The internship begins two weeks prior to the start of the Fall semester, typically late August.  All interns are based within Tuttleman Counseling Services.  Interns typically work between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.  Our current model is three days in office and two days remote.  Interns are encouraged to keep their lunch-time free each day.  

Each intern has emphasis experience in a year-long, approximately 20 hours/week major rotation through our psychological services unit and an approximately 10 hours/week, year-long minor rotation through one of our specialized units (Sexual Assault Counseling and Education (SACE), Campus Alcohol and Substance Awareness (CASA), and Resiliency Resource Center: RRC) . Interns are asked to rank-order their preference for one of the following specialized units: CASA, SACE, and RRC to which they are then assigned.  It should be noted that while the Units have specific missions and specialized areas of expertise, TCS and its staff functions as an integrated and collaborative multidisciplinary team of which its interns are an essential component.

The internship experience is divided among three major activities:

• Direct clinical services to Temple students 

• Supervision and training activities 

• Administrative activities 

DIRECT SERVICE ACTIVITIES

Individual and couples psychotherapy

Tuttleman Counseling Services provides psychotherapy to an undergraduate and graduate student population which reflects a range of diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, gender, gender identity and religion.  Clients at TCS present with a wide range of needs and concerns, ranging from developmental or transitional difficulties to serious, chronic psychopathology.  Interns gain experience in using a variety of theoretical orientations and interventions to assist client growth and remediation.    Interns are expected to carry a caseload of approximately 13-15 students per week. The caseload will involve a mix of students presenting with a range of general concerns as well as students presenting with concerns specific to the intern's minor rotation.  Interns and staff conduct a formal intake assessment at the beginning of their work with each student, which they use to develop their case formulation, treatment goals and modes of intervention. While the average number of sessions used by TCS students is about 4 – 6 sessions, interns are expected to carry a few longer-term clients through the year.

Initial Consultations (IC)

Students new to TCS are encouraged to register for services during access hours where they fill out registration forms and are assigned to an Initial Consultation appointment. The focus of this initial consultation is the identification of problems or areas of concern, the level of clinical urgency, and the development of a plan to remediate those problems. 

Group psychotherapy

Interns are required to co-facilitate at least one psychotherapy or support/skills group. This usually means a process group in the fall and a process group as well as a support/skills group in the spring.  These groups are typically co-facilitated with a senior staff member or counseling fellow.  Some groups that have existed or currently exist are focused on: Healthy Relationships; Food and Body Image; Healing from Loss; Understanding Self and Others; Queer Processing Group; Dissertation Support, Mindfulness, First Generation College Students; and more.  In addition to the psychotherapy group, we ask interns to run one of our drop-in groups (https://counseling.temple.edu/group-counseling) in the spring semester.  If groups are running in the summer, interns remain involved. 

Supervision

During the fall and spring, interns have the opportunity to gain supervisory experience by supervising a graduate-level practicum student from a local social work, professional counseling, counseling psychology or clinical psychology masters or doctoral training program.  Interns will also participate in a weekly group supervision seminar.

Psychological Testing

Interns are currently required to complete at least two full test batteries during their internship. Testing is an important part of the assessment process that helps lead to diagnosis and treatment planning. Opportunities to provide additional partial or full-battery assessments are negotiated with the primary supervisor when developing learning goals and objectives for the internship year.

SUPERVISON AND TRAINING

Individual Supervision

Each intern receives two hours per week of individual supervision by licensed psychologists. One supervisor is typically from the Psychological Services unit and serves as the primary supervisor, while the other may be from the intern's minor rotation. The supervisor serves as a resource, advocate and advisor and is responsible for overseeing the intern’s training experiences and progress throughout the internship.  

Group Supervision

• Group Supervision of Group: Interns attend a weekly ninety- minute group supervision of group therapy.  This focuses on processes and procedures for conducting psychotherapy and support groups.   

• Group Supervision of Supervision: Interns attend a weekly ninety-minute group supervision to discuss their supervision cases. This focuses on defining and enhancing the intern’s supervisory style.

Case Conference

A ninety-minute, weekly case conference is held both for interns and practicum students.  Didactic instruction on psychodynamic case formulation is provided in the first six weeks of the internship and periodically throughout the year. Each week, on a rotating basis, a trainee presents a case for discussion.  The purpose of case conference is to enhance therapeutic skills through the continued development of diagnostic and case formulation skills, treatment planning, and therapeutic interventions.

Seminar

• Intern Didactic Seminar: A ninety-minute seminar is held each week for the interns.  Presentations, which include both single sessions and ongoing modules, are taught by TCS staff and with occasional invited guest speakers. They may be both didactic and experiential in nature and are designed to enhance and supplement the learning that occurs through supervision and clinical experiences.  A multicultural perspective is infused into all training seminars. In particular, interns participate in a variety of multicultural didactic seminars throughout the year that highlight self-awareness, social identity, themes of privilege and oppression, and relevant knowledge and skills.  Seminars that have existed or currently exist include:  Case Management, Managing Suicidal Ideation, Eating Disorders, Substance Abuse and Dependence, Ethics, Psychopharmacology, Use of Self Disclosure, Multicultural Supervision,Termination, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Art Therapy, Erotic Transference, Self-Harm, Motivational Interviewing, Group Therapy Process, and Positive Psychology, among others.

• Multicultural Lab: A ninety-minute lab takes place twelve times a year.  Interns are asked to use this space to recognize the importance of counselor self-awareness.  It is a safe space where interns can challenge themselves by examining privilege, self-awareness, and assumptions.  A structured interview-type format is in place to help interns reflect on their myriad cultural identities.  Some examples of topics examined: religion, ethnicity, gender, social class, race, sexual orientation, body shape and size, ability, and age.

• Psychological Assessment Seminar: Interns attend a 90-minute weekly year-long seminar on psychological assessment.  This seminar allows students to develop a further understanding and facility with psychological assessment, test scoring, and interpretation.  

• Meet with Training Director: though not technically a seminar, interns do have the opportunity to meet, as a group, regularly with the training director to review learning goals, solicit feedback about the internship experience, and deal with any areas of concern related to program administration.

Staff In-Service Training

Interns join the staff for departmental in-service trainings.  Invited speakers from both within the Temple Community as well as the greater Philadelphia area join us for a two hour lunch-time presentation.  More elaborate half or full-day in-services are often offered each year, generally in conjunction with other departments within the University (i.e. Safe Zone Training, IDEAL Multicultural Training, etc.).

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES

Bi-weekly staff meeting: Interns attend a bi-weekly staff meeting with all TCS staff. The meeting addresses routine administrative issues, updating the notice board of TCS sponsored events, detailed discussion of departmental policies and procedures as needed, and a review of client-concern cases (monthly) for students in crisis.  There is also a weekly clinical group meeting that functions similar to a case conference for staff and interns to discus cases together.  An hour each week is given toward Educational Release Time (for dissertation or professional reading/work). TCS uses Titanium for scheduling and clinical notes. 

Breakdown of a Typical Week for an Intern

Direct Service: 22

• Individual Therapy, 13; Group Counseling, 2

• Initial Assessments, 4; On-Duty Counselor, 2

• Supervision, 1

Supervision & Training: 9

• Individual Supervision, 2; Group Supervision, 3

• Case Conference, 1.5; Didactic Seminar, 1.5; Assessment Seminar, 1.5; Multicultural Lab, 1.5 (not weekly)

Administrative: 11

• Staff Meeting, .5; Minor Rotation, 1, Clinical Group, 1

• Preparation/Paperwork, 3.5

• Dissertation/ Professional Reading, 2.5

Total Hours: 40 (interns typically work a 42.5 hour work week w/ lunch included)

EVALUATION

The interns’ two individual therapy supervisors meet three times a year.  The first is to complete an early Fall evaluation to gauge strengths and areas for growth at the start of internship.  The next two meetings are in January and July to collaborate on a written evaluation of the intern’s progress. This evaluation incorporates feedback from group supervisors, the assessment supervisor, minor rotation supervisors and seminar leaders regarding each intern. One of the supervisors then meets with the intern individually to review the evaluation forms. During the evaluation, areas of strength as well as areas needing further growth are identified and discussed with the intern. After review of the evaluation, the training director sends the completed evaluation to the clinical training director of the intern’s academic program. Specific procedures are in place to ensure due process during the feedback and evaluation process.  The early Fall evaluation is not sent to the intern's academic program. The Temple University Tuttleman Counseling Center staff does not complete training contracts and/or evaluations that may be specific to a doctoral program.  If you are enrolled in a doctoral program that requires additional contracts or evaluations beyond those used at TCS, you are strongly encouraged to consult with your Director of Clinical Training to see if you will be eligible to apply for the Temple University internship.