Counseling Training

Responsibilities for trainees include:

• Maintaining a caseload of individual counseling clients
• Assisting students with referrals for services in the community as needed
• Co-facilitating at least one psychotherapy, psychoeducational or support group
• Participating in outreach programming throughout the academic year

Through the course of the training program, students will:

• Develop a complex understanding of the self as a clinician, a cultural being and an instrument of change
• Hone the capacity to be firmly grounded and genuinely available in the moment during clinical encounters
• Develop the capacity to conceptualize, understand and accept the client—and oneself—from a biopsychosocial perspective
• Identify dynamic processes of the therapeutic relationship and recognize ones that either facilitate or hamper the conditions leading to positive change
• Learn and implement intentional interventions based on thorough assessment of the client and a complex understanding of cultural contexts
• Integrate knowledge, experience and skills toward positive clinical outcomes for clients

Clinical supervision is a collaborative and dynamic process. Areas of development include biopsychosocial assessment, therapeutic engagement skills and multicultural competence.

• Each trainee meets once a week for an hour with a licensed staff therapist for supervision. The trainee and supervisor establish goals at the beginning of training and refine or revise them as needed throughout the year.
• Audio and video recordings help trainees develop as clinicians and provide quality care to clients.
• Trainees meet weekly with counseling staff for Group Supervision, giving them the opportunity to consult with the group on current cases.
• In Group Supervision, each trainee makes at least one presentation each semester on a clinical area of interest to them.
• Group Supervision also serves as an opportunity to get support from one another and identify positive ways to work and grow together.

The Wellness Center’s philosophy of training hinges on a few core assumptions:

• Training is developmental. Clinical competency emerges from the integration of observation, knowledge and experience with thoughtful supervision and self-reflection.
• Development as a mental health professional occurs within a relational context. We seek to foster an environment of understanding, curiosity, collaboration, positive regard and authenticity.
• Training is a complex, multicultural encounter. The cultural variables and contexts of supervisors, trainees and clients influence one another and are considered valuable resources.

The training year at the Wellness Center begins in mid-August and concludes in mid-May. Trainees are required to:

• Be on-site for a minimum of 24 hours per week
• Participate in Group Supervision and Staff Meeting every Wednesday
• Maintain a consistent schedule during business hours (Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
• Work occasional evening hours

The training program accepts students from Chicago-area graduate programs in psychology and social work who are seeking a therapy practicum for master’s or doctoral work or a second-year field placement in social work. In evaluating candidates, we look for students with the following qualities:

• Strong commitment to both personal and professional development
• Willingness to develop cultural competence as a clinician
• Curiosity, flexibility and openness to learning about self and others
• Desire to receive and provide constructive feedback
• Capacity to accept mistakes and the courage to address them
• A focused interest in developing skills as an individual therapist and a group facilitator
• An interest in college health
• Ability and interest in working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team
• Positive self-care strategies
• Constructive communication skills
• Effective organizational and time-management strategies