community’s needs and concerns. Interns have the opportunity to be involved in the Center’s community intervention services and further develop their skills in providing this important service.
Interns are expected to facilitate at least 5 outreach programs during the internship year. Interns gain outreach experience in multiple ways: (a) though involvement in RA trainings, (b) Counseling Center presentations during student and parent orientation at the beginning of the academic year, (c) by providing programs requested by members of the university (interns are free to develop programming with guidance from the Outreach coordinator), (d) co-facilitating suicide prevention QPR regularly offered by the center, and (e) participating in annual campus outreach events (e.g., mental health screening day, eating disorder screening day, meditation at the ravine or planetarium, play-day for relaxation). Interns are also expected to lead at least one psychoeducational group workshop during the year. The Center regularly offers “Feel Better Fast” Psychoeducational/Skills-Based seminars, which teach Emotional Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Mindfulness, and “Peak Performance” workshops, which address common challenges among college students, such as organization, motivation, and test anxiety.

Psychological Assessment
EKUCC utilizes psychological assessment measures for diagnostic clarification, to support therapeutic treatment plans and approaches, to deepen a clinician’s understanding of client personality and interpersonal dynamics in and outside the therapeutic relationship, and to connect the client with other campus offices and services (e.g., Center for Student Accessibility for disability accommodations, Student Health Services for medication management, etc.). Interns provide Psychological Assessment to clients at the EKUCC as needed as part of their ongoing treatment.

Interns also receive training on a number of psychological assessments and conduct ADHD and LD assessment batteries through the EKUCC’s partnership with the Psychology Clinic on campus. The Psychology Clinic is a training clinic for the doctoral (Psy.D.) program in Clinical Psychology at EKU and provides assessment services to the University and greater community. During the year, Interns are responsible for completing at least 4 integrated assessment reports (i.e., test battery including at least 2 psychological assessments) in addition to administering other psychological assessment measures.

Provision of Individual Supervision
Interns formally provide individual supervision for one hour per week to a Masters’ level or Doctoral practicum trainee during the Fall and Spring semesters. This supervision takes place under the supervision of a Licensed Psychologist Health Service Provider (HSP) who is ultimately responsible for the clinical cases being supervised. During supervision, Intern and practicum trainee discuss clinical cases, watch session recordings, conceptualize cases, and explore interventions.

Intern Summer Project
The intern Summer Project is an opportunity for interns to leave a legacy with the Center. The Intern Summer Project is determined by intern interest and Center needs. The primary training goal for this activity is for interns to engage in program development to respond to the betterment of the mental health of EKU students. If interns work together on this project, an additional goal is to negotiate working together as a team. The project requires interns to identify a need in the center and engage in review of current literature to support the proposed plan to address the need. When the Intern Summer Project is completed, Interns present their findings to the EKUCC staff during the 2 hour weekly staff meeting. Some examples projects include:

Training Activities

Orientation
Interns spend the first two weeks of the internship getting oriented to the internship program, the Counseling Center, and the university community. Interns meet with professional and support staff within the center to become familiar with each staff member and their responsibilities and are matched with individual supervisors. They also meet with campus partners/university staff with whom the center has frequent and critical contact, including Psychology Clinic/Psychology Department staff and Assessment Supervisors, the Executive Director of Integrative Behavioral Health System, and Student Health Services (SHS) staff. Interns learn about the Center and services offered, policies and procedures, use of Titanium Scheduling, the Center’s EHR, Referrals and Resources, and the activities that will be required of them as they begin to see clients. The training manual is provided and reviewed.

Individual Supervision
Interns are assigned an individual supervisor with whom they meet 2 hours per week. All primary individual supervisors are licensed as psychologists in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Weekly individual clinical supervision is used to discuss interns’ intakes/initial assessments, individual psychotherapy, crisis intervention services, consultation, and case management. Supervisors also provide training and oversight for administrative activities. Supervisors typically utilize case discussion and review of video recordings. They provide interns with ongoing feedback and offer verbal and written evaluations of interns’ work. Supervisors review and sign-off on all interns’ clinical documentation and maintain ultimate responsibility for all of the intern’s cases.

Group Supervision
Interns receive 1 hour of group supervision per week for all but one week of the month. Group supervision is facilitated by the Training Director and is an opportunity for the interns and Training Director to touch base regularly about their experience at the center, and discuss clinical and professional development topics, such as transitioning to the internship, current events, and applying to post-doctoral programs. Clinical cases are discussed, including review of session recordings, case conceptualization, and treatment planning, and interns are expected to engage in peer supervision with one another. Interns are required to make 2 formal case presentations during group supervision, which are open to other supervisors and professional staff to attend.

Assessment Supervision
Once per month Assessment Supervisors from the Psychology clinic facilitate Assessment Supervision in a group format in place of weekly Group Supervision. Assessment Supervisors serve as Secondary Supervisors who focus on providing training and supervision in psychological assessment administration, interpretation, and report writing. Assessment Supervisors provide instruction on assessment administration during Intern didactic seminars. During Assessment Supervision, Assessment Supervisors provide supervision in assessment administration, interpretation of complex results, and report writing.

Supervision of Supervision
In both Fall and Spring semesters, interns assume the role of primary supervisor for an MA or doctoral practicum student. Interns receive weekly supervision of supervision for 1 hour in a group format from August through May. This supervision is provided by the Training Director and includes multiple activities such as a review of various theories and models of supervision, discussion of interns’ experiences as supervisors, video review for feedback, and exploration of interns’ evolving personal approaches to supervision. Supervision of Supervision is discussion-based, and it is intended to provide interns with feedback on supervision skills, help interns work through supervision challenges, and allow oversight of client welfare.

Supervision of Group Intervention
Interns obtain individual supervision of their group therapy work once a week for 30 minutes from the senior staff member with whom they are co-facilitating group. All interns co-facilitate at least 1 psychotherapy group during the academic year and lead and co-lead support and skill-based groups as well. The Group Psychotherapy Supervisor provides orientation for interns about the process of screening group therapy clients and conducts the group screening interviews with interns. Interns meet with their co-facilitator/supervisor following the provision of the therapy group to de-brief the session, discuss group process and conceptualization, and plan for future interventions.

Supervision of Summer Project
The project requires interns to identify a need in the center and engage in review of current literature to support the proposed plan to address the need. Interns meet for one hour per week during the summer months with a project Supervisor to discuss ideas, brainstorm possibilities, and discuss progress on the development of a program, psychoeducational seminar or project (see intern summer project) that would benefit the Center and the clients it serves. The supervisor provides guidance and suggestions for this project and oversight of the intern’s work.

Intern Training Seminars
Interns participate in a weekly 2-hour training seminar. Intern Training Seminars feature mental health professionals from EKUCC and EKU Psychology Department/Clinic, as well as EKUCC campus partners as presenters. The Seminars are designed to span a broad range of Interns’ training needs during the internship year. Seminars expose interns to in-depth and intensive training in the following core areas: (a) Psychotherapy and Crisis Intervention, (b) Clinical Assessment, (c) Multicultural and Diversity Issues in Psychotherapy, (e) Psychiatric consult, and (f) Professional Development. Example seminar topics include: Working with Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Assessment, and Therapeutic Interventions, College Mental Health and Psychopharmacology, Crisis Intervention Skills and Strategies, Addressing Mental Health Issues in the Black Community, and Psychotherapeutic & Psychoeducational Intervention Strategies for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum. At the end of the training year, Interns translate their academic and scientific knowledge into a didactic presentation for the Counseling Center staff on a clinical topic of their choice, which could be either their dissertation research or a “Developing Expertise Presentation” . All available Counseling Center staff attend these seminars and provide written feedback to the intern at the conclusion.

Case Conference
Interns participate in a 1-hour weekly interdisciplinary case conference/review meeting with the full-time EKUCC Senior staff and Student Health Services (SHS) Medical providers. The general purpose of this meeting is to present, discuss, and consult about clinical/shared cases in order to coordinate care. This meeting is an integral part of the training process for Interns, fostering the development of skills of giving and receiving constructive feedback, and deepening their understanding of an integrated approach to well-being and mental health treatment in a professional, interdisciplinary, and collegial setting. Interns are expected to actively participate through presentation of cases and offering feedback.

Administrative Activities

Staff Meeting
Interns participate in a weekly, two-hour staff meeting attended by all EKUCC service providers. Time is devoted to the administrative business of the Counseling Center. In keeping with the collaborative philosophy of EKUCC and its developmental-mentoring model of training, interns participate in staff meetings as junior members of the training staff. These meetings offer interns opportunities to observe and participate in the management of the Center through activities such as the development of Center policies and procedures, and the planning and organization of various EKUCC services, including community intervention, groups, triage, interdepartmental collaborations, etc.

Planning and Consultation
Trainees are given 30 min at the end of each day to consult with staff or each other and plan and prepare for clinical and other activities for the week as needed. This time can also be used to respond to emails, prepare handouts, etc., as well as complete clinical documentation.

Indirect Clinical Hours/ Case Management
Interns are expected to conduct case management activities relevant to the clients with whom they are working. This includes completion of notes (e.g., intake/initial assessments, case notes, termination notes, assessment reports, necessary correspondence, and letter-writing), making necessary referrals, and contacts with faculty, administrators, treatment professionals, and parents as appropriate. It also includes other non-direct clinical tasks such as researching a specific client concern, preparation for the session, and administrative tasks such as taking care of record transfers. They work with their supervisors to conduct case management in an ethical and legal manner, and to contact relevant parties when legally required.

Research, Professional, and Scholarly Work
Interns are given 1 hour a week on average to engage in professional development activities such as attending trainings, preparing, revising, or reviewing manuscripts for publication, working on dissertation research, or engaging in original research/data collection. Time can also be spent engaged in the consumption of current research and literature in preparation for their clinical work, in specialization activities, or preparing for their end-of-year didactic presentation to the EKUCC staff on their dissertation research, area of developing expertise, or a clinical topic of their choice.

Indirect Supervision: Clinical/Tape Review
Interns are allotted 3 hours per week to prepare for supervision, both their own supervision and their supervision of a trainee. This includes preparing to discuss challenging client presentations, exploring referrals for clients, and reviewing their own recorded therapy sessions so they may arrive to supervision prepared with to discuss their client caseload, show portions of digital recordings, and ask questions. Regarding their supervision of a practicum students, interns are expected to spend time reviewing and providing feedback on psychotherapy notes and clinical documentation, reviewing their supervisee’s recorded therapy sessions, completing trainee evaluations, and other supervision-related duties.