Georgia Tech Counseling Center - a Division of Student Affairs
Competencies and evaluations for Internship
The Counseling Center has developed six areas of competence that are expected of all graduates of the predoctoral internship program. Below please find a summary of those six areas followed by the methods of attainment and evaluation.
Competencies for Internship
- 1. Professional Behavior
- a. Ethics
- 2. Counseling and Psychotherapy
- a. Conducting initial assessments
- b. Developing rapport and establishing a working alliance with diverse clients
- c. Multicultural Counseling competence
- d. Crisis intervention – emergency duty, trauma issues, etc.
- 3. Group Counseling
- a. Structured Groups
- b. Process Groups
- 4. Outreach
- a. Professional presentations
- b. Invited Presentations
- c. Interactions with campus
- 5. Consultation
- a. Campus departments
- b. Parents and family
- c. Deans and staff
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6. Psychological assessment and Research
- a. Appropriate use of psychological instruments for assessment
- b. Dissertation release time
Attainment of Skill Competency
In order to ensure certain competencies are attained over the course of the year, we have established parameters that will demonstrate interns are adequately meeting the minimum criteria for what is expected of licensed professionals in psychology. Some areas will be ongoing developmental experiences with life-long learning, while others can be demonstrated at the conclusion of the year.
- 1. Professional Behavior- Basic competency in this area is demonstrated by self-identification as a psychologist, with involvement in the profession at a broader level than simply studying the field or being a student. Interns are expected to verbalize knowledge of psychology that shows mastery of certain foundational topics of the profession. An understanding of the role that psychologists play in the treatment of psychological disorders, in the society at large, and in the research field of the profession.
- a. Ethics: Interns will demonstrate an understanding of the code of ethics adopted by the American psychological association (2002) and how it is applied to the practice of psychology.
- b. Process for attainment:
- i. Ethics seminar that involves the discussion of cases and application of principles to said cases
- ii. All forms of supervision
- iii. Case Conference
- iv. Intern orientation
- v. Consultation
- c. Evaluation of outcome measures:
- i. Supervisory evaluation
- ii. Semi-annual review by training director based on feedback from staff
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2. Counseling and Psychotherapy – as this is the major endeavor of the Counseling center and the provision of counseling and psychotherapy is the primary role of the intern, basic competency in this area is essential. Interns will be expected to carry a caseload of 22 clinical hours per week, which will include individual counseling, group counseling, initial screenings, and emergency walk-in hours.
- a. Conducting initial assessments: interns will become skilled at conducting initial screenings of incoming clients. They will assess presenting problems, obtain relevant history, and give initial clinical impressions. They will become effective at writing reports that effectively communicate this information to the treatment team charged with assigning cases. Interns will schedule two initial intakes per week.
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Supervisors will provide guidance initially, joining the intern in initial assessments, but eventually certifying the intern to conduct assessments independently.
- 2. Initial Orientation
- 3. Seminars
- 4. Case Conference
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures:
- 1. Supervisory evaluation
- 2. Semi-annual review by training director based on feedback from supervisor and staff
- 3. Client feedback (satisfaction surveys, etc).
- b. Developing rapport and establishing a working alliance with diverse clients: As Georgia Tech has a diverse student body, and the Counseling Center sees clients from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, the interns are expected to be able to effectively work with a wide variety of clients. Attempts will be made to balance the interns’ caseload in terms of gender, cultural background, presenting concerns, and level of severity.
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Initial Orientation
- 2. Seminars
- 3. Case Conference
- 4. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures:
- 1. Supervisory evaluation including evaluation of audio and video tapes of sessions
- 2. Semiannual review by training director based on feedback from supervisor and staff
- 3. Client feedback (satisfaction surveys)
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Initial orientation
- 2. Seminars
- 3. Case Conference
- 4. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures:
- 1. Supervisory evaluation including evaluation of audio and video tapes of sessions
- 2. Semiannual review by training director based on feedback from supervisor and staff
- 3. Client feedback (satisfaction surveys)
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Emergency duty hours
- 2. Emergency after hours coverage – with backup from supervisor
- 3. Seminars
- 4. Case Conference
- 5. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Supervisory evaluation
- 2. Semiannual review by training director based on feedback from supervisor and staff
c. Multicultural Counseling competence: Georgia Tech is increasingly international with the opening of many campuses around the world, and with international students coming to study at the main campus. Opportunities to develop expertise in multicultural competence is a hallmark of the Counseling Center and interns will be expected to demonstrate competence in this area upon completion of the internship.
d. Crisis Intervention: Georgia Tech Counseling Center has emergency walk-in hours covered by different staff during the hours that the center is operating. Each intern will cover one half-day four-hour block of emergency duty during the week. The four hours will be distributed with two intake hours that are scheduled in advance, and two walk-in hours that are not scheduled in advance. Generally these alternate so that walk-in clients do not have to wait for more than an hour to be seen. In addition, interns will carry the emergency phone once per rotation (about every 10 weeks) along with the other senior staff.
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3. Group Counseling – the Counseling Center has an active group program that serves as an adjunct to individual counseling and as an additional treatment modality that is more appropriate for certain presenting concerns. Interns are expected to co-facilitate process and structured groups during their internship year.
- i. Process for Attainment
- 1. Co-facilitating groups with senior staff
- 2. Developing and implementing groups independently
- 3. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Feedback/evaluation forms submitted by participants
- 2. Evaluation by group co-facilitator
- i. Process for Attainment
- 1. Co-facilitating groups with senior staff
- 2. Seminars
- 3. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Evaluation by group co-facilitator
- 2. Feedback/satisfaction survey by group participants
a. Structured Groups: these groups are primarily skill-based and didactic in nature. Examples include Stressbusters, Feeling Better, and Conversations.
b. Process Groups: these groups are primarily therapy groups that are unstructured and foster self-exploration and growth in participants. Examples include Men’s/Women’s therapy group, Changes, Sister time, Thesis support group, Connections, etc.
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4. Outreach – a major function of the Georgia Tech Counseling Center is to provide proactive, wellness-based outreach to the campus. Most of this is done in cooperation with other campus departments (housing, library), but some is also generated and presented independently by the counseling center. In an ongoing effort to make connections across campus, and to take the message of psychological wellness into the community, this is an important aspect of the center’s role on campus. Interns are encouraged to complete three outreach programs each semester. These can be done with senior staff, with other trainees, or individually.
- i. Process for Attainment
- 1. Co-present with senior staff
- 2. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Feedback/evaluations completed by participants
- 2. Evaluation by co-leader
- i. Process for Attainment
- 1. Co-present with senior staff
- 2. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Feedback/evaluation completed by participants
- 2. Evaluation by co-leader
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Participating in staffing tables
- 2. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Evaluation by other senior staff
- 2. Supervisory evaluation
- 3. Semiannual review by training director
a. Professional presentations: these presentations are primarily educational and provide information on mental health topics. The purpose is to inform the campus.
b. Invited presentations: these presentations are in response to requests made by departments on campus generally in reaction to some development within that department (death of a student, judicial sanction, etc.).
c. Interactions with campus: these involve staffing informational booths/tables for incoming freshman or other groups as well as other structured activities throughout the year.
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5. Consultation – an integral part of a psychologist role in a college counseling center is to provide advice and consultation to other segments of the campus community. This generally involves working with faculty/staff, parents, deans, and others in providing quality psychological services to the students.
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Half-day emergency duty per week to respond to calls or issues that come in during that time
- 2. Meeting with personnel in department who request assistance with a student in distress
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Supervisory evaluation
- 2. Semiannual review by training director
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Half-day emergency duty per week to respond to calls or issues that come in during that time from concerned parents
- 2. Consultation as needed with interns’ clients’ parents if indicated
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Supervisory evaluation
- 2. Semiannual review by training director.
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Half-day emergency duty per week to respond to calls or issues that come from the deans’ office during that time
- 2. Consultation as needed with the dean’s office with regards to withdrawals, judicial matters, and academic concerns
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Supervisory evaluation
- 2. Semiannual review by training director
a. Campus departments: phone calls and requests by campus departments to address concerns about a student are among the most common
b. Parents and family: phone calls and occasionally walk-ins from parents who are concerned about their son/daughter enrolled at Georgia Tech.
c. Deans and Staff: the counseling center works closely with the dean of students to provide a continuum of care to students – some who may not be clients of the center. The staff provides guidance and support to the deans office in their efforts to provide appropriate action to meet the needs of students in academic or judicial matters.
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6. Psychological Assessment and Research – the counseling center provides screening for psychological, developmental, and personality issues through the use of psychological instruments. While this is not a central function of the interns, there are opportunities to participate in this area of center operations, and some minimal involvement is expected. In addition, the center is invested in supporting interns in completing the dissertation. Interns are not required to conduct research as part of their internship, but the center does support interns in completing their dissertations during the internship year.
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. One module of the training seminar is devoted to assessment (three sessions or six hours)
- 2. Interns are expected to complete one assessment per semester during the fall, spring and summer semesters
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Supervisory evaluation in collaboration with assessment supervisor
- 2. Semiannual review by training director
- i. Process for attainment
- 1. Four hours per week in release time to work on dissertation
- 2. Access to Georgia Tech and University System of Georgia library resources
- 3. All forms of supervision
- ii. Evaluation of outcome measures
- 1. Supervisory evaluation
- 2. Semiannual review by training director
a. Psychological Assessment: interns are expected to develop some expertise in the use of psychological tests and instruments during the internship year
b. Dissertation release time: interns are encouraged to progress with their dissertations during the internship year
In addition to the competencies mentioned above, there may be other optional competencies that individual interns may be interested in pursuing during their internship. These will be assessed on an individual basis and support may be provided to meet the needs of the individual interns.