The American University's Center for Well-Being Programs and Psychological Services (WBC) full-time internship is fully accredited by the APA* and was founded in 2001. The internship program has been designed to provide interns with the opportunity to assume the responsibilities and tasks of the Center's professional staff with the support and supervision necessary to make them successful in this endeavor. The primary focus of the training program is to enable interns to enhance their skills in providing individual psychotherapy in a short term model.
The internship also provides training in group psychotherapy, diagnostic interviewing, outreach programming, crisis intervention, and supervision. In addition to these training experiences, interns also engage in ongoing seminars that are specifically designed for them. The program offers interns the opportunity to work with many of the staff in a variety of contexts so that they are exposed to different personal approaches and styles.
Overall, interns can expect to enhance and develop their understanding of an integrative approach with a relational and multicultural focus as well as its application to the college student population. Interns are expected to continually engage in a process of self-exploration as it relates to cultural competence and the engagement in social justice principles. Staff members have been trained in a variety of theoretical orientations under the foundation of multiculturally competent, antiracist, and advocacy based pedagogy. Staff support interns on how to utilize these orientations in their work and support each intern in fostering their own therapeutic style. Interns can expect a strong commitment from the Center staff to providing the support and supervision necessary in developing their skills; each staff member has a strong interest and enthusiasm for providing clinical supervision and participating in the training program. Staff members are also deeply committed to the continued development of their own skills.
*Contact information for the APA Commission on Accreditation: c/o Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation 750 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20002-4242 Phone: 202-336-5979 TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123 Fax: 202-336-5978.