Temple University’s Tuttleman Counseling Services Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology has three aims, which are to prepare interns for professional practice in health service psychology through:

1) development of core clinical and counseling skills,

2) further development of self-knowledge and professional attitudes and behaviors,

3) development and promotion of competence in individual and cultural diversity.

This is accomplished through focus on the following 9 specific competency areas:

1. Intervention: Demonstrates appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of interventions that are based on the best scientific research evidence; respectful of clients’ values/preferences; and relevant expert guidance.

2. Assessment: Demonstrates appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the selection, administration, and interpretation of assessments consistent with the best scientific research evidence and relevant expert guidance.

3. Ethical and legal standards: Demonstrates appropriate ethical and legal knowledge, skills, and attitudes in all professional roles.

4. Individual and cultural diversity:  Demonstrates appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes about cultural and individual differences in all professional roles.

5. Research:  Demonstrates appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to produce and disseminate scientific research and to make appropriate use of scientific methods and findings in all professional roles.

6. Professional values and attitudes:  Demonstrates character and engages in behaviors that reflect the values and attitudes of the psychology profession, in all professional roles.

7. Communication and interpersonal skills:  Demonstrates ability to communicate effectively, to interact appropriately, and to develop meaningful and helpful relationships in all professional roles.

8. Consultation and inter-professional/interdisciplinary skills: Demonstrates appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding inter-professional and interdisciplinary collaboration in relevant professional roles.

9. Supervision:  Demonstrates appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding the instruction and oversight of trainees and other professionals.

Development of the above competencies is specifically addressed by training in the following skill areas (bulleted items are referred to as ‘elements’ of the program):

Diversity (Individual and Cultural Differences)

• Knowledge of one's worldview and one’s social location (one’s own beliefs, values, attitudes, assumptions) with respect to people different from themselves
• Recognizes own biases and stereotypes, areas for future growth, including the recognition of what is not known.
• Willing and open to engage in self-reflection about one’s intersecting identities
• Acknowledges structural power differentials and open to exploring one’s feelings and reactions to the structures as they relate to intersecting identities
• Recognizes impact of culture on therapeutic relationship (includes both verbal and nonverbal communication)
• Ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds in all aspects of professional work including assessment, treatment, and consultation.
• Facilitates an interpersonal connection and responsiveness to clients' multiple and intersecting identities and contexts
• Infuses culture and diversity into all aspects of professional work both in process and content of the work
• Demonstrates the professional and personal value of continued learning of multiculturalism by participating in ongoing training and education regarding diversity issues
• Strives to practice from a culturally humble stance. Understands the role of culture, acculturation, race, religion, ability status, gender, sexuality in the developments of worldview and identity
• Demonstrates a desire to understand the individual or group experience within a specific population

Intake Assessment, Diagnosis and Treatment Recommendations

• Takes relevant history and identifies biological, familial, psychological, social, developmental, multicultural, substance use, and environmental factors contributing to client's current difficulties
• Conducts meaningful mental status exams and risk assessments (re: suicide, homicide, and psychosis) in line with best scientific evidence
• Utilizes systematic approaches to gathering data to form a theoretically grounded multidimensional, developmentally-appropriate, and culturally-informed case formulation
• Provides diagnoses that are culturally-contextualized and developmentally-appropriate
• Develops client-centered treatment plans that account for individual and situational factors
• Effectively communicates formulations and treatment plans to clients distinguishing between immediate and long term goals
• Assesses contextual factors such as environmental stressors and support systems that effect client issues
• Completes timely initial assessment reports in line with best professional practice and agency standards
• Consults and communicates effectively with the supervisor & other relevant professionals regarding ethical issues/dilemmas and to support continuity of care
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of APA ethical principles and Code of Conduct and other relevant policies/laws
• Communicates relevant ethical duties and limitations in the course of clinical work

Individual Psychotherapy

• Effectively communicates empathy and establishes rapport with a broad range of clients
• Demonstrates the awareness of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of clients
• Makes appropriate referrals for psychiatric evaluations
• Engages in self-assessment of personal cultural factors and personal biases in order to strengthen the therapeutic process
• Implements interventions with focus to evidence-based models and flexibility to adapt where appropriate
• Reflectively attends to and makes use of client transference, and therapist counter-transference in the therapeutic process
• Reflectively attends to and tailors interventions based on developmental and situational factors in the therapeutic process
• Thoughtfully attends to the interplay of emotions, cognitions, behaviors (verbal and nonverbal), and physiology, and utilizes this awareness in facilitating client growth
• Evaluates treatment process and modifies treatment planning based on outcomes measures
• Collaboratively addresses termination during treatment planning, and makes use of it during the therapeutic process
• Collaboratively reviews therapeutic experience, progress, and areas of future growth during the termination phase
• Collaboratively provides appropriate referrals and/or resources, and clarifies the role of any future TCS services during the termination phase
• Completes timely progress notes in line with best professional practice and agency standards
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of APA ethical principles and Code of Conduct and other relevant policies/laws
• Communicates relevant ethical duties and limitations in the course of clinical work
• Consults appropriately with peers and supervisors regarding ethical issues and dilemmas

Group Psychotherapy

• Takes initiative, demonstrates creativity, and is engaged in the promotion of the group.
• Takes considerations of diversity into account throughout the process of starting, running, and ending a group.
• Conducts group screening interviews, makes collaborative decisions, and communicates with clients regarding goodness of fit.
• Clearly communicates basic structure, expectations and ground rules for participation in group
• Assists group members in formulating practical and achievable group goals
• Makes use of content as well as process level interventions.  If the group is more skill-based and/or supportive, readies materials for group, and understands each session’s goals and tasks.
• Knowledgeable about the therapeutic factors of group and stages of group development and intervenes accordingly.
• Demonstrates reliability, timeliness and thoroughness with administrative tasks related to effectively running a group.
• Works effectively with co-facilitator through collaboration and communication regarding the group development and process. 
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of APA ethical principles and Code of Conduct and other relevant policies/laws
• Maximizes therapeutic value of termination at the group and individual level. 
• Demonstrates initiative in improving group skills and knowledge (e.g., considers here-and-now, group as a social microcosm, parallel process, etc.). Responsive and open to feedback from group supervisors and colleagues.
• Considers therapeutic factors of group (e.g., Universality, Instillation of Hope, Cohesiveness) and their importance in facilitating change.
• Considers the stages of group development (e.g., Forming, Storming) and how this impacts the task of group co-facilitators and the process of rupture and repair.
• Demonstrates attentiveness to the impact of cultural issues and individual differences on group process.  Seeks to understand how own identities intersect with those of the group.
• Considers and honors ethical and practical concerns related to group, including things like the group agreement, informed consent, confidentiality, and attendance.

Crisis Intervention & Clinical Consultation

• Effectively communicates empathy and establishes rapport with a broad range of students
• Understands the unique function of crisis intervention as differentiated from individual therapy and appropriately communicates this frame to the student
• Appropriately seeks consultation in crisis situations
• Conducts standard-of-care mental status exams and risk assessments (re: suicide, homicide, and psychosis) in line with best scientific evidence
• Assesses the presenting difficulty, and differentiates between student needs that are emergent, urgent, and non-urgent
• Utilizes voluntary and involuntary hospitalization procedures, in order to best serve the student's safety needs
• Coordinates other immediate response (e.g. police, family, insurance,  etc.) as necessary
• Provides appropriate post-intervention follow-up with the student and other relevant persons to best serve the student's needs and system circumstances
• Demonstrates a strong grasp of the initial assessment process, providing appropriate recommendations and follow-up
• Develops and communicates knowledge of institutional and community resources, in the service of providing integrated care
• Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with other professionals and exercises sound professional judgment in utilizing these relationships for the benefit of students
• Utilizes awareness of cultural phenomenon in crisis intervention and consultation
• Completes appropriate documentation in a timely manner, in line with best professional practice and agency standards
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of APA ethical principles and Code of Conduct and other relevant policies/laws
• Communicates relevant ethical duties and limitations in the course of clinical work

Psychological Testing and Assessment

• Administers evidence-based psychological tests with knowledge of appropriate standardization procedures
• Administers appropriate batteries based on the referral question, presenting issue, and cultural and individual circumstances
• Accurately scores and interprets individual test results
• Integrates test results across the battery with both behavioral observations and clinical data to communicate a coherent and explanatory narrative
• Generates individualized student-centered recommendations based on assessment findings and client goals
• Meaningfully communicates testing feedback, with attention to the presenting problem, assessment findings, and the client's goals
• Clearly communicates individualized recommendations in a competent and sensitive manner, and collaborates with the client/referral source to move forward on next steps
• Completes timely psychoeducational assessment reports in line with best professional practice and agency standards
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of APA ethical principles and Code of Conduct and other relevant policies/laws
• Communicates relevant ethical duties and limitations in the course of clinical work
• Consults appropriately with peers and supervisors regarding ethical issues and dilemmas

Supervision Knowledge / Provision

• Demonstrates the ability to develop supportive and trusting supervisory relationship that fosters the open exchange of ideas and feedback
• Sets supervisory frame and establishes supervision contract and goals, in the context of the developmental level of the supervisee
• Facilitates supervisee's awareness of ethical, legal, and policy-related issues in providing clinical services
• Demonstrates awareness of cultural and theoretical differences occurring in the supervisory relationship
• Supports supervisee's development of reflective practice in order to best serve the needs of diverse clients
• Demonstrates a familiarity with current literature in the field of supervision
• Provides information and teaches counseling skills to supervisees appropriately
• Seeks and applies feedback from the Supervision of Supervision Group to improve supervision skills and self-awareness
• Evaluates supervisee with regard to established goals, and in the context of the developmental level of the supervisee
• Consults appropriately with peers and supervisors regarding ethical issues and dilemmas

Unit Activities

• Attended all trainings offered by unit
• Knowledgeable about models, theories, and research specific to the unit
• Knowledgeable about assessment, diagnosis, and level of care needed for clients within the unit
• Ability to develop case conceptualization and treatment strategies for clients within the unit
• Ability to effectively communicate knowledge to the group
• Ability to effectively collaborate client care within unit as needed
• Ability to work and consult effectively within an interdisciplinary team
• Takes initiative and exhibits responsibility to perform unit activities

Case Conference

• Demonstrates active and professional participation in case conference
• Demonstrates consistent attendance at case conference and if there are absences, takes the initiative to plan ahead and/or to follow-up afterward. Completes assigned exercises.
• Ability to integrate and organize data into meaningful statements concerning client behavior and dynamics
• Demonstrates competence using diagnostic criteria (DSM)
• Obtains, organizes, and synthesizes essential details of the case
• Written case formulation conveys essential understanding of the client’s presenting symptoms and psychological functioning.
• Ability to formulate treatment strategies

Professional Values, Attitudes and Behaviors

1. Openness

• Appreciates the value of continued learning about legal and ethical issues relevant to clinical work and the profession as a whole
• Actively solicits, is open and responsive to feedback and supervisory suggestions
• Identifies and discusses personal and professional characteristics and/or behaviors (e.g. countertransference, parallel process) that aid or interfere with clinical work
• Utilizes content and skills discussed in supervision to develop self-awareness of strengths and limitations as a therapist
• Collaboratively develops supervisory frame and training goals
• Monitors workload and issues related to self-care and takes initiative in addressing concerns

2. Interpersonal Effectiveness

• Develops and maintains effective professional relationships with clinical and administrative staff
• Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with other professionals, and exercises sound professional judgment in utilizing these relationships for the benefit of clients
• Addresses differences and areas of challenge within supervisory and other relationships in order to maximize professional growth

3. Conscientiousness

• Behaves in timely manner for clinical appointments, supervision and meetings, and makes appropriate arrangements in the event of scheduling changes
• Attends seminars regularly as an engaged participant and comes prepared to discuss readings and/or case material
• Professional demeanor demonstrates responsibility, cooperation, dependability, and knowledge of policies and procedures
• Ability to complete commitments in a prompt and professional manner
• Shows self-evaluation, self-direction, and motivation for professional growth
• Completes and turns in progress notes in a timely manner
• Prepares for supervision in support of the established training goals
• Seeks supervision or consultation appropriately, to best serve client needs and system circumstances