Externship

SCS, ranked one of the best College Counseling Centers in the nation by the Gourman Report (1997, 1998) and in operation for over 50 years, is a comprehensive student mental health clinic that is available to all undergraduate and graduate students matriculating at The University of Chicago. We provide individual, couple and group counseling, crisis intervention, academic skills assessment, alcohol/drug abuse intervention, psychopharmacology, consultation to faculty and staff, and 24-hour/365-day emergency on-call phone service.

Students served are adolescents and adults who bring with them a range of psychological difficulties that are very similar to what one would see in a standard outpatient clinic. And as a highly competitive, internationally recognized university, there is a great deal of ethnic diversity within the student body and the students seeking services at the clinic.

SCS offers training opportunities to pre-doctoral clinical psychology trainees seeking an advanced psychotherapy externship and post-doctorates in clinical or counseling psychology. 3 externs and 1-2 post-docs will be selected annually to train with our highly accomplished staff, which possesses a wide range of theoretical orientations and clinical interests.

Since trainees are not expected to provide the bulk of services at SCS, they have the opportunity to be immersed in a supportive, nurturing and intellectually challenging environment that should serve as an excellent segue to their future professional life.

Externs will commit 3 days to SCS (a total of 20 hours per week). Friday is a mandatory didactic day, while the other days are based on SCS office availability. The practicum starts in September with a trainee orientation and lasts through June, amounting to approximately 650 hours of supervised experience. Time off from practicum includes all University holidays, sick leave as needed and 2 weeks of vacation to be taken during winter and spring breaks. All trainees will receive a University e-mail address to aid communication with staff and clients, and will be trained to use the clinic's electronic medical record system.

Direct Service Activities

Psychotherapy (7–9 hrs per week)

Given the amount of students served at SCS, a brief treatment model is preferred, with exceptions made when clinically appropriate. However, externs will be encouraged to carry 2 long-term psychotherapy cases as a way of gaining a more intensive clinical experience. Selecting good long-term cases will be determined collaboratively between the extern and his/her primary supervisor. Building gradually, externs will be expected to carry a caseload of 7-9 individual students or couples per week.

Academic Skills Assessment Program (ASAP) (2–3 hrs per week)

Externs will have the opportunity to gain some specialized diagnostic and treatment skills in the area of learning disabilities/difficulties that will be particularly helpful to those externs who envision taking an internship or future job within an educational environment. The psychologist who coordinates this program will provide training and supervision.

Co-Leading Introduction to Stress Management Workshops (3x/year)

This interactive workshop empowers students to more effectively manage the stress of daily life.  Training and supervision is provided by the counselor who runs this program.

Intake (1-3 hrs per week)

Intake assessments are performed on every student seeking services at SCS for the purpose of getting a rough diagnostic impression and making appropriate dispositions.  This activity will help the extern get acquainted with the diagnostic spectrum seen at SCS, as well as the clinical specialties of SCS staff members. 

Outreach (3x/year)

SCS is committed to doing more outreach on campus in order to increase our visibility and accessibility to those who might be reluctant to seek help from SCS. With the assistance of staff, externs will present brief workshops and/or be available for questions at “table events” on campus that address issues relevant to student well-being.

Group Psychotherapy (1x/year)

While individual/couple psychotherapy is predominant at SCS, there are a variety of opportunities for externs to co-lead groups with staff or another trainee.  As opportunities to co-lead groups arise, they will be presented at the Psychotherapy Seminar and assigned according to availability and interest.  Externs will be required to co-lead at least one group over the course of the academic year.

Clinical Training Activities

Individual Supervision (2 hrs per week)

Externs will receive 2 hours of individual supervision per week, 1 by a primary supervisor and 1 by a secondary supervisor. The primary supervisor will track the extern’s experience for the entire 9 month commitment, while the secondary supervisor will be a “rotating” supervisor who will provide the extern with specialty supervision in clinical areas of interest. Externs are encouraged to receive secondary supervision from a variety of staff, including post-docs, in order to increase their breadth of experience at SCS.

Psychotherapy Seminar (1.5 hrs per week)

Externs will meet weekly with the Director of Training and sporadically with a Staff Psychiatrist to present and discuss clinical cases, including medical & psychiatric concerns/developments. Guest speakers will also lecture on relevant clinical topics to a college population.  

ASAP Supervision (1 hr per week)

This training and supervision will be provided weekly in a group format and will focus on properly conducting ASAP intakes and learning strategies for assisting students who present with learning difficulties/disabilities.

Special Topics Seminar (1 hr - alternating weeks)

Outreach activities will be discussed and planned. Issues regarding professional development will be addressed, such as preparing for a future job and understanding the multifaceted role of a modern psychologist. Preparation for group co-leading will be provided, and externs will increase their competence in working with a diverse population; emphasizing the areas of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, socioeconomics, sexual orientation, and ability.

Stress Management Supervision (1 hr - alternating weeks)

Externs will receive training on facilitating stress management workshops via didactics and co-leading, and gain knowledge about the process via ongoing supervision. 

Extern Support Group (1 hr per week)

This group is facilitated by a post-doctoral trainee and allows externs the opportunity to discuss personal issues that might be surfacing in their work and concerns/questions regarding their training experience. 

Clinical Case Conference (1.5 hrs per week-optional)

Externs can participate in a weekly staff meeting that includes staff case presentations and invited guest speakers who address a variety of issues related to student mental health and well-being. This is an optional training activity because the extern may not have office hours on the day of the Clinical Case Conference.

Grand Rounds (1 hr per week-optional)

Externs are permitted to attend Grand Rounds at the Department of Psychiatry on Thursday at noon, where guest speakers from across the country, discuss a variety of research and clinical topics.

Application Process

Applicants should submit a cover letter stating their clinical interests and reasons for applying to SCS, along with their CV, 3 letters of reference and a transcript to the following address:

The University of Chicago-SCS
5737 S. University Avenue
Chicago, IL. 60637
ATTN: John McPherrin, Psy.D.

Applications should be received no later than 3 weeks prior to the notification day set forth by the Association of Chicagoland Externship and Practicum Training Sites (ACEPT) and offers will be made on notification day at 9:00 AM.

Trainee Evaluation, Grievance & Due Process Procedures

At the end of each quarter, externs will receive a formal written evaluation on his/her performance in all areas of training by his/her primary supervisor. Performance evaluations will be discussed by the SCS Training Committee to insure that high ethical & clinical standards are being maintained and that all trainee expectations are being met. In the event that there is a problem with an extern’s performance, SCS has in place Grievance and Due Process Procedures that clarify remediation steps. These procedures are in place to insure fair and equitable treatment of all trainees and staff at SCS. All externs are expected to be acquainted with SCS policies & procedures as outlined in our Policies & Procedures Manual that is distributed at the Trainee Orientation.

Additionally, externs will evaluate their primary supervisor at the end of each quarter so as to insure that their expectations are being met. In the event that there is a problem with a supervisor, the Director of Training will first attempt to resolve it by informal means and, if necessary, a Grievance and Due Process Procedure.