Clinical Experiences
Training Settings
Field Training Procedures
Field Training Comparison

Supervised Field Training

 Coordinated supervised field training in clinical and clinical/research skills is a critical component of the program. The general goals of the field training are to enable students to: 1) acquire and practice direct clinical service (assessment and intervention) skills; 2) develop the capacity for critical self-observation and evaluation; 3) observe and conceptualize various aspects of human behavior and interaction; 4) confront and resolve complex issues related to human service delivery; 5) 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 twelve 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) are designed to familiarize students with the basic features and broad outlines of mental health service delivery; practica serve primarily to introduce students to professional settings, service roles and tasks, clinical interactions and to 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. Students in the Standard Curriculum complete a minimum of two 9-12-month supervised field experiences, while students in the Two-Plus Curriculum complete a minimum of one 9 month and two 9-12 month experiences.

 

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 a three-hour per week academic seminar (479 Introduction to Clinical Practice), 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 psychosocial rehabilitation outpatient programs housed in comprehensive mental health agencies or partial hospitalization programs. Students observe and participate in support groups, skills-based groups and treatment groups, interact with clients, assist staff with milieu activities. They also participate in case consultation meetings with a multidisciplinary staff. In addition, they learn how to conduct clinical intake and diagnostic interviews. All Two-Plus students go on to complete a practicum and externship.

 

Practicum

Approximately 16-20+ hours per week for nine-twelve 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, and typical 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, all practicum students are assigned a University-based supervisor with whom they meet weekly throughout the year to practice clinical skills and review course assignments.

 

Externship

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

 

The externship is taken in conjunction with the course sequence 483-1,2,3. 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 service and training activities as permitted and/or required by the more extended commitment.  Students' identified areas of conceptual or experiential deficit are assessed and incorporated as key training foci.  The selection of a specific externship site, therefore, reflects the facility's   capacity to address the unique training needs of the respective student, such as the opportunity to experience a specialized client system, particular intervention approach, assessment procedure, research project 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 Director of Clinical Training or her assistant after 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 year. 

Representative training settings include:

• Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center
• Columbia College Chicago Counseling Services
• Barrington Youth and Family Service
• Children’s Memorial Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Community Counseling Centers of Chicago
• Evanston Police Department, Youth Service Bureau
• The Family Institute at Northwestern University
• Hazelden Chicago
• Highland Park High School
• Northwestern University Career Services
• Northwestern University Coun. & Psych Services
• Northwestern University Women’s Center
• Portage Cragin Mental Health Center
• Pepsi Americas, Inc.
• Trilogy, Inc.
• Turning Point Behavioral Health Care Center
• University of Chicago Career Development

 

Field Training Procedures

After admission and before matriculation, each student entering the program is expected to make contact with the Director of Clinical Training to formulate an individualized field training plan that will accommodate the students' level of professional development, training needs, career goals and area of specialization. The Director of Clinical Training uses this plan to select individualized field training site(s) for all pre-practicum, practicum and externship students. During the Winter and Spring quarters preceding the field training year, the student will interview at field site(s) where they will compete for placement positions with a large pool of qualified students from area Masters, Ph.D. and Psy.D. programs, and due to the competitive nature of the placement process, students are encouraged to accept the first  training offer that is extended in order to ensure placement. The field placement interview process begins early in the year, and 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

 

Field Training Comparison

	Field Training Prerequisites	Training Objective	Examples of Training Settings	Examples of Student Training Experience
Pre-Practicum   12-16 hours a week for 9 months (400-800 total hours)   Concurrent with COUN PSY 479 Introduction to Clinical Practice 3-Quarter Sequence	None	Orient Two Plus students to the basic features and broad outlines of clinical work Familiarize students with severely and persistently mentally ill clients	Psychosocial rehabilitation outpatient programs Partial hospitalization programs	Observe and co-lead treatment groups Interact with clients Assist staff with milieu activities Participate in case consultation meetings Conduct clinical intake & diagnostic interviews
Practicum   16-20 hours a week for 9-12 months (600-1,050 total hours)   Concurrent with COUN PSY 480 Counseling Methods 3-Quarter Sequence	Pre-Practicum or Equiv. Psych & Clinical Experience	Introduce students to professional settings, clinical roles and tasks, and the supervisory relationship Equips students with interviewing, assessment and client intervention skills	Community mental health centers Hospital outpatient services Youth service agencies	Provide time-limited individual &/or group psychotherapy Present cases in case consultation meetings Conduct client assessment & design treatment plans
Externship   20-24 hours a week for 9-12 months (800-1,250 total hours)   Concurrent with COUN PSY 483 Ethic/Div/Prof Issue 3-Quarter Sequence	Practicum	Expands and refines students’ clinical skills and behaviors Focuses on students’ identified career goals, competencies, training needs and specialization area	Community mental health centers Career counseling centers Specialized clinical practices in eating disorders, substance abuse, childhood trauma survivors Corporate Settings Career Settings	Provide time-limited individual &/or group psychotherapy with increased competence and responsibility Participate fully in additional role-related clinical and training activities as permitted and/or required by the field site

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