Internship
SCRS, 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.
SCRS offers training opportunities to pre-doctoral clinical psychology trainees seeking an advanced psychotherapy externship and internship. 3–4 externs and 1 intern will be selected annually to train with our highly accomplished staff, which possesses a wide range of theoretical orientations and clinical interests.
Since student-trainees are not expected to provide the bulk of services at SCRS, 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.
This position comes with a stipend of $18,000. The intern will have his/her own office with a phone, computer, and university e-mail address. Training with respect to our electronic medical record system and scheduling program will be provided. Time off from internship includes all University holidays, sick leave as needed and 2 weeks of vacation to be taken during winter and spring breaks. The internship starts July 1st and concludes June 30th. Working 40 hours per week, the intern will accumulate approximately 2000 hours of supervised experience. At the end of his/her training, the intern will receive a Certificate of Internship Completion
Direct Service Activities
Psychotherapy (12–15 hrs per week)
Given the amount of students served at SCRS, a brief treatment model is the norm, with approved exceptions made when clinically appropriate. However, interns will be allowed to carry 2 extended psychotherapy cases as a way of gaining a more intensive clinical experience. Selecting good long-term cases will be determined collaboratively between the intern and his/her primary supervisor. The intern will be expected to carry a caseload of 12-15 individual students or couples per week.
Academic Skills Assessment Program (ASAP) (4–6 hrs per week)
Interns 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 interns who envision working in an educational environment in the future. The psychologist who coordinates this program will provide training and supervision.
Intake (3–5 hrs per week)
Intake assessments are performed on every student seeking services at SCRS for the purpose of getting a rough diagnostic impression and making appropriate dispositions. This activity will help the intern get acquainted with the diagnostic spectrum seen at the University, as well as the clinical specialties of SCRS staff members. Additionally, with SCRS serving as the gate-keeper to students seeking long-term treatment through the student mental health plan, the intern will become familiar with SCRS’s referral process and extensive referral network.
“Let’s Talk” Counseling Services (3–4 hrs per week)
Adopted from Cornell University’s Counseling Center, this innovative program involves the creation of 2 drop-in offices on campus (International House & the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs) to assist students who might be reluctant to seek psychological services through traditional means by offering more informal contact that may serve as a prelude to seeking services at SCRS. This program is run by SCRS and is partially staffed by an intern.
Leading/Co-Leading Introduction to Stress Management Workshops (varies)
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.
Group Psychotherapy (varies)
While individual/couple psychotherapy is predominant at SCRS, there are 7 group therapy opportunities available to students, focusing on the following issues: Procrastination, Eating Concerns, Coming Out, Students of Color, Transgender Support and Interpersonal Relationships. The intern will be required to participate in 2 groups over the course of the academic year, one of which he/she will be responsible for developing, marketing and leading.
Co-Leading Psychotherapy/Psychiatric Seminar (1.5 hrs per week)
During the Winter & Spring quarters, the Psychology Intern and Psychiatric Fellow will co-lead the Seminar, carrying the responsibilities of determining guest speakers (with the assistance of the Training Director) and scheduling case presentations.
Secondary Supervision of Extern (5–15 hrs per year)
The intern will have the opportunity to provide an extern with 1 hour of weekly secondary supervision in order to become acquainted with having a supervisory role and responsibilities. This supervision will be monitored by the intern’s primary supervisor.
Day-Call Emergency Coverage (varies)
The intern will be part of the rotating staff on-call system, setting aside time to see emergency walk-in appointments during standard business hours. This will familiarize the intern with crisis intervention and triage work.
Outreach (varies)
In an ongoing effort to increase our visibility and accessibility to those who might be reluctant to seek help from SCRS, we remain committed to doing outreach on campus, including to the more than 400 student organizations and 10 undergraduate residence halls. With the assistance of staff, the intern will be expected to assist at pre-planned presentations and “tabling events”, as well as to develop 1 outreach program on his/her own to be completed during the winter or spring quarters. Additional supervision will be provided as needed.
Administrative Time (2–3 hrs per week)
Time will be allotted for the intern to complete necessary paperwork: progress notes, termination summaries, referrals, etc…
Other Training Possibilities
Supervision of Career Advising and Planning Services (CAPS) Trainee (1 hr per week)
At the request of CAPS, a separate department on campus, responsible for guiding arts and sciences undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, and post-docs in career development, the intern will have the opportunity to provide supervision to one of their trainees, if the intern is an LPC or LCPC.
Peer Educator Supervision (1 hr per week)
PEs are a select group of U Chicago students who work on behalf of the SCRS to promote awareness and advocacy for mental health among University of Chicago students. PEs are willing to speak on a variety of mental health issues including: stress, alcohol, depression, anxiety and other topics by request, and can be supervised and coordinated by the intern.
Family Resource Center (varies)
Workshops and lectures can be offered to The Family Resource Center, whose mission is to create a welcoming space where families from the university community can access resources, information, and supportive programming and services. The Center is administered by the Office of Graduate Affairs. The space includes a private space for nursing and changing a baby, playroom with new toys and books, email access, and a place for babysitting exchanges. In the past, SCRS has run workshops on preparing for a 1st child and parenting toddlers.
Participation on Training Committee (varies)
The intern can participate in the interview and selection process of trainees for the following academic year.
Participation on Wellness Committee (varies)
A growing initiative by SCRS to promote primary prevention of mental health issues, the intern can help plan and implement wellness programming, including running stress management workshops and working collaboratively with the Student Care Center (the medical side of student health at the University) to create a monthly newsletter that provides health tips and highlights wellness activities at the University and in the larger community.
Clinical Training Activities
Individual Supervision (2 hrs per week)
Interns 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 intern’s experience for the entire 12 month commitment, while the secondary supervisor will be a “rotating” supervisor who will provide the intern with specialty supervision in clinical areas of interest. Interns are encouraged to receive secondary supervision from a variety of staff in order to increase their breadth of experience at SCRS.
Psychotherapy/Psychiatric Seminar (1.5 hrs per week)
All trainees will meet weekly for 1.5 hours with various SCRS staff and invited guest speakers to present and discuss clinical cases, including medical & psychiatric concerns/developments, and hear lectures 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 following the Psychotherapy Seminar 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 trainees 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)
During the fall quarter, trainees will receive intensive training on facilitating stress management workshops via didactics and co-leading.
Group Supervision (varies)
Whether co-leading or developing & leading his/her own group, this supervision will focus on helping the intern understand general group dynamics, his/her reactions to group participants, and the evolution of the group in relation to the topic.
Clinical Case Conference (1.5 hrs per week)
The intern will participate in weekly staff meetings that includes staff case presentations and invited guest speakers who address a variety of issues related to student mental health and well-being.
Grand Rounds (1 hr per week)
Interns 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 SCRS, completed AAPI, current vita, 3 letters of reference and official transcript to the following address:
The University of Chicago-SCRS
5737 S. University Avenue
Chicago, IL. 60637
ATTN: John McPherrin, Psy.D.
Applications should be received no later than November 30th. Once received, applications will be reviewed by the Director of Training and SCRS Training Committee. Applicants not granted interviews will be notified via e-mail by the 2nd week of December. Interviews will be conducted in-person from mid-December to mid-January. All applicants no longer being considered for the position after the interview will be notified via e-mail by the end of January. We will offer the position to our top applicant prior to APPIC rank-order day. As a non-APPIC site, we can make this offer and the student can accept, but in doing so, he/she forgoes Match Day. If our top pick rejects our offer, we will offer the position to the next ranked candidate and so on. If no match is made prior to Match Day, we will proceed to the Clearinghouse process. Ranked applicants who discover that they have not matched may contact SCRS directly to inquire into the availability of the position.
Trainee Evaluation, Grievance & Due Process Procedures
At the end of each quarter, the extern/intern 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 SCRS 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 a trainee’s performance, SCRS 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 SCRS. All trainees are expected to be acquainted with SCRS policies & procedures as outlined in our Policies & Procedures Manual that is distributed at the Trainee Orientation.
Additionally, trainees 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.
