The primary goal of our 24-hour per week program is to expose students to advanced generalist psychotherapy skills provided within a college-counseling environment. Integrated into every activity is a commitment to ongoing expansion of our trainees’ and staff’s cultural competence. We achieve this goal through the following training and experiential activities:
Comprehensive Orientation
Trainees are exposed to a three-full-day orientation meant to orient them to IIT as well as review important skills such as intake assessment, risk assessment, agency policies, etc.
Intake Assessment
Trainees will learn to gather relevant information, conduct risk assessments, and be exposed to diagnosis, disposition planning, and case management through the intake assessment.
Individual Therapy
Trainees will conduct 8–10 individual therapy sessions per week.
Group Therapy
While group therapy will not be a mandatory aspect of training, groups will be provided and trainees will have the option to co-lead groups with a senior staff member.
Supervision
Trainees will receive one hour of individual supervision and one hour of group supervision per week with a licensed clinical psychologist (unless otherwise agreed upon by the SHWC and the academic institution).
Video Recording of Sessions
IIT offers state-of-the-art supervision technology. In accordance with research, video recordings of therapy sessions offer trainees the opportunity to pay attention to nuances and increase self-confidence in therapy (Abbass, 2004). Our externs video record their sessions and review them in supervision.
Didactic Seminars
Trainees will participate in a 1 hour weekly didactic seminar. At least half of all presentations will be given by professionals from the community. Topics include cross-cultural communication, anxiety management, countertransference, couples therapy, and eating disorders, to name just a few recent presentations.
Outreach
Trainees will be involved in planning and presenting a minimum of two outreach presentations on behalf of the Student Health and Wellness Center per year.
Seminars
Trainees will participate in four six week seminars led by one senior staff member, including, Crisis Management, Trauma, Dialogues and Diversity and the Personal and Professional. This meeting is meant to expose students and the SHWC staff to the societal impact of a multicultural society, exploring identity, increasing self-awareness as part of an ongoing commitment to multicultural awareness and competence.
Formal Case Presentation
Toward the end of the training year, trainees will participate in a didactic on how to formally present a case. They will then have the valuable experience of presenting a case to the entire staff and receiving informal feedback.
Peer Support Group
Trainees will be offered one hour per month to meet without staff present as a means of supporting one another as they feel would be most useful. This is often viewed as one of the most appreciated aspects of training.
Agency Wellness
Our agency is dedicated to staff and trainee wellness. We conduct wellness activities regularly. Past activities have included rousing games of Apples to Apples and potlucks.
Please note that trainees must be onsite Tuesdays from 8:30 –3p.m.