2024-2025 Application Cycle

Overview

We offer a 9-month rotation to advanced graduate students in Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or other related fields. We ask that externs ideally spend 2.5-3 days per week at our site, with Friday 9:00-11:30am as mandatory.

As Temple is a large, urban, public research university, we are seeking applicants interested in providing culturally sensitive mental health services to our diverse student body. We are also seeking applicants that are interested in working in an environment that requires flexibility and active collaboration with our multi-disciplinary staff. Throughout the training year, we hope to create a supportive atmosphere that helps facilitate clinical growth, encourages reflective practice, and emphasizes an intersectional framework.

Overall, we are looking for goodness of fit between our site and the applicant's experience and training goals. Given the pace of the work, it is strongly preferred that students have (at minimum) one full year of therapy experience prior to applying.

Core Externship Components 

Supervision: All trainees receive individual and group supervision with licensed professionals with various areas of expertise and theoretical orientations. Review of video is a vital part of supervision. There are additional opportunities for case consultation and clinical discussion.

Initial Consultation: Students new to TCS are encouraged to present at any time during registration hours where they fill out registration paperwork 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 treatment plan. Practicum students are assigned 2-3 new Initial Consultations (ICs) per week.

Individual Therapy: We provide individual therapy to our diverse student body of undergraduate and graduate students. We typically see students at our center on a short-term basis and caseload will likely amount to 8-10 clients/week. With that said, practicum students are often able to carry a few longer-term clients throughout the year.

Group Therapy: Early in the training year, staff provide a didactic reviewing the theory and practice of group therapy in preparation for the training year. We then aim to have practicum trainees co-facilitate a skill-based or process group in Fall or Spring.

Case Conference: Case conference is held every Friday morning (90-minutes total). In the beginning of the year, staff co-facilitators provide didactic instruction on the structure, content, and use of psychodynamic case conceptualizations. All trainees then present cases for discussion on a rotating basis. The purpose of case conference is to enhance therapeutic skills through assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. While we do not require applicants to have a background in dynamic theory, it is expected that applicants have a demonstrated interest and openness to this approach.

Application Information and Timeline

• We will start accepting applications on Jan. 6, 2025. All applications are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2025. Interviews will be arranged with applicants under consideration and then we will make offers according to Pendeldot guidelines on Match Day (March 3, 2025)
• Applications must include: (1) Pendeldot cover sheet and agreement, (2) cover letter, (3) resume, (4) graduate school transcript, official or unofficial, and (5) two letters of recommendation.
• For Pendeldot applicants, please upload your application on the portal in one PDF. If letter writers do not wish to have their letters sent with your application, they can submit it to the following email address: michelle.wallace@temple.edu. Letter writers should include your name in the subject line of the email (e.g., Pendeldot Letter of Reference for Applicant XXX). Please also indicate if letters are coming separate in your cover letter.

Note: All members of the staff participate in training through formal and informal supervision, team meeting collaboration, consultation, and seminars.  As a result, in order to minimize dual role conflicts and ensure that trainees receive the full depth and breadth of experience, current or previous TCS therapy clients are not eligible to apply for training at TCS.

​​​​​​Questions or Concerns?
Michelle Wallace, Psy.D. (they/them)
Assistant Training Coordinator
Email: michelle.wallace@temple.edu
Phone: 215-204-7276