Supervision & Trainings
Team Day: One day per week, doctoral interns participate in Team Day, a model of triaging and dispositioning clients that is unique to ISU Student Counseling Services. Throughout the day, interns provide intake and crisis counseling services, and at day’s end, attend a 45-minute group clinical meeting with other multidisciplinary staff assigned to the same day and led by a Team Leader. This space provides an excellent opportunity for consultation and discussion of triage and disposition decisions; review of crisis counseling and emergency crisis intervention, including safety planning and referral to the hospital for consideration of psychiatric hospitalization; campus referral resources; and any ethical concerns. Additionally, interns receive hands-on experience with community consulting and referring clients to resources such as assessment, psychiatric care, and medication management. Interns have frequently commented that they experienced significant growth in their diagnostic and consulting skills as a result of participating in Team Day.
Individual Supervision: Each psychology intern receives primary supervision by a psychologist licensed to practice in the state of Iowa two hours weekly. Primary supervisors support each psychology intern in presenting a formal case presentation of their clinical work in preparation for anticipated job interviews occurring during winter session of the academic year. Psychology interns are provided with feedback from clinical staff members about their formal case presentation.
Individual Supervision of Group Therapy: During the Fall and Spring semesters, psychology interns co-facilitate two groups each semester with a licensed psychologist or licensed clinical therapist. Psychology interns will receive supervision of their group work by the licensed staff member they are working with. During the Summer semester, psychology interns co-facilitate an Understanding Self and Others group with a peer psychology intern.
Clinical Case Conference (Group Supervision): Throughout the year, the psychology interns meet in a group supervisory/case conference format that focuses on their clinical work in individual counseling. Clinical case conference is an opportunity for psychology interns to discuss cases and process their reactions in a supportive group climate. Psychology interns are expected to openly share authentic internal reactions that impact professional work.
Supervision of Supervision Didactic Seminar: During the fall and spring semesters, interns participate in a two-hour biweekly Supervision of Supervision seminar to further develop supervision skills. The seminar consists of didactic instruction and discussion on the provision of supervision, supervision theory, research, and practice. Selected book chapters and journal article readings are designed to supplement the experiential nature of the supervision training. The seminar provides an opportunity for psychology interns to develop a supervision approach grounded in a theoretical perspective. Additionally, interns share recorded supervisory sessions with their supervisee(s), obtaining feedback and getting support around the provision of supervision.
Professional Development/Didactics: Once a month, interns engage in professional development and didactic training on various topics designed to encourage their growth and identity as psychologists. Some aspect(s) of the nine profession-wide competencies--Research; Ethical and legal standards; Individual and cultural community; Professional values, attitudes, and behaviors; Communication and interpersonal skills; Assessment; Intervention; Supervision; and Consultation and interprofessional/ interdisciplinary skills—are emphasized during this training time.
Special Emphasis Areas: Three to four hours per week each semester are set aside for psychology interns to individualize their training experience in the form of Special Emphasis Areas (SEA). SEAs provide level-appropriate training and expectations and are sequential, cumulative, and graded in complexity, differentiating the experiences of psychology interns. At a minimum, interns will meet individually with their SEA supervisor for one hour on a bi-weekly basis to discuss issues related to the SEA. Each semester, interns choose a content area from the established list, or they can create their own unique area based on individual interests with the approval of the Training Director.