Dear Prospective Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in our Pre-doctoral Internship Training Program. The Training Staff are proud of the comprehensive training experience we offer our interns. We have provided information on our website to help prospective applicants determine whether or not our site would be a good fit for their training and career goals. The Training Staff are highly invested in providing a good training experience, and we enjoy the opportunity to work with bourgeoning professionals. We hope that the information provided on our website is helpful to you as you consider your internship options. If any questions remain after your review of these materials, please feel free to contact the Training Coordinator, Christina Carroll-Pavia, Ph.D., for more information.

On behalf of the Training Committee at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), we wish you the best in your internship application and selection process!

Cheers,
Christina Carroll-Pavia, Ph.D.
Training Coordinator
Phone: (657) 278-3040
Email: ccarroll@fullerton.edu

Training Program Philosophy
The pre-doctoral internship at California State University, Fullerton CAPS is designed to be a forum for advanced learning of and practice in the art and the science of psychology in a setting where the open-ended nature of development is recognized and valued.

Our overarching goal is to facilitate the development of psychologists who are able to practice competently and independently in a number of domains. While we recognize that one’s pre-doctoral internship setting may not be reflective of one’s ultimate career path, our program is designed with an emphasis on strengthening skills in areas that are typical of professional work in university counseling center settings. We aim to train generalists who are adept in providing competent and effective psychotherapy, assessment, and crisis intervention for diverse populations and communities within a brief model. We value a philosophy of wellness and prevention, which is exemplified in the importance we place on providing collaborative outreach and consultation to our campus community. Finally, we support and encourage the ongoing process of professional development, recognizing the significance of self-awareness and productive self-reflection throughout this process. Ultimately, we strive to train interns who will subsequently enter the field as competent, ethical, and compassionate professionals.

Training Program Goals, Objectives, and Competencies
Our program is grounded in a strong emphasis on the development of practitioners who have a working knowledge of accepted ethical and legal standards of practice, and who conduct themselves and their practice within these guidelines. In addition to our goal of instructing interns in ethical and professional knowledge and practice, our program has the goal of increasing competence in the following six areas:


Information about our training objectives in each of these areas follows:

Components/Sequencing of Training
The pre-doctoral internship is designed to be a structured, graded, supervised experience, with a focus on preparing the interns to move toward independent practice as psychologists. The emphasis will be on ensuring competent, ethical practice, as well as development of a professional identity that is consistent with the expectations of the field.

Description of Internship Activities
The Pre-doctoral Internship in Psychology at CAPS is a full-time, 12-month internship, from August 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013.

Orientation
The interns participate in an initial, structured orientation period at the outset of their training year which includes specific didactic and practical training modules. Training modules will cover information about the agency and institution (structure, operations, policies and procedures as related to provision of psychological services), special populations and campus constituencies that interns will be working with at CAPS, and ethical and professional issues. The orientation period will also provide an opportunity for the interns to get to know one another, to be introduced to the staff, and to begin learning about the expectations of them as interns and about the agency culture as a whole. Each intern will be provided with a written Training Manual which s/he will be asked to review, and interns will be given the opportunity to ask questions and clarify points.

Clinical Services
Intake/Clinical Assessment
Interns will receive didactic training on conducting initial intake appointments at CAPS, and will begin conducting intake evaluations early in the training year. Prior to completing intakes independently, interns must observe at least two intake sessions conducted by a senior staff member. The intern must then be observed conducting two intake sessions by a senior staff member. Once the intern has watched two intakes and been observed conducting two intakes, the primary supervisor will make a determination about whether or not the intern is ready to conduct independent intake evaluations. Once interns have been approved to conduct independent intakes, they will offer 2 intake slots per week.

Individual and Couples Therapy
CAPS is a problem-focused, brief therapy agency. Individual therapy is the primary modality by which clients are treated at CAPS, though there are some opportunities to work with clients who are presenting for couples counseling. Clients working with CAPS providers can receive up to 8 sessions of individual or couples counseling per academic year. CAPS is a high-volume agency, and interns can expect to carry a steady caseload of clients, seeing approximately 12-14 individual and couples appointments per week.

Although CAPS is a brief therapy agency, we recognize the training benefit of working with clients in a long-term format. As a result, interns are permitted to carry one long-term client on their caseload at any time. Interns must consult with their primary supervisor regarding the identification and selection of an appropriate long-term client. Long-term clients may be seen by the intern for the duration of the training year or less, as clinically appropriate.

Group Therapy
Interns are expected to actively participate in the group program at CAPS. Involvement will likely depend on a variety of factors, including the intern’s previous level of experience, group availability, schedule matches, and the group leaders’ estimation of the impact of intern involvement on the group itself. CAPS offers a number of general and topic/population-specific groups throughout the year. Because there are no session limits for group therapy services, group can be a good referral resource for clients who would like to continue progressing toward their goals at CAPS, but who have reached the limit of their individual sessions. It is also a good way for clinicians to be able to work with clients on a longer-term basis.

There are a number of ways that interns can become involved in groups. Interns are eligible to participate in a group as a process observer or to participate as a co-leader with a senior staff member in a psychoeducational/structured group, support group, or process-oriented therapy group. Which specific group(s) an intern might be involved in will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis between the intern, their supervisor, and the group leader.

Crisis Intervention
Interns will gain experience in responding to a wide variety of crisis-oriented situations. The primary modality for this will be in serving as the walk-in or “triage” counselor for a designated shift each week. While serving as the triage counselor, interns will respond to all students who are presenting for initial contacts with CAPS, ongoing clients who present for assistance with crisis situations, university faculty and staff who request assistance with students of concern, and greater community members who may be calling in reference to a student of concern.

Interns will receive extensive didactic training on suicide and aggression risk assessment and treatment planning, crisis response, providing appropriate community referrals, and working with moderate- and high-risk clients. In the fall semester, interns will provide triage response under the close supervision of their supervisor and the training staff. As they gain skills and comfort in responding to crises and in supervisory consultation, interns will move toward more independence in conducting triage assessments and providing crisis intervention. Interns who are working with moderate- to high-risk clients on their ongoing caseload can expect to receive close supervision on these cases from their primary individual supervisor.

Supervision
Individual Supervision
Each intern will receive a minimum of 2 hours per week of primary individual supervision of their clinical and professional work by a CA licensed psychologist. The supervisor will work closely with the intern to design an individualized, graded learning experience within the context of the requirements and expectations of the training program. The intern and his/her supervisor will explore the intern’s areas of strength and expertise as well as collaboratively determine areas of professional growth and identify learning objectives for the training year. Individual supervision will include not only discussion of the intern’s direct and indirect clinical service activities, but will also address issues of professional development, professional identity, and professional enculturation to the field. As the intern moves closer to independent practice, it is expected that the intern and her/his supervisor will negotiate a shift in the emphasis of supervision from a more supervisor-directed plan to a more consultative relationship with an intern-directed focus.

Group Supervision
Interns will receive 2 hours of group supervision per week. This meeting will be facilitated by the Training Coordinator or other CAPS senior staff members. During group supervision, trainees will conduct case presentations and receive support, feedback, and recommendations from their peers and the facilitator. Specialty Supervision
Throughout the year, interns will also receive 30 minutes of weekly individual supervision from a specialty supervisor. In consultation with their primary supervisor, interns will identify a specialty supervisor with whom they will work on 1-2 cases which will have a specialty focus on learning more about a client population, theoretical orientation, or presenting concern/diagnosis.

Supervision of Group Work
Interns are encouraged to participate as process-observers or co-facilitators of a CAPS group with a senior staff member. Interns will be supervised on their group work by the senior staff co-leader, and will receive a minimum of 30 minutes per week of supervision specific to their group work.

Case Consult Meeting
Interns attend a weekly Case Consult meeting with the CAPS staff. This meeting serves as a peer group supervision for the entire clinical staff. Interns are encouraged to discuss ongoing cases they are struggling with in an effort to receive feedback and suggestions from the other staff in attendance. This meeting also allows for interns to learn from the senior staff who also present cases and seek feedback. Clinical issues that impact the center as a whole (e.g., emergency situations on campus that CAPS is expected to respond to) are occasionally discussed in this meeting. In the spring semester, the focus of this meeting shifts toward more formalized case presentations.

Training and Professional Activities
Professional Practice Seminar (1.5 hours, weekly)
This didactic and interactive weekly seminar is focused on increasing interns' competence in a variety of professional issues and topics, several of which are specific to working with the CSUF population and a college student population in general. Topics cover issues such as practice within different theoretical models, practice with a variety of presenting concerns and clinical populations, and ethical and professional development issues.

Multicultural Competence Seminar (1.5 hours, weekly)
This didactic, interactive, and experiential weekly seminar is focused on developing interns’ competence in multicultural counseling and professional practice with diverse populations. Seminars will address increasing interns’ knowledge, awareness, and skills pertaining to competent multicultural practice. Diversity is broadly conceptualized, and the seminar will invite engagement around a number of dimensions of diversity.

Outreach and Consultation
Interns are expected to actively participate in the center’s outreach and consultation efforts. Interns are expected to complete a minimum of one outreach program per semester, for a total of three per internship year. At least one these should be an original program created by the intern. Interns are permitted to present a program on their own, with another member of the intern class, or as a co-presenter with a senior staff member. Although there are minimum expectations for completing outreach and consultation activities, all interns are encouraged to take advantage of as many outreach opportunities as their interests and availability allow.

Clinical Assessment Team Meeting
Interns attend a weekly CAT meeting with the CAPS staff. The focus of this meeting is to process incoming clients, to consult about and arrive at case dispositions, and to facilitate client assignments and transfers. Interns are expected to present brief information about their new intake evaluations each week.

Professional Development
Interns are allotted time for participation in professional development activities. These might include working on dissertation activities, reading professional literature, conducting field-related research, or attending field-related workshops, seminars, and professional conferences.

Administrative
Staff Meeting
Interns will participate in a weekly administrative meeting with the full CAPS staff.

Meeting with the Training Coordinator
The purposes of this weekly meeting are to address any administrative or procedural questions or concerns, and to provide the interns with a regular opportunity to consult with the Training Coordinator and with each other about the training program.

Case Management and Documentation
Interns are allotted time in their weekly schedules for the purposes of clinical documentation and associated follow-up tasks such as clinically-oriented phone calls, resource management, etc.

Supervision Prep
Interns are expected to spend at least one hour per week in preparation for supervision. This may include activities such as session video review, readings, and other tasks as assigned by supervisor.


Professionalism and Expectations for Development
Inherent in the internship experience is an expectation of professional development in a variety of areas. It is also a time of further refinement of one’s professional identity and indoctrination to the field. It is the philosophy of the training program at CAPS that this participation in the process of ongoing professional growth does not end with the completion of the internship year. Rather, psychologists continue to value such development throughout their careers. We encourage interns to embrace the opportunities afforded to them through the internship experience, understanding that at its core, the pre-doctoral internship is a training year designed to help them improve their skills as a clinician and to develop professionally. We invite interns to both relax and strive in the understanding that they are expected to make mistakes and to collaborate with the training staff to use these as learning opportunities.

Evaluation Process
The training staff places a high premium on creating a work environment that is professionally stimulating with appropriate support and has sufficient flexibility to accommodate individual developmental needs. Fundamental to a successful training experience is the provision of ongoing feedback from primary supervisors, the Training Coordinator, and other training staff with whom trainees have significant contact throughout the training year. Interns and supervisors are encouraged to seek and provide informal feedback throughout the year.

There are 3 formal evaluation periods during each year for interns, which coincide with the end of the fall and spring semesters, and the end of the training year. At each of these points, primary supervisors will complete written evaluations of their interns, and interns will complete written evaluations of their supervisors. Additionally, approximately half-way into the fall semester, interns and primary supervisors are asked to complete and compare the CAPS Trainee Self-Evaluation Form. This is for the purpose of identifying a baseline of interns’ skills for future evaluations. Interns and senior staff who work together for specialty supervision or as group co-leaders complete brief evaluations of each other that are specific to that experience. Interns provide written feedback of their group supervision and of their didactic seminars as well. At the end of the training year, trainees will also be asked to complete an evaluation of the training program as a whole.

Supervisors and trainees are encouraged to share informal evaluative feedback throughout the semester to allow for maximum opportunity to address any developing or ongoing concerns and to minimize unexpected feedback. In the same way that trainees should not experience any major “surprises” in their evaluation, trainees are expected to address supervision concerns as they arise so that supervisors do not experience “surprises” in their evaluations. Although this can be uncomfortable, addressing concerns with others directly is an area of professional competence that trainees will need to engage in as they continue in their professional development.

Sample Weekly Schedule
The pre-doctoral internship at CAPS is a robust experience designed to provide in-depth training on a number of professional activities. As with any university counseling center, CAPS experiences the natural ebbs and flows of the academic calendar, with some parts of the year being more intense than others. We offer a sample weekly schedule below with this in mind.

Clinical Service:
Supervision:
Training and Professional Activities
Administrative Tasks

The Staff, Setting, and Facilities
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is part of the larger CSUF Student Health and Counseling Center, which also includes Physical Therapy and Sports Rehabilitation (PTSR), and Health Education and Promotion (HEP). Although we are tied administratively, CAPS and SHC reside in separate, but neighboring buildings on campus. Psychiatric services are offered out of the CAPS office, and CAPS maintains a small number of clinical offices in the SHC building. CAPS currently shares its building with PTSR, whereas HEP is housed in the SHC building. Staff in all areas gather for 1-2 monthly meetings to facilitate communication among the departments, to participate in shared professional development activities, and to promote a positive, collegial environment amongst the SHCC staff.

We encourage you to peruse the Student Health and Counseling Center website for more information about the staff, setting, and facilities: http://www.fullerton.edu/shcc/.

Stipend and Benefits
The stipend for this full-time, 12-month internship is $22,000. Interns are eligible for Medical, Dental and Vision benefits, and accrue Vacation and Sick Leave. Interns also receive University holidays and library privileges.

The University and Region Description
Founded in 1957, CSUF is ranked among “Top Public Universities” accord to U.S. News & World Report. CSUF is a community with over 35,000 students from 20 states and 79 countries and over 40% of CSUF student receive some form of financial aid. We offer 105 degree programs - 55 undergraduate, 50 graduate, including a doctorate in education and numerous credential and certificate programs. Diverse Issues in Higher Education ranks CSUF fifth in the nation in terms of baccalaureate degrees awarded to minority students in its 2010 best college’s issue. We seek a staff that reflects the diversity of our campus and our appreciation for what it brings.

Fullerton, a city of more than 135,000 inhabitants, is located in north Orange County, about 30 miles southeast of central Los Angeles. It is part of the Southern California population center and within easy freeway access of all the diverse natural and cultural attractions of this region. Fullerton is a is a full-service city renowned for its unique mix of residential, commercial and industrial, educational, and cultural environments which provide an outstanding quality of life for both residents and businesses alike.

The extensive development of the 42 miles of beaches in Orange County and the development of such attractions as the Disneyland Resort, Knott’s Berry Farm, the Laguna Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters, the Honda Center, Angel Stadium, the Anaheim Convention Center and the Orange County Performing Arts Center continue to make tourism an increasingly important activity. So does the Mediterranean-type climate, with rainfall averaging 14 inches per year, and generally mild days (either freezing or 100-degree temperatures are uncommon) with frequent morning fog during the summer. Both downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean can be reached by car in half an hour, and mountain and desert recreation areas are as close as an hour’s drive from the campus.

For more detailed information about the University and the local area, please see the campus catalog at: http://www.fullerton.edu/catalog/pdf/About_The_University.pdf

Application and Selection Process
CSUF CAPS is currently accepting applications for three full-time, one-year positions in our 2012-2013 pre-doctoral internship class. The dates of the internship year are from August 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013.

CAPS is participating in the 2012 APPIC Match Program (Program Code Number: 218711). We are not currently members of APPIC, but intend on applying for APPIC membership in the fall of 2012. Although we feel confident in our ability to secure membership in APPIC, we are unable to provide any guarantees that we will be successful in doing so. Prospective applicants are encouraged to inquire with our program about our efforts in this area.

Minimum and Preferred Applicant Qualifications
Applicants for our Pre-doctoral internship must meet the following minimum requirements:

In addition to the minimum requirements outlined above, the Intern Selection Committee takes into consideration preferred qualifications for applicants.
These qualifications include:

Application Instructions
APPIC Program Code Number: 218711

Applicants must submit all application materials online via the Applicant Portal on APPIC’s webpage (Please see www.appic.org for further instructions). In order to be considered for a position, applicants must submit all of the following materials by the application deadline:

Deadline
All application materials must be uploaded to the APPIC Applicant Portal no later than Friday, December 2, 2011 at 4:00pm (PST).

Selection Process
All complete applications received by the deadline will be reviewed. Notification about interviews will be made no later than December 23, 2011. Applicants who are not offered an interview will also be notified by this date.

Interviews will occur in January and will be conducted by phone or Skype with members of our Selection Committee. Following another review, the Training Coordinator will conduct a second, brief interview with all applicants still under consideration. After a final discussion of candidates, the Selection Committee will submit our rank list to NMS.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the Training Coordinator via email with any questions that are not answered during the interview portion of the process: ccarroll@fullerton.edu.

All final candidates for employment at California State University, Fullerton may be required to undergo and successfully complete criminal background screening plus psychological, drug and alcohol screening as a condition of employment. Background screenings will be conducted after the Match. Applicants who match to our program but do not successfully pass the background screening will be dismissed from the internship (see APPIC Match Policy 6b). Convictions will not automatically disqualify job candidates. The seriousness of the crime and date of conviction and the specific job applied for will be considered.

Candidates selected for the position must complete the sign-in process by the date that employment begins. This includes signing the Oath of Allegiance and presenting verification of work authorization status and completing Section 1 of the I-9 form. Under Federal law, CSUF may employ only individuals who are legally able to work in the United States. If offered a position, candidates will be required to present proof of eligibility to work in the United States as required by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, prior to employment.

APPIC Policies and Guidelines
CAPS is participating in the 2012 APPIC Match Program and will abide by APPIC Match policies (for more information see: www.appic.org). This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.

Our Program Code Number is: 218711