A Practitioner Model Informed by Theory and Research guides the SHaW – Mental Health Training Program. Clinical psychology trainees are trained to ground their practice of psychology in theory and research. This model is principally accomplished in an intensive, supervised university counseling center experience working with a multicultural group of interdisciplinary professionals. Imbued in this model are service provision, didactic and experiential instruction, and the use of psychological theory/research.

SHaW – Mental Health provides a setting in which clinical psychology trainees increase and strengthen their abilities to practice psychology throughout their year with the agency. Training involves developing both core skills and positive professional identity essential for the work of an entry-level psychologist providing services in:

• Brief model counseling
• Crisis intervention
• Diagnostic Assessment

SHaW – Mental Health recruits students from scientist-practitioner and scholar-practitioner departments so that they come with a foundation of theoretical and research-based knowledge, with the capacity to engage in theoretical and research-based inquiry, and with a readiness for intensive training in practice. SHaW – Mental Health continues training in integrating practice and theory and research as these provide the underpinnings of the practice of psychology. A part of competent practice also includes being informed about the seminal and current theoretical and research-bases of psychology and social work. SHaW – Mental Health accomplishes integration through:

• Developing critical thinking to guide the use of research to inform clinical practice
• Generating clinical hypotheses to explore in supervision
• Learning the empirical bases that guide the use of comprehensive assessment
• Participating in seminar training programs on best current practices in clinical practice (e.g., counseling, crisis response, clinical ethics, and so on).

The work environment in which this model of training occurs is designed to provide a collaborative milieu for training. To accomplish this, SHaW – Mental Health provides a Mentor/Apprenticeship Environment. This is operationalized in a variety of ways including:

• Staff provide clinical and professional identity role modeling.
• Staff collaborate with trainees.
• Staff create a milieu respectful of trainees: honoring their cultural identities, valuing their positive self-growth, and establishing a strong work ethic.

This is the basic model and setting for the SHaW – Mental Health Training Program. This model and setting are further guided by seven philosophical tenets which describe in more detail the basic values of the SHaW – Mental Health Training Program.

Trainees Are Primarily In Training.
The primary purpose of the clinical psychology practicum is to train students to practice psychology. Intensive supervision and didactic instruction are the primary vehicles for training and evaluating clinical psychology trainees.

Mentorship Is The Cornerstone Of Professional Development.
Clinical psychology trainees are always under the direct supervision and guidance of several staff members. SHaW – Mental Health Training Program is founded on the belief that individuals grow primarily as the product of significant relationships. The Trainee-Supervisor relationship provides the foundation for growth in core skill areas and in professional identity development.

Clinical Psychology Trainees Are in Training to Develop Professional Identities.
SHaW – Mental Health staff provides opportunities for clinical psychology trainees to work with culturally diverse professionals from various disciplines (e.g., clinical and counseling psychology, social work, student services, psychiatry, assessment, medicine, and nursing). Trainees are provided time to process and reflect on their experiences in order to promote growth and integration of their professional confidence.

The Growth Of A Professional Identity Occurs Developmentally.
SHaW – Mental Health Training Program provides higher levels of direction and structure initially, with movement towards greater autonomy and responsibility. High levels of structure assist transition into a new system by providing guidance and direction. Trainees have multiple opportunities to be increasingly autonomous in all aspects of their functioning at SHaW – Mental Health.

Training Needs Are Met Through the Expertise of SHaW – Mental Health Staff and Other Campus Professionals.
SHaW – Mental Health provides exposure to a broad range of experiences and theoretical perspectives during the year, both internally and externally. This allows interns to seek their own areas of interest within different venues such as clinical intervention, programming, consultation, psychopharmacology, alcohol and other drug usage, assessment, multiculturalism, didactics, case presentation, and scholarly inquiry.

Individuals Learn In Individual Ways.
SHaW – Mental Health Training Program uses various learning methods including practical experiences, modeling, process-based activities, group, didactic, experiential, and self-guided learning. SHaW – Mental Health provides an environment that is supportive and challenging and based in part on interns’ self-assessments. Time is spent initially working with trainees to assist them in defining their goals and desires for training.

Psychologists Are Informed Through the Integration of Science And Practice.
Theory, research, and practice mutually inform each other. Trainees are guided and encouraged in their pursuit of observing, inferring, formulating, and evaluating clinical hypotheses. Trainees generate clinical hypotheses based on theory and research.

Clinical psychology trainees are expected to achieve the follow goals over the course of their clerkship experience at SHaW – Mental Health:

• Clinical psychology trainees will grow in their competency as general clinical practitioners.
• Clinical psychology trainees will increase their awareness and education about a variety of clinical issues.
• Clinical psychology trainees will increase their awareness of aspects of diversity.
• Clinical psychology trainees will develop increased ability to assess and case conceptualize

Additionally:

• Clinical psychology trainees may have experience in group therapy.
• Clinical psychology trainees may have experience in crisis evaluation.

Direct Services

Individual Counseling: Clinical psychology trainees engage in individual counseling seeing students in brief model therapy. Individual counseling involves assessing and conceptualizing from a theoretical frame-of-reference, presenting problems, providing disposition on cases, and formalized treatment planning and implementation.

Group Counseling: Clinical psychology trainees are often involved with co-leading one of the various types of groups that are facilitated through SHaW – Mental Health. Most groups are co-ed general therapy groups but there may be opportunities to participate in thematic groups if resources are available. Group therapy opportunities are contingent on schedules of both the trainee and available co-facilitator.

Crisis Evaluation and Intervention: Clinical psychology trainees may participate with increasing responsibility and autonomy over time in the day on-call rotations at SHaW providing emergency assessments to clients who present to SHaW – Mental Health on a walk-in basis or after-hours. Trainees will have an opportunity to shadow senior staff as they conduct crisis assessments and may later take on more responsibility conducting crisis assessments either as co-clinicians or independently with supervision.

Individual and Group Supervision: Supervision of clinical psychology trainees is conducted on a regularly scheduled, individual basis by licensed professional staff and doctoral psychology interns. Trainees have two individual supervisors during the time they are with SHaW – Mental Health as well as one group supervisor if co-leading a group. Trainees are expected to be prepared each week for supervision. Preparation can involve reviewing audio and video recordings, organizing cases, preparing questions, and reviewing set goals for supervision to set directions for each session of supervision.

Seminars: Clinical psychology trainees will participate in educational seminars designed to complement the experiential learning during the internship year. These may be on a variety of relevant clinical issues.

Case Conference: Clinical psychology trainees will participate in case conference activities with other social work and psychology trainees as a form of group supervision as well as to provide an opportunity to develop and hone clinical presentation skills.

Case management: Clinical psychology trainees are responsible for managing their own caseloads so that they have continually and consistently have enough clients, but do not have too many. In addition to this, administrative time is provided each week so that trainees can also write up client reports/case notes/process recordings, write business / professional letters and emails, return telephone calls, consult with supervisors and other staff, and do general planning.

Placement begins in August the week prior to classes beginning at the UConn-Storrs campus with a full week (approx. 40 hours) orientation and continuing at 20 hours a week through the end of the academic year (typically the full week after final exams, usually mid-May). Students do not typically work during the winter academic term break.

Academic year: 20 hours per week*

*20 hours a week is an average. At points in the semester you may find that you work more than this if you need further time to complete paperwork or other administrative tasks required in this position beyond what is allotted.

Evaluation Procedures: Each semester SHaW – Mental Health Staff who are serving in the capacity of supervisor are responsible for evaluating their supervisees. Evaluations are completed by supervisors and reviewed with supervisees who are given opportunity to formally respond to each evaluation. In addition, supervisees complete an evaluation for their supervisors. The Director of Training collects evaluations after they have been reviewed. Supervisor evaluations by supervisees are given to the Director of Training for filing. Supervisee evaluations are filed in their training files.

Evaluation occurs two times during the course of the training year, once during:

• December at the mid-way point of the year. This is a group evaluation with all of the supervisee’s supervisors. The supervisee receives feedback, reviews Fall goals and sets/reaffirms final Spring goals, and is assisted in generating methods by which to meet the training goals.
• May to assess at the end of the regular academic year to address progress. This is a group evaluation with all of the supervisee’s supervisors. The supervisee receives feedback and reviews regular academic year goals for progress for the year and unfinished goals for continued training after SHaW – Mental Health.

Trainees are required to video record all sessions for the purposes of supervision and training at SHaW – Mental Health. However, no recordings or clinical materials are allowed to leave the agency. It is the student’s responsibility to discuss SHaW – Mental Health’ requirements with their academic programs and discuss with the Coordinator of Training ways in which SHaW – Mental Health can support any academic department requirements.

In order to be eligible for a placement at SHaW – Mental Health, students must:

• Be enrolled in a doctoral level program of clinical or counseling psychology. (At this time we do not accept applicants currently enrolled in master’s degree programs.)
• Have completed at least one practicum placement or have had prior relevant clinical experience.

Applications for practicum for the next academic year are accepted beginning in January and are accepted on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.  Preference will be given to applications received by Friday 1/17/2025.  Once we have begun interviewing (typically late January-early February), we may continue to accept applications but may wait to offer an interview to applications that continue to arrive after that point.

To apply:

Submit via email:

• A cover letter stating your interest in the position and how a placement at SHaW – Mental Health may best meet your training goals for the coming year.
• Current curriculum vitae.

To:

Maritza Lugo-Stalker, Psy.D. LCSW
Assistant Director, Director of Training

maritza.lugo-stalker@uconn.edu
860.486.4705

We thank you for your interest and wish you well in your practicum placement.