Updates

Student Counseling & Psychological Services (SCPS) welcomed its sixth intern cohort in July of 2023 to the APA-accredited program. 

Auburn University Student Counseling & Psychological Services (SCPS)
Doctoral Internship Program for Health Service Providers
Program Description

Intern candidates who would be most satisfied at the SCPS site are flexible individuals who are invested in learning and growing in a graduated manner over the course of the year. The candidate would also be a person who values a broad definition of diversity, has a willingness to engage in a wide range of service delivery activities with a positive attitude, and is patient with the process.

The SCPS training program is aimed to offer generalist training with the goal of fostering personal and professional growth over the course of the year such that Interns are ready to transition into the next phase of their career. Conceptual and experiential training will be provided to ensure that Interns have sufficient knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to be competent practitioners. Constructive feedback will be an important part of the internship year as a means of facilitating the greatest possible growth. If a candidate is not willing to directly provide and receive feedback, then they are encouraged to look elsewhere for an internship opportunity as SCPS will not be a good fit. SCPS is willing to help Interns grow in the area of feedback, but the Intern needs to bring an openness and investment to the feedback process.

A broad understanding of diversity will be important as well. It is expected that diversity will be woven in throughout various aspects of the training experience and not limited specifically to the Diversity Seminar. While there are certain training experiences that SCPS deem important to be uniform among the Interns completing the program, the goal of the SCPS permanent staff is to provide space for interns to tailor their internship in certain ways such as choosing the types of groups they co-facilitate, what types of outreach events they provide, and their preferred areas of optional rotation each semester.

Since the center’s goal is for this experience to be a growth promoting year of professional and personal development, Interns are informed in advance that self-reflection and self-disclosure will be expected to meet that goal of growth. While an effort will be made to meet Interns where they are at with regards to the depth of self-disclosure, it is important to know that there is an expectation that Interns at the center will be open. The goal of the self-reflection and dialogue about those reflections is to improve clinical service delivery and promote professional development. If an Intern candidate is not interested in engaging in self-reflection and self-disclosure, then another internship site is a better fit. As with feedback, SCPS is willing to help Interns grow in this area, but an openness and investment in the process is needed as a baseline.

Because the internship is intended to be growth-promoting, it is important to remember that to grow involves getting out of one’s comfort zone. Therefore, it is realistic to expect discomfort at times, and SCPS works to normalize that part of the process. SCPS requests that Intern candidates remind themselves how growth can occur through challenge, and that maturity and professionalism facilitate the growth process for all parties involved.

An effort will be made to integrate Interns as a part of the permanent staff while still respecting that Interns are trainees and maintaining appropriate professional boundaries between permanent staff members and trainees. While Interns are involved in direct service delivery as an experiential component of internship, there are many training activities throughout the year. The specific training areas covered in the SCPS program are aligned with accreditation standards and will provide a broad range of generalist training that highlights the incorporation of science and practice within a collegial and collaborative environment. Training components will cover areas such as those listed below:

• Individual counseling
• Group counseling
• Emergency coverage
• Supervision of practicum students
• Outreach programming
• Intakes
• Assessments
• Optional Rotations (e.g., Eating Disorder, Group, Outreach, Diversity, Academic/Research)
• Two year-long seminars of Supervision of Supervision and Diversity
• Multi-week seminars on important areas such as: Groups, Outreach, Ethical and Legal Issues, Crisis Intervention and Risk Management, Case Presentation, Career and Job Search
• Specific topical areas covered such as Substance Use/Abuse, Trauma, Eating Disorders

Time for research may also be possible. The time might be used to work on completing the dissertation or work on a project with a SCPS staff member or another approved professional.

It is the goal of the SCPS staff that program materials will provide sufficient information so an informed decision about whether the SCPS site would be a good fit for potential Intern’s training goals. While another internship site may be a better fit, SCPS appreciates potential applicant’s review of the program and what SCPS, Auburn University, and the Auburn community can offer. Intern candidates are encouraged to contact the Training Director, Dr. Alex Hughes at aah0061@auburn.edu.

Wherever potential interns matriculate for internship, SCPS hopes it is a positive, growth-promoting year and look forward to having these new professionals as health service provider colleagues in the near future. In keeping with Auburn University tradition, “War Eagle!”