The doctoral internship program at the University of South Carolina Student Health Services (SHS) -Counseling and Psychiatry’s Aims are:
1) provide a training/practice environment that prides itself on the utilization of the medical home model of service-delivery program to the students of the University of South Carolina.
2) provide core training that attends to the:
a) development and utilization of evidence-based practice through research,
b) encouraging ethical practice,
c) grow in individual and cultural diversity competencies,
d)practice professional attitudes, refine communication and interpersonal skills,
e) improve diagnostic assessment and intervention skills,
f) learn supervision theory and consultation
g) and develop skills to work within an interdisciplinary team.
Counseling and Psychiatry Services (CAPS) is housed within Student Health & Well-Being (SHWB) under the umbrella of Student Affairs and Academic Support. We are an integrated Health services program that is accredited by the American Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) as a patient-centered medical home model. The SHWB Medical Home facilitates health care partnerships between individual patients and their primary care provider. All students are assigned to a designated primary care provider and health care team throughout their time at USC. CAPS serves as a consultative counterpart to other SHWB services and has embedded in SHWB a behavioral health specialist that provide direct consultation, collaborative care and referal to CAP for further services.
Our guiding philosophy is a Developmental-Apprentice-Practitioner (DAP) Model. We provide a comprehensive practice environment that offers high quality services to students at the University of South Carolina. The Clients-Interns-Supervisors model form an inextricable alliance that guides the content of developmental, apprentice, and practice approaches in our training aims and objectives. We are dedicated to providing quality care and quality training in an atmosphere of respect and consideration.
We initially require that interns demonstrate competence in the clinical areas of diagnostic assessment/crisis intervention and psychotherapy. Competency in Psychotherapy and intervention within a brief model receives the most attention at our center and is covered in all phases of our training program. Provision and facilitation of Group Therapy is an integral experience offered to interns. Interns will support our outreach and engagement team for various outreach opportunities throughout the year, are involved in our web-based services. Interns may also serve in consultive roles to our campus partners and community-based organizaitons and are required to provide outreach which may include tabling mental health events, mental heatlh screenings, developing outreach presentations and designated presentations to University 101 for our 1st year students. Interns may also have an opportunitiy to work with our embedded and integrated services team serving specific communities that has identified needs.
Interns receive two hours of Individual supervision, two hours of group supervision weekly, 1 hour of supervision of supervision and .5-1 hours of group supervision for each group co-facilitated. There are other supervisory and consultation opportunities that offer our interns an opportunity to continually grow and develop throughout the year. During the fall semester Interns learn supervision theory and concepts through our didactic supervision seminar and in the Spring, Interns provide mentoring and supervision activities to our masters level trainees. Interns also attend a 2-hour didactic seminar each week that focuses on topics specific to work at university and college counseling centers. Interns participate in a weekly Multicultural appreciation and therapy seminar and are invited to join Diversity Dialouges when hosted by CAPS staff. Advanced Diagnostic evaluation seminar and Professional develompent seminar is held once a month to support continued growth.
We look forward to your application and thank you for considering our program. We wish you well in this process and hope that we can be a small part of your journey as you take the next step in your education, practice, and career as a Health Service Psychologist.
For more information about our program, Please contact Dr. Sterling P. Watson at watsonsp@mailbox.sc.edu for any questions that you may have.
You can also refer to our website at
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/health_services/medical-services/counseling-and-psychiatry/training-programs/index.php