Training Activities

Direct Service Activities

All interns participate in the following direct service activities in order to develop the nine APA-designated competencies.  Interns complete at least 500 hours of direct, face-to-face service with clients during their training year.

  1. Walk-In Coverage- Initial Visits (IVs)

Each student presenting for services at the UCC for the first time or returning for services during a new academic year may walk into the UCC during walk-in hours to be seen for a 30-minute “Initial Visit” (IV).  The purpose of these visits is to assess client needs and make treatment recommendations, including making referrals on or off campus when appropriate. Upon arrival for their appointment, clients complete intake paperwork and the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms-62 (CCAPS).  After the orientation period, interns will provide coverage for a set number of walk-in hours per week and are expected to learn how to integrate new clients into their schedule by assessing how quickly they need to be seen, prioritizing high-risk clients and spacing out appointments as appropriate.

  1. Walk-In Coverage- Returners/Crisis

Students may utilize the UCC’s daily walk-in hours to meet with a clinician to address an immediate crisis or for brief therapeutic intervention. Interns provide approximately three hours of walk-in clinic coverage per week and will see a mix of initial visits and returning/crisis clients during that time. During returning and crisis visits, interns assess the immediate presenting concern, utilize brief intervention skills, and offer recommendations regarding ongoing therapy, off-campus referrals, or referrals to other campus offices that may be helpful to the client.

  1. Individual Therapy

Interns are expected to begin the training year with a basic knowledge of various therapeutic theories and to increase that knowledge throughout their placement at the UCC.  Interns provide individual therapy, seeing WFU students for short-term therapy (1-12 sessions), providing approximately 13-15 individual therapy hours per week.

  1. After-Hours Crisis Intervention (On-Call)

Once interns are capable of conducting suicide risk assessments and managing crisis situations during office hours, they join the after-hours on-call rotation of the UCC clinical staff members.  After-hours response may entail conducting a suicide risk assessment via phone or meeting with a student on campus to provide support, assess risk, and/or facilitate hospitalization if needed.  Interns always have access to their supervisor or another UCC clinician for consultation and assistance during their on-call responsibilities.  Interns will be on-call for a total of approximately four weeks during the training year.

  1. Group Therapy

Interns are actively involved in group development, including planning, advertising, and screening potential participants for group.  Interns co-lead a group with a staff member during fall semester.  Interns are then expected to propose and plan a psychoeducational workshop or seminar, support or therapy group addressing a topic of interest or an issue affecting students on campus for the spring semester.

  1. Case Management

Interns receive training in providing referrals, completing documentation for clients, and communicating with providers on and off campus in the interest of taking a treatment team approach and/or facilitating positive continuity of care.  Case management is scheduled as needed to make contact with referral sources on behalf of clients, make follow-up contact with clients, respond to e-mails, return telephone calls, and do general planning regarding work with clients.

  1. Assessment

Interns receive training in the use and interpretation of some commonly used psychological assessment instruments through seminars, didactics, and individual supervision.  Clients receiving services at the UCC complete the CCAPS-62, a 62-item instrument with eight distinct subscales related to psychological symptoms and distress in college students, at intake, and the shorter version, the CCAPS-34 every 3rd session in order to track symptom levels and client progress over time.  Interns are expected to utilize this assessment data to aid in diagnosis and to inform their work with clients.

Interns are expected to utilize additional assessment measures with clients on an ongoing basis for diagnostic and clinical outcome purposes. Interns will receive training in the use of screeners for assessing disordered eating and substance misuse.  Each of these screeners must be utilized at least once during the internship year. Interns are also expected to complete two personality assessments during the training year. Results will be interpreted by the intern and shared with the client during an interpretation session, and the assessment will be documented in a formal written report.

Non-Direct Service Activities

 All interns also participate in the following activities that do not count as direct service hours toward licensure in North Carolina, but are integral to the mission and operation of the UCC.

  1. Outreach Programming and Prevention

The UCC engages in a wide range of outreach activities, including invited presentations to departments, classes, residence halls, and student groups, resource fairs, and suicide prevention trainings to the campus community. Interns are expected to participate in ongoing UCC outreach programming efforts throughout the internship year, including Signs of Stress week, Exam Fairies, and Suicide Prevention trainings (specific requirements are outlined in the Training Manual). The UCC will provide training in program development and outreach through didactics, supervision, readings, and assisting staff members with planning and co-leading outreach group activities.

  1. Provision of Supervision

After engaging in a supervision seminar during the fall, observing various supervision styles, and providing co-supervision, interns have the opportunity to act as supervisor to a master’s counseling intern or doctoral practicum trainee during the spring semester of the internship year. Developmental readiness to take on the task of providing supervision is determined by the primary supervisor, the Training Director, and the Training Coordinator based on sufficient demonstration of proficiencies outlined in the Training Manual. Interns meet weekly for one hour with their supervisee and are also responsible for reviewing and providing feedback on the supervisee’s case notes and videotaped sessions.  Supervision sessions are recorded so interns can review them in weekly supervision of supervision meetings during the spring semester, which aid in the development of supervision skills and allow space to process their experiences as supervisors.

  1. Counseling Center Administration

Interns have the opportunity to choose an area of counseling center administration they are interested in and to shadow and assist the UCC staff member in that role.  Areas of administration include, but are not limited to, clinical service, programming and prevention, training, group coordination, and directorship.  Regardless of a choice to learn more about a particular area of administration, interns may be given administrative tasks to complete to assist the operation of the UCC, such as researching resources or materials for UCC purchase, providing feedback on UCC policies or website language, or creating handouts or brochures for clients.  Interns can also volunteer to participate on work groups that form within the UCC to address specific challenges or to implement certain projects.  Additionally, interns, along with other clinical staff members, assist with providing coverage at the front desk of the UCC occasionally when the administrative staff members are not available.  All of these tasks allow interns to see how various aspects of the UCC operate.