Direct Service Experiences

Individual Therapy  Interns at CCPPS conduct individual therapy approximately 12 hours per week with diverse students who are experiencing a wide range of presenting problems.  These presenting problems cross the spectrum from academic and developmental issues (e.g., selecting a major, independence from family) to severe mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder, PTSD).  Most treatment is provided within a brief-therapy model.  Each intern will also have the opportunity to provide long-term therapy to a limited number of clients.

Group Therapy  CCPPS has a vibrant and growing group therapy program, and interns will gain experience as group therapists.  Group topics are based on student needs and intern interests.  Examples of past groups include interpersonal process groups, a sexual assault survivors group, an international students group, a men’s group, a mindfulness group, etc.  Interns typically co-lead a group in the fall with a more experienced staff member who supervises the intern’s work, and have the opportunity of pairing up with another intern or with a practicum student in the spring semester. 

Triage/Intake CCPPS has daily drop-in hours which allows interns the opportunity to conduct triage assessments with clients, form and document clinical impressions, and then to route clients to the appropriate services (e.g., individual therapy, community referral, psychiatric consultation, etc.).  Interns provide 4 hours of drop-in coverage per week.  More detailed intake interviews and reports are conducted during the client’s first session after being assigned an ongoing therapist.

Crisis Intervention  In addition to experience managing crises which may be encountered while staffing the drop-in hours and with their ongoing clients, interns will also serve as the on-call counselor for the 24-hour crisis line five weeks total during the year.  Interns are provided with close support and supervision throughout all crises, and receive didactic training on crisis management at the beginning of their year at CCPPS and through Intern Seminar.

LD/ADHD Assessment  Interns administer learning disability/ADHD assessments throughout the internship year. Assessments are scheduled across two days, totaling approximately 7 hours bi-weekly, with every other week reserved for report writing. Interns receive 20 hours of initial training for assessment, and attend a weekly Assessment Group Supervision seminar where they receive supervision as a group and didactic training.  

Providing Supervision  Each intern is assigned a doctoral student to supervise during the fall semester, and then is assigned a different doctoral student to supervise during the spring semester.  Interns meet with their supervisees weekly, reviewing their sessions and clinical notes and providing them with clinical supervision. 

Consultation & Outreach  Interns are expected to conduct an average of half an hour per week of consultation and outreach.  These activities may involve developing and presenting workshops or presentations for various WVU units, forming liaison relationships with residence halls, or participating as a trainer in Leadwell, a peer-to-peer intervention program developed by WVU’s Office of Wellness andHealth Promotion (OWHP).