TRAINING PROGRAMS

Practicum Training Program
The purpose of this practicum is to develop a practicum student’s counseling skills, such as creating and implementing a treatment plan, using the counseling relationship to further a client’s work, and growing into the use of a theoretical framework. We also want to familiarize practicum students with the unique aspects of working in a university counseling center setting.  Finally, this practicum placement is designed to help the student develop in his/her professional identity as a counselor. 
Training Philosophy
Our staff is committed to providing quality care for all of the students who access our services.  We believe that a very warm, intensive training environment creates an atmosphere of learning and growth which translates into good client care.  We allow practicum students some level of independence, but abide by an open-door policy which allows for spontaneous supervision by various members of the senior staff in addition to weekly scheduled individual supervision time with a specific supervisor.  While our staff has varying theoretical views, we all are sensitive to issues of development and multicultural factors in addition to the interpersonal dynamic in counseling.  We require practicum students to either audio or video tape their sessions, and tape review is a consistent part of supervision. 
Expectations of applicants for practicum experience
We expect that our externs have successfully completed their Practicum I/II experience and have a working knowledge of psychopathology, interviewing techniques and basic psychotherapy theory.  We maintain a warm, collegial environment and expect that practicum students contribute to that in a positive way by being approachable, amenable to feedback, and eager to learn.  We also expect that a potential practicum student would have some awareness of the issues particular to a college population and an interest in working with students from diverse backgrounds.  The ideal practicum student for us would be someone interested in the qualities unique to a college counseling center. 
Once you are selected
At present, we require students to be on site a minimum of 16 hours a week for a semester-long practicum placement.  Within the time, a practicum student will be expected to carry a caseload of 8-10 clients as well as attend individual supervision.  Once a week, we meet in group supervision/training with all practicum students.  Typically the schedule of this is determined by the common availability of the students for that particular semester.  Within this time, practicum student learn through group supervision, formal case presentation, and didactic training from staff about topics that are of interest to them or the staff feel are important to practicum students in this setting.

Application and selection procedures including a description of the optimal practicum candidate (i.e., one who best matches the requirements of the site)
To apply, an interested student needs to contact our training coordinator, Dr. Elizabeth Charrier, by phone (936-294-1720) or email (ehcharrier@shsu.edu) to express interest in completing a practicum at this site.  Application for the site consists of a copy of your vitae and confirmation of satisfactory completion of Practicum I/Interviewing class or practicum at a captured site run by the department in question. After review of applications, we will contact you for an in-person interview with our staff.