Counseling Internships

St. Mary’s College of Maryland Counseling and Psychological Services Master’s Internship Program

As an agency, we see our master’s internship as a vital aspect of our organization, and we are pleased to have you consider our program. You will find a description of the program and other important information on this page.

Our internship is designed to provide training in functional skill areas relevant to a college counseling center setting including individual and group counseling/psychotherapy, consultation, supervision, administration, and program development. Our training program provides a supervision model which allows each intern contact with a wide range of licensed mental health supervisors who vary in training, style, and orientation.

We welcome your interest in our internship program and hope that these materials are useful to you. If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to call or e-mail the Wellness Center.

The College

As Maryland’s national public honors college, St. Mary’s offers an undergraduate liberal arts education and small-college experience like those found at exceptional private colleges. St. Mary’s shares the hallmarks of private institutions: an outstanding faculty, talented students, high academic standards, a challenging curriculum, small classes, a sense of community, and a spirit of intellectual inquiry. But as a state institution of higher education, St. Mary’s is also committed to the ideals of affordability, accessibility, and diversity. By combining these virtues of public and private education, St. Mary’s provides a unique alternative for students and their families.

St. Mary’s is named for the place it marks: the 17th-century capital of Maryland. The spectacular waterfront setting is in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay region. The campus is 70 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. and 95 miles south of Baltimore.

Counseling and Psychological Services

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is located in the Wellness Center at Ethel Chance Hall. CAPS works with a diverse clientele on a wide range of problems (academic, emotional, social, mental health). CAPS is a committed member of the Division of Student Affairs and reports directly to the Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students.

CAPS consists of 3 professional staff (2 counselors and 1 psychiatric nurse practitioner). CAPS staff reflects a diversity of training  as well as theoretical orientation. Members of the permanent staff are licensed or pursuing licensure in the state of Maryland (as well as neighboring states).

The Internship Program

We believe that the internship at CAPS offers trainees a well-rounded training experience: a chance to incorporate prior academic learning, and an opportunity to develop and enhance their clinical skills. Within the structure of the training program there is room for personalized growth and professional development. We encourage trainees to take an active role in their training experience and to take full advantage of the many training opportunities available to them throughout the internship year.

Our program seeks to develop broad-based, generalist-oriented professionals who will be prepared to function in any of the many roles assumed by counselors in college counseling centers. Within this context, each intern has the latitude and is encouraged to develop specialty interests of his/her liking. However, as an agency and internship program, we formally emphasize a generalist orientation.

We seek interns who reflect a range of cultural, racial, and demographic differences.

Due to the remote location of St. Mary’s College, we may be able to provide housing support to you during your internship year.

Philosophy

CAPS staff regards training and supervision as an integral part of the CAPS mission.  Most staff members participate in the training and supervision of internship students by providing individual supervision as well as other training experiences (e.g., seminars, case consultation). Graduate trainees play an important role in CAPS operations and are encouraged to actively participate in different aspects of CAPS’s functioning, as well as to assume a significant role in the delivery of services.

Internship students are expected and trained to be knowledgeable regarding the various aspects of functioning in a counseling center and outpatient therapy setting, as well as to refine and further develop their ability to function as competent, effective, and responsible therapists. Training and supervision are designed to concomitantly consider agency and trainee needs, departmental degree requirements, and trainee preparation for advanced training or entrance into the job market.

The Internship Experience

The mission of CAPS is intertwined with that of the Division of Student Affairs and the College. As an active partner in the educational process, the staff provides assistance to students to cope with personal, educational, or family concerns. This assistance includes helping students acquire the cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills needed to cope with their environment. These skills enable students to take advantage of opportunities afforded them and develop as effective and responsible members of society. The staff supports the belief that students are the principle agents of their own growth and offers a variety of services to them and the college community to facilitate that development.

The staff is invested in multiple levels of intervention. We provide remedial support to assist students with problems that may interfere with their ability to succeed in school.  In addition, we provide developmental and preventative services, which enhance students’ ability to experience their college years as productive, creative, rewarding, and satisfying.

A wide range of services is offered within a relatively short treatment model. The staff at CAPS provides individual, couples and group therapy, crisis intervention, and workshops and seminars on a variety of mental health issues.  Consultation to faculty and staff is provided in a collaborative effort to work effectively with students in reaching common goals associated with the educational process.  The addition of the training component as a part of our operation connects us in a joint educational effort with the academic affairs branch of the college.

Service Activities

• Direct Clinical Service Activities
  • Individual Counseling
    Interns carry an individual caseload of 10-12 clients per week. Care is taken to balance caseloads that vary in complexity from developmental problems to more severe forms of psychopathology. As part of their caseload, each intern is encouraged to provide couples counseling, preferably conjoint counseling.
  • Intake/Emergency Service Activities
    Each intern performs 2 hours of intake per week. This activity provides experience in brief assessment, internal referral, outside referral, short-term treatment intervention, psychiatric consultation, and crisis intervention. Additionally, each intern acts as the “triage counselor” once per week, which requires the intern to triage any crisis situations that arise during the day and administer walk-in hours on that day.
  • Group Counseling/Psychotherapy
    Interns lead at least one structured therapy group over the course of the year. Groups can be co-led with a senior staff clinician.

• Outreach and Consultation Activities

CAPS provides a variety of outreach experiences throughout the year. Interns are encouraged to contribute to the development and implementation of outreach activities. Interns will also have the opportunity to consult with on-campus and off-campus professionals regarding student concerns and continuity of care as appropriate.

• Supervision and Training Activities
  
  The hallmark of the internship is the intensive, varied, and comprehensive supervision model. A primary goal is to expose interns to a range of quality supervisors who vary in training, demographics, style, and orientation. Typically, the intern will have one supervisor who will change at mid-year in order to provide the intern with a diverse supervisory experience. Supervision involves audiotape and videotape recording, sometimes direct observation, and co-leading conjoint or group work.
  • Individual Case Supervision (1 hour per week)
    Interns receive one hour per week of individual case supervision
  • Consultation Supervision (as needed)
    Each intern is encouraged to consult with any member of CAPS staff as needed.
  • Internship Seminar/Group Supervision (1 hour per week)
    A senior staff clinician will provide a weekly internship seminar regarding various clinical topics, such as case conceptualization, assessment, and intake process. This will also be an opportunity for interns to present cases and consult as a group.
  • Case Conference (2 hours per week)
    Staff case conference provides interns the opportunity to formally and informally present case material and to discuss case management with each other and a senior staff case consultant.

• Staff Development (12-15 hours per year)Interns participate with senior staff in 3 to 4 staff development sessions during the year. In-house or off-campus experts present didactic and experiential training material in a variety of staff-selected areas. Topics from the recent past include psychopharmacology, cultural awareness, treatment of trauma, gender identity, and legal/ethical dilemmas in counseling.

Evaluation Process

Interns will be evaluated two times per semester: mid-term and end of the semester, using the following criteria. To review competency areas, rating scale, and criteria for evaluation.  Areas of competency include the following:

1. Professional/Ethical Skills—maintains adequate and current case records; demonstrates appropriate concern for client welfare; is aware of professional limitations and need for consultation; adheres to ACA ethical guidelines; completes commitments in prompt, professional manner; maintains professional interactions with peers and colleagues; demonstrates an awareness of her/his impact on colleagues; maintains professional interactions with peers, colleagues, staff, trainees, and college community; is able to manage personal stress and tolerate ambiguity; takes initiative in assuring that weekly clinical caseload/internship requirements are met.
2. Conceptual/Assessment Skills—accurately identifies client presenting concerns; can assess client strengths and problem areas; can develop a tentative, initial working hypothesis; evaluates client motivation and determines appropriateness for counseling; conceptualizes client concerns in a way that usefully guides therapy process, goals, and interventions; considers various treatment approaches and the implications of each; develops and follows a treatment plan; evaluates environmental stressors and identifies support systems.
3. Sensitivity to Diversity—is sensitive to possible contributions of culture, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, physical challenge, religion, and other sources of difference to client’s experience of her/his concerns; demonstrates theoretical knowledge and ability to employ effective techniques with special populations; understands the impact of client diversity on the counseling relationship; is aware of own attitudes and biases and how these affect the counseling process.
4. Relationship/Counseling Skills— establishes and maintains positive therapeutic relationships with clients; shows sensitivity to and appropriate use of verbal and nonverbal communication; is sensitive to the impact of timing of counseling interventions; identifies and establishes realistic counseling goals; shows awareness of personal style and appropriately uses self in counseling; is aware of counter transference issues; is sensitive to and can appropriately manage termination issues of both client and counselor; is aware of and makes appropriate use of campus and community resources.
5. Supervision/Consultation – consistent and punctual in attending supervision; takes initiative in preparing/planning for supervisory sessions; formulates and discusses goals for supervision; is appropriately assertive in articulating own training needs; is able to deal with content and affect during supervision; can identify and focus on critical incidents of counseling sessions; appreciates own strengths and demonstrates a willingness to explore and modify weaknesses; actively solicits and is open and responsive to feedback; is able to use supervision as a way of establishing and consolidating professional identity; is aware of limitations and recognizes the need for supervision, referral, or consultation.

Weekly Intern Activities

Requirements for 20-Hour Per Week Internship

Clinical Service Requirements (15 hours/week)

1. Maintain a Caseload of 13-15 Ongoing, Individual Clients (11 -13 hours/week).
2. Co-facilitation of a structured or process group (2 hours/week allowed for 1½ hour group).
3. Two Intakes/Week (2 hours/week; observing staff members initially, then conducting intakes).
4. Triage clinician of the day to include walk-in hours and crisis management.

Training Requirements (4.5 hours/week)

1. Internship Seminar (1 hour/week)
2. Individual Supervision (1 hour/week)
3. Case Consultation/Staff Meeting (2 hours/week)

Administrative Requirements (2 hours/week)

Clinical Records, Weekly Report, Tracking Sheet, and Other administrative Responsibilities

Additional Requirements

1. One formal case presentation per semester in internship seminar (including mental status exam, diagnosis, and well-developed case conceptualization and treatment plan). The presentation will be written from a different theoretical perspective each semester.
2. Psychological Assessment (as clinically indicated and recommended by supervisor or senior staff).
3. One outreach presentations per semester. These can either fill a request obtained from a senior staff clinician, or the student may solicit and advertise a presentation of their choice. The presentation must be attended by a senior staff member.  It is the responsibility of the student to coordinate a staff member’s attendance.

Application

Please send a letter of interest and current resume/via to the Wellness Center at wellnesscenter@smcm.edu.

Past Interns

Year	Intern	Institution
2017-2018	Natasha Bavolar	Johns Hopkins University
2016-2017	William Horton-Anderson Danielle Johnson	Eastern Michigan University Regent University
2014-2015	Emily Lamoreau	Johns Hopkins University
2012-2013	JoAnn Henrichsen Angela Gregory Laura Molina	Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
2011-2012	Carrie Kelly Laurie Scherer	Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
2010-2011	Meredith Flanagan Reese Snell	Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University