Counselor Education Doctoral Advanced Practicum; Summer
Counselor Education Masters Specialist Internship; Summer & Fall
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in the University of Florida Counseling and Wellness Center’s (CWC) Counselor Education Doctoral Advanced Practicum/Masters Specialist Internship. Our training program is designed to facilitate the transition from student trainee to professional through training seminars, supervision and clinical experiences. We attempt to create an atmosphere that is conducive to intern’s learning and development through an appropriate balance of support and challenge. We have a culturally and professionally diverse training staff who are committed to providing quality training of our interns. Our staff represent various theoretical orientations, and share a commitment to providing multicultural sensitive clinical and training experiences. Our Center offers individual, couples and group counseling, outreach, consultation and crisis intervention to the university community. Our training staff is also integrally involved in teaching and other scholarly activities on campus. Each year the CWC training committee conducts a local search within the Counselor Education Program at UF for a counseling trainee.
Training Mission Statement
The Counselor Education Doctoral Advanced Practicum/Masters Specialist Internship program is an integral part of the mission of the University of Florida Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC), and the entire professional and support staff is involved in the supervision and training of our trainees. The training program’s aim is to prepare trainees to function competently and independently as psychologists and counselors. We aim to graduate trainees who are clinically competent, highly ethical, culturally sensitive, and who have developed a well-defined professional identity.
The program follows a practitioner-scholar model of professional training for psychologists and counselors, which emphasizes experiential learning. As a practitioner, the trainee applies the knowledge gained from scholarly and scientific evidence to clinical practice. As a scholar, the trainee is engaged in study of the science of psychology and mental health, and is encouraged to contribute to the profession through involvement in scholarly activities. In addition, the training staff provides a wide variety of clinical and supervision orientations used in training.
Philosophy of Training
We attempt to create an atmosphere that is conducive to learning by providing trainees with an appropriate blend of support and challenge. We see trainees as emerging professionals and treat them accordingly, giving a great deal of autonomy and responsibility. At the same time, we try to provide the professional and emotional support necessary to allow for growth and development. We focus on trainees’ “growth edges” and attempt to facilitate positive change throughout the course of the year.
While there is a basic “core” program of training, trainees are encouraged to tailor-make their intern experience to meet their specific needs. Trainees have the opportunity to customize their training in terms of the types of clients that they work with, the types of outreach programs and possible groups and consultation projects they undertake.
Evaluation and feedback is an important part of the training experience. Clinical supervisors, group supervisors, and members of the training staff evaluate and provide feedback to trainees twice each semester (at mid-term and again at the end of the semester). This feedback focuses on the development and progress of each trainee, with the intention always being to help them strengthen professional competencies and identify areas of strength and areas for growth. Trainees, in turn, evaluate their clinical supervisors and the training program once each semester.
Trainees are expected to fulfill the multiple roles of a university psychologist or counselor, which includes counseling services (individual, couples, and group therapy), assessment, crisis intervention, referral, consultation*, outreach, participation in training seminars and professional development activities, and participation in administrative functions.
*Optional for Counselor Education Intern.