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Supervised Field Training

 

Coordinated, carefully managed and closely monitored supervised field training is a critical component and outstanding strength of this program. The general goals of the field training are to enable students to

  • acquire and practice direct clinical service (assessment and intervention) skills
  • develop the capacity for critical self-observation and evaluation
  • observe and conceptualize various aspects of human behavior and interaction
  • confront and resolve complex issues related to human service delivery and effectively interpret and utilize salient research findings in support of service delivery
  • formulate novel theoretical constructs and hypotheses about client systems and social contexts

Fieldwork activity follows a developmental model consisting of a sequence of nine-to 12 month training experiences of increasing complexity and responsibility. Each training experience is designed to accommodate the student's particular level of professional development: pre-practica (for Two Plus students) familiarize students with the basic features and broad outlines of mental health service delivery; practica serve primarily to introduce students to professional setting and clinical roles, and expose them to supervision and the supervisory relationship; and externships emphasize the expansion and refinement of clinical skills and behaviors specifically according to the student's identified goals, competencies and training needs. 

 

Clinical Experience 

Pre-Practicum

Approximately 12-16 hours per week for nine months

The pre-practicum is the beginning experiential component of professional training designed for students entering the Two Plus Curriculum. In conjunction with the three-hour per week, three-quarter 479 Introduction to Clinical Practice course sequence, this experience introduces students to the mental health system and provides an introduction to basic skills and concepts related to the practice of professional counseling. Under supervision, students are exposed to a broad range of clinical activities and client issues. Characteristic settings include milieu-based programs such as partial hospitalization programs or psychosocial rehabilitation outpatient programs housed in comprehensive mental health agencies. Students observe and participate in support groups, skills-based groups and treatment groups, interact with clients and assist staff with milieu activities. Often they participate in case consultation meetings with a multidisciplinary staff. In addition, they learn how to conduct clinical intake and diagnostic interviews. Two Plus students then go on in subsequent academic years to complete a Supervised Practicum and Supervised Externship.

 

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Practicum

Approximately 16-20 hours per week for nine-12 months

The practicum experience, taken in conjunction with the course sequence 480 Counseling Methods I, II and III, is designed to provide a general orientation to human service and mental health service delivery, the opportunity for systematic application of a basic repertoire of psychological skills, and an introduction to supervision and the intensive supervisory relationship. Practicum field sites are particularly equipped to introduce students to these dimensions of service delivery on a limited time basis. Typical practicum settings include community mental health centers, youth service agencies, hospital outpatient services and college/university counseling centers. In addition to the clinical supervisor at the field site, every practicum student meets weekly with a University-based or Backhome Preceptor for intensive individualized practice of clinical skills.

  

Externship

Approximately 20-24 hours per week for nine-12 months

Students in the externship experience are expected to perform basic client management tasks with appropriate competence and responsibility, and to participate fully in additional role-related clinical service and training activities as permitted and/or required by the more extended commitment. The selection of a specific externship site, therefore, corresponds to the student's choice of specialization and reflects the facility's capacity to address the unique training needs and interests of the respective student. This includes the opportunity to experience a specialized client system, particular intervention approach, assessment procedure or combination of the above. Concurrent with the fieldwork commitment, externs enroll in the three-quarter 483 Professional Ethics/ Cultural Diversity/Professional Issues sequence where professional identity concerns and ethical and legal issues comprise the core focus of discussion. 


Training Settings

 All pre-practicum, practicum and externship placements are located in the greater Chicago area and are negotiated and arranged by the Clinical Training Director in consultation with each respective student. All training settings meet specific program and professional criteria for training and supervision, and students' individual progress is carefully monitored and evaluated throughout the experience.

  

Representative training settings include:

  • Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
  • Children's Memorial Hospital - Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Columbia College Chicago - Counseling Services
  • Community Counseling Centers of Chicago
  • Dominican University - Counseling Center
  • Evanston Police Department - Youth Service Bureau
  • Highland Park High School
  • Highland Park High School - Drop-In Center
  • Institute for Psychoanalysis -Adult and Child Clinic
  • Kenneth Young Centers
  • LSSI - Portage Cragin Mental Health Center
  • Northwestern University - Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS - DP)
  • Northwestern University - University Career Services
  • Northwestern University - Women's Center
  • The Bridge Youth and Family Service
  • The Family Institute at Northwestern University - Community Outreach Program
  • The Family Institute at Northwestern University- Outpatient Clinic
  • Trilogy, Inc.
  • Turning Point Behavioral Health Care Center
  • Resurrection Behavioral Health/St. Mary's and Elizabeth's Hospital and Medical Center
  • Scholarship and Guidance Association
  • University of Chicago - Career Development Center

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Field Training Procedures

After admission and before matriculation, each student entering the program contacts the Clinical Training Director to formulate an individualized field training plan that will accommodate the students' level of professional development, training needs, career goals and area of specialization. All continuing students also meet with the Clinical Training Director in late December or early January each year to develop a plan that will be used to select field training site(s) for the following Fall. During the Winter and Spring Quarters preceding the respective field training year, students interview at field sites where they compete for placement positions with a large pool of qualified students from area Master's, Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs. Because the field placement interview process begins early in the year and is highly competitive, program applications are reviewed starting in early January so that admitted students who plan to matriculate can begin the interview process as early as possible.

  

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