Note: Please see our website for the most complete and up-to-date information about our internship program.
The Internship year at CAPS is designed to promote the developmental process in which interns move from the role of student to that of colleague with special emphasis placed on issues related to multicultural competence. Interns are encouraged to take an active role in tailoring their training to meet their professional goals, interests and developmental needs as they complete the required elements of the internship. Every effort is made to provide a supportive and accepting environment that models and attends to personal growth and the establishment of professional identity.
Clinical service training activities include 14 to 19 hours per week of individual, couples (limited), and group counseling as well as conducting initial assessments. Other required activities include provision of supervision, outreach programming and consultation, substance use assessments, crisis intervention and debriefing, and research/dissertation work. Core training activities include 4 weeks of orientation, weekly training seminars, biweekly diversity seminar, primary individual supervision, supervision of supervision, supervision of group counseling, secondary supervision, and treatment team membership. Interns may also choose to participate in a number of training opportunities that can supplement their core training activities. Examples of these areas of emphasis include intensified training in the treatment of issues related to addiction, the treatment of eating disorders, outreach (beyond the requirements), trauma focused treatment, DBT treatment, and inpatient assessment (summer only).
Supervisors evaluate each Interns' progress formally at the end of each semester. Supervisors assess current strengths and growth areas, and these evaluations are used to focus the next semester's supervision. Interns are asked to evaluate their supervisory experiences throughout the year, feedback about their Internship experience is encouraged during the year, and they formally evaluate elements of the entire training program at the end of the Internship year. While all CAPS Staff members play a role in Internship training, primary supervision and core training experiences are provided by CAPS' licensed psychologists who have three years post-license experience. CAPS is one of a small number of university counseling center internship sites housed within an integrated health care setting that is accredited by The Joint Commission. This distinction gives our interns an excellent training opportunity as they work alongside medical professionals to serve Clemson students.