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Pre-doctoral Internship

Pre-doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology
State University of New York (SUNY)
College at Oneonta
2008-2009

The College at Oneonta Counseling Center offers a 12-month pre doctoral internship which provides experiential and didactic training in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere. The aim of the training program is to prepare doctoral level counselors for careers in direct practice, and the program provides particularly strong preparation for those seeking careers in college counseling centers. The College at Oneonta's internship training program is an APPIC-Member program and non APA-approved program.

The staff at the College of Oneonta Counseling Center is committed to training new professionals while providing high quality services to the students and staff of the college. Interns will participate in educational seminars and supervision experiences while also participating in the activities of the counseling center as professional members of the counseling center staff.

Please use the following menu to navigate our internship site:
Philosophy and Training Model
Experiential Training
Didactic Training
Weekly Schedule Breakdown
Counseling Center Services
Counseling Center Staff
The College of Oneonta and the City of Oneonta, NY
Qualifications
Stipend and Benefits
Application process
For more information contact us

Jennifer Rotchford and Felix Casados, past interns, in their offices.  Each intern has their own spacious office with a large window, comfortable chairs, computer, video recording equipment, bookshelf, and credenza.

Philosophy and Training Model

The College of Oneonta Counseling Center uses a practitioner-scholar model, with an apprenticeship approach based interns’ developmental needs. Our “practitioner” emphasis means that the primary goal of the training program is to prepare students for applied settings and direct clinical service. The emphasis on “scholarship” implies life-long study of the scientific and scholarly literature, and rigor in applying established theory to direct practice. We also favor an “apprenticeship” approach -- that is, on-the-job training with individualized attention, close supervision and mentoring by experienced professionals. The role of mentoring is seen as a critical variable in the development of professional psychologists. We emphasize a learning-by-doing approach with strong initial support from senior staff, evolving toward increasing autonomy for interns as they progress to greater levels of mastery. The Counseling Center training philosophy rests on the belief that training is a developmental process tailored to the level of skill of the trainee. Each trainee comes to the internship with a unique set of strengths and challenges and the Counseling Center’s task is to help each intern identify those strengths and cultivate increasing competency in areas for growth.

Goals and objectives: 1) the central goal of the internship is to prepare clinical and counseling psychologists-in-training to be competent and versatile generalists ready for entry-level professional practice. 2) A secondary goal is to develop interns’ professionalism and professional identity as they consolidate their graduate learning and their professional style.

A first objective associated with goal #1 is providing interns with the opportunity for direct experience in a variety of domains appropriate to generalist training. In the process, interns serve a diverse student population with a wide variety of presenting issues. A second objective associated with goal #1 is developing core skills through supervision, case conference, skill-based experiential seminars, didactic seminars, and other didactic experiences. Though the training is aimed for the generalist, opportunities are available for cultivating areas of specialty.

Regarding goal #2 (developing professionalism and professional identity) a first objective is to provide interns with mentoring relationships that offer modeling and guidance in professional conduct. A second objective for goal #2 is to provide ongoing training (via supervision and seminars) in ethics and legal issues, in both principle and practice. A third objective for goal #2 is training and ongoing feedback in professional habits including work ethic, attitudes, conscientiousness, relationships, and respect for differences. A fourth objective for goal #2 is in regard to professional identity development, and it involves encouraging interns to reflect on personal and professional style, theoretical orientation, strengths and weaknesses, reasons for being in the field, and interest in specialty areas.

Plan and sequence of direct service: Direct service experiences include Individual Counseling, Group Counseling, Education and Referral, Consultation and Liaison, Outreach, Assessment, and Crisis Intervention. See relevant section for a detailed description of each. Interns are provided with policies and procedures for direct service during a 2 week orientation period, which also allows supervisors and the Training Director to assess interns’ levels of readiness for various direct service experiences. Interns will engage in individual counseling throughout the internship. Group counseling opportunities may begin in September depending on availability and intern readiness. Consultation and liaison experiences are developed through the year as opportunities arise and based on interns’ areas of interest. Intern progress is monitored closely to ensure that interns are prepared for the next sequence of experience. Location: All direct clinical service is located in the Counseling, Health, and Wellness Building on the SUNY Oneonta campus. Each intern has a separate well-furnished office with a large window and a pleasant view. Outreach programs may be delivered at various locations on campus depending on the audience. Summer rotations in the community vary in location but are most likely to be at the Otsego County Mental Health Clinic or A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital.

Training curriculum: In addition to weekly supervision (2 hours) and weekly case conferences (1 hour), training activities include weekly one-hour seminars. Sample seminar schedules are available upon request. Microskills therapy seminars, which focus on specific therapy skills, will be conducted as time is available (at least 4 times per semester) during non-peak times. Some seminars may be scheduled for longer time periods, with a minimum of one hour. Outreach programming and committee work are required parts of the training program and will be developed based on intern interests.

Integration of the psychology training program into the larger organization: The psychology training program is integrated into the Counseling Center through the organizational approach to training, through staff participation in training, and through the functional roles of interns within the organization. The Counseling Center approaches training as a vital contribution to the mental health field, and the psychology internship as a culmination of training for entry-level professionals. Accordingly, all staff are committed to training. Staff are available as mentors during the internship year, and interns are encouraged and invited to seek guidance, consultation, and advice from all staff members. All staff members participate in leading training seminars. Case conferences are attended by interns and all staff members. All staff members attend bi-weekly general staff meetings. Interns are encouraged to seek consultation from staff members who are not their direct supervisors. Lastly, in regard to functional roles, interns participate in a broad range of agency services and work in close contact with all their senior colleagues. Interns are viewed as colleagues-in-training, deserving of respect, and treated accordingly both professionally and personally.

Ongoing program assessment: The Counseling Center professionals are committed to the training program’s growth and development. We work toward continuous improvement of the program via regularly scheduled evaluation and providing the conditions to foster ongoing professional learning.

SUNY Oneonta Counseling Center Diversity Statement
The SUNY Oneonta Counseling Center is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for everyone who uses our services. We believe diversity enlivens, challenges, and ultimately enriches our community. From our differences we also draw unique strengths to confront and solve problems. 

The range of diversity we value includes but is not limited to: ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender, physical or mental ability, socio-economic status, spirituality or religion, size, appearance, and age. We are committed to working against discrimination and oppression, and we extend a particular welcome to students who may be experiencing discrimination on the basis of their differences. 

We strive to treat all students with equal respect and dignity. We are also committed to taking part in activities and discussions that will help us continue to grow in our understanding of diversity.

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Experiential Training

Interns will participate in a variety of counseling and outreach experiences including:

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Didactic Training

Interns will participate in a variety of didactic experiences designed to enhance skills:

The staff at the College of Oneonta Counseling Center is committed to training new professionals while providing high quality services to the students and staff of the college. Interns will participate in educational seminars and supervision experiences while also participating in the activities of the counseling center as professional members of the counseling center staff.

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Weekly Schedule Breakdown

Below is a sample schedule. Intern duties will naturally vary according to the time of the semester. For example, clinical contacts at the beginning of a semester will be lighter, and of course will be weighted more toward intakes than ongoing clients. Even with the variability in scheduling, training activities (supervision, seminars, case conferences) will be maintained throughout the year including during peak times. Upper limits on clinical contact hours (as indicated below) will be maintained even at peak times.

Sample: Weekly Intern Activities at College of Oneonta Counseling Center

Direct Service
13-15 hours individual counseling (caseload will build gradually)
1.25 hours group counseling (as available with groups and schedule)
2 hours intake appointments and assessment
1-2 hours crisis slot
2 hour outreach, committee work, and consultation (on average)

Training and Paperwork/Administrative time
2-3 hours individual supervision
1 hour of case conference
1 hour of staff meeting
1 hour Seminar
Research time (optional)
10-12 hours for case notes, administrative tasks, outreach planning, record-keeping, other paperwork and case management (collateral contacts, phone calls, etc.)

Total:

40 hour average workweek
% of direct service hours = approximately 50% during peak times, 25-40% other times

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Counseling Center Services

The Counseling Center is a well-utilized service on a campus of 5,700 students. We are particularly proud of the high satisfaction rate students report for the services they receive from the Counseling Center. The center provides individual short-term counseling (10 weeks), couples counseling and group counseling. We also have an Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Counselor/Educator on staff to provide AOD treatment, prevention and education for students. In addition we have a busy outreach and consultation program providing education and support for both students and faculty.  The size of the staff and the college allows for informality, flexibility, and opportunities to participate in a variety of professional activities and develop specialty areas.

The Counseling Center is located in the Health, Wellness and Counseling Building along with the Health Center and Health Education Office. We work closely with nurse practitioners and doctors to provide comprehensive services to students. Counseling Center Staff work closely with the Health Center’s Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and other Nurse Practitioners to assist in the holistic assessment and treatment of students. The benefits of working in a smaller campus community are that the Counseling Center staff works closely with other campus offices including Residence Life, Academic Support Services, Multicultural Student Affairs and the Center for Multicultural Education, Disability Services, First Year Experience, Athletic Department, Career Development Center, Student Clubs, Office of Health Education, and the Educational Opportunity Program. By virtue of our status as a member of the SUNY system, the College of Oneonta also has many of the benefits of working in a large university system including a multicultural student population, access to a large variety of services for students, and an active cultural and entertainment life.

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Counseling Center Staff

Mark Rice is the Director of the Counseling Center. He has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Duquesne University in Pennsylvania and is a NY licensed psychologist. He has worked in universities, community mental health, private practice, and substance abuse treatment prior to joining the Counseling Center in 2000. His theoretical orientation is integrative, informed by existential-phenomenological and psychodynamic frameworks, and utilizing multiple intervention strategies including gestalt and cognitive-behavioral techniques. His areas of professional interest include anxiety, dream interpretation, substance abuse, anger management, and spirituality.

Melissa Fallon is the Assistant Director of the Counseling Center and a licensed psychologist in New York State. She has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University at Albany and a Master of Arts and a Master of Education in counseling psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. She worked as a counselor and researcher in higher education and community mental health prior to joining the staff in 2003. She identifies her orientation to treatment as integrative drawing from CBT, emotion-focused, narrative, solution-focused, developmental and feminist. Her professional interests include working with student athletes, GLBT populations, body image and gender role issues.

Jeanne Keahon is a Counselor at the Counseling Center. She has a Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from SUNY Albany and is a licensed social worker (LMSW). She has worked in a variety of mental health, substance abuse, and hospital-based settings before joining us in 1997.

Kerry Wagner has a Master’s degree in Social Work (LMSW) with a concentration in Alcohol and Other Drugs from the University at Buffalo and is a licensed social worker. She has worked in a variety of higher education, mental health and substance abuse settings including a Fellowship at Yale University. Prior to her arrival to SUNY Oneonta she was the Residential Student Social Service Coordinator at Buffalo State College. Her professional interests include working with students with alcohol and other drug issues, depression and anxiety in women, adjustment issues and group work.

Amy Clarvoe has her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University at Buffalo.  She worked as a counselor in community mental health and higher education before joining the staff in 2008.  Her theoretical orientation is integrative, drawing mostly from relational, cognitive-behavioral, and solution-focused therapies.   Her professional interests include working with depression and anxiety, sleep issues, relationship problems, grief and loss, and group work. 

For more information about the Counseling Center Staff follow this link.

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The College at Oneonta and the City of Oneonta, NY

The College at Oneonta is a liberal arts college with a pre-professional focus. With 5700 students and 260 faculty, the 250 acre campus overlooks the scenic Susquehanna River Valley in Central New York, and is nestled in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountains.  The College at Oneonta is located midway between Albany and Binghamton in the midst of one of New York's most scenic and historic upstate areas. The College has had impressive positive trends in admissions profiles the past 5 years and is becoming an increasingly selective institution in the SUNY system college. The College is located in the City of Oneonta, a friendly community with 15,000 residents. Oneonta is also home to Hartwick College. In addition to being an educational center, the city offers a variety of housing, shopping, cultural, and recreational opportunities. The College at Oneonta contributes significantly to the cultural and intellectual life of the community.

Within a 30-minute drive are two state parks (Glimmerglass and Gilbert Lake) and several popular ski areas.  Oneonta offers a distinctive downtown business community, a range of shops and restaurants, and convenient public transportation. Local attractions include the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, and the Glimmerglass Opera.

The James M. Milne Library supports the College's mission by providing the resources and services to meet the academic needs of its staff and students. The five-story building houses a 40-station computer lab and affords space for both individual and group study. In its collection, the second largest of the 13 SUNY colleges of arts and sciences, the library has books, journals, audiovisual materials (including videos, CDs, and tapes), and other resources. As part of the State University of New York system, the college library also gives staff members access to materials from all over the state through interlibrary loan.

The College at Oneonta has received national recognition from Kiplinger's Magazine as one of "100 Best Values in Public Colleges." The College has also been recognized by U.S. News and World Report and CosmoGirl. To read more about these distinctions follow this link.

For more information about the university see our website at: www.oneonta.edu. For more information about the city of Oneonta see the city website: http://oneonta.ny.us/ .

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Qualifications

Required: enrolled doctoral student in a counseling, clinical, or professional psychology program; completion of practicum placements as required by program; completion of doctoral qualifying exams (by internship start date), completion of coursework (by internship start date),  800 hours of supervised practicum, statement of readiness for internship by program’s training director.

Preferred: Experience in a higher education setting; experience with diverse populations; and experience with outreach programming;.

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Stipend and Benefits

The full-time internship begins August 2, 2006 and ends August 1, 2007. The stipend will be $18,000. Interns will also receive full benefits including health insurance, vacation, dental and vision.

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Application process

The College at Oneonta Counseling Center is participating in the APPIC Match Service as an APPIC Member.  Interested students should submit the following materials by January 1, 2006:

  1. Completed application form (standard APPIC form)
  2. Verification of internship eligibility and readiness form signed by your training director
  3. Three letters of recommendation
  4. Transcripts of graduate coursework

Applicants will be notified by phone or email of interview status by January 10. Applicants will be interviewed individually and the number of interviewers may vary. Interviews will typically be by phone but on-site interviews are optional. Requests can be made to speak or meet with specific staff, including current interns.

Interested students should submit application materials to:

Mark Rice, Ph.D.
Director, Counseling Center
State University of New York, College at Oneonta
Oneonta, NY 13820-4015
Riceme@oneonta.edu
Fax (607) 436-2074

Applications are due by January 9. Applicants will be invited to participate in phone interviews and then optional on-site interviews.

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For more information contact us at:

Mark Rice, Ph.D.
Counseling Center
SUNY Oneonta
Oneonta, NY 13820-4015
607-436-3368
Riceme@oneonta.edu
http://www.oneonta.edu/development/counseling/

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