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Quick Links Accessing Counseling Services Outreach, Consultations and Mentoring Training Programs Service, Training and Administrative Activities Per Week Track 1 - College Mental Health & Disability Services Track 2 - College Mental Health & Sports Psychology
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Predoctoral Internship ProgramDear Prospective Applicant, Thank you for visiting our website. Allow me to tell you a bit about our training staff, our students, and our program. Our dedicated and talented training staff provides a rich diversity of orientations, perspectives, and experiences. Interns are afforded many opportunities to work closely with the staff via supervision, group facilitation, and outreach projects. Our Center is very fortunate in that we are situated on an extremely diverse campus. Indeed, the campus itself is a vibrant, multicultural community. The students we serve tend to be academically focused and achievement oriented. They come to us from every corner of the world; in fact we have the highest number of international students of any US campus. As you read on, we hope the information provided will prove useful to you as you contemplate the important decisions ahead of you. We know it can be stressful to sift through materials on numerous sites, wondering which one holds the most promise for furthering your career goals. In order to help you evaluate the fit between our program and your training needs, I would like to underscore some of the distinctive features of our program. First, we provide intensive training in group psychotherapy. This training includes the opportunity to: (1) participate in our Live Group Program (utilizing a one-way mirror, intern facilitators are observed by a treatment team who debrief after the group), (2) cofacilitate groups with senior staff members, and (3) work with groups that utilize Process Observers. In highlighting our Live Group Program, it may be of interest to know that we created the flagship program; we have been using this approach for the past 15 years. In fact, our staff members have been called upon to train other centers on the development and implementation of a Live Group Program. To this end, we have presented at state and national conferences. We have found the Live Group Approach to be particularly effective because the observing interns benefit from watching the group dynamics unfold before them and the facilitating interns benefit from receiving real-time suggestions designed to enhance and refine their group skills. Though this approach may seem a bit daunting, the training environment is so supportive that interns have told us their initial anxiety soon fades. Indeed, interns routinely rate this experience as one of the highpoints of their training. The appreciation of human diversity is a core value of our Center and of USC itself. Our student body is extremely diverse in every sense of the word. Interns have numerous opportunities to practice culturally competent therapy. We want our interns to develop a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of multiculturalism, multiple identities, and cultural complexities. To achieve this goal, we offer diversity seminars coupled with in-depth diversity case discussions. Also, our interns make Case Presentations (with an emphasis on diversity) to our staff. Another feature I would like to underscore is the interns' opportunity to provide clinical supervision. Each intern supervises a practicum student for the full academic year. Interns receive on-going training on supervision via the weekly Supervision of Supervision Meeting. These team meetings allow interns to discuss the challenges they face in their supervisory role. The team uses its collective wisdom to help interns sort through the thorny dilemmas that crop up over the course of a year. Another distinguishing aspect of our Program is our Liaison Project. Interns serve in a liaison role to a select department (of their choice). This year-long relationship allows interns to engage in consultation, non-clinical supervision (of Peer Mentors), and program development. Though I have enumerated some of the distinctive features of our program, I would now like to point out that we also offer the quintessential experiences that make counseling centers such attractive internship sites. Interns work with intelligent, diverse clients who present with a myriad of presenting problems. Interns conduct intakes, short-term individual therapy, couples therapy, crisis management, and campus-based outreach and consultation. Finally, I would like to mention perhaps the finest characteristic of our program...our talented, personable, good-humored, and diverse staff. When recruiting staff, a top priority is placed on hiring professionals who will enhance our training programs. Consequently, our staff is tremendously involved in and committed to training. They see training as vital to their job satisfaction. Indeed, our staff enjoys developing close, mentoring relationships with interns. Interns have considerable exposure to the differing styles and philosophies of our senior staff members via supervision (two individual supervisors), co-facilitation of groups, outreach projects, seminars, supervision of supervision, meetings and etc. Staff members maintain an "open door" policy and make themselves available for quick consultations. I hope the information contained within this letter will enable you to understand what you need to know about Center in order to make an informed decision. After reviewing our materials we hope that you will decide to apply to USC. Please let me know it you have any questions. I can be reached at (213) 740-7711 or at pat.alfordkeating@usc.edu. Cordially, Pat Alford-Keating, Ph.D., ABPP, CGP LocationThe University of Southern California is located in the heart of Los Angeles, one of the most vibrant and culturally diverse cities in the world. The campus is positioned near both beaches and mountains; The University Park Campus is tree-lined campus and graced with an abundance of beautiful fountains. It is situated across the street from a complex of museums on one side and the Shrine Auditorium (home to the Emmys, Grammys, etc.) on the other side. The University is in close proximity to downtown Los Angeles, a hub of entertainment, offering theater, opera, classical concert halls as well the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a major sports arena, museums, and historical landmarks. Additionally, the greater Los Angeles area offers many activities including arts and entertainment, movie screenings, chance encounters with movie stars, parades, fairs, theme parks, all sorts of sporting events (professional and college), and a vast array of restaurants and cuisines. The moderate climate allows for year-round outdoor activities. Interns tell us that they love living in Los Angeles. It is not uncommon for them to settle down in Los Angeles after they complete their internship. About USCUSC is a private university, established in 1880. It is a world-class research university and the oldest private research university in the West. It is known for its nationally renowned competitive sports teams. The diverse student population is made-up of approximately 33,500 students: 16,500 undergraduates and 17,000 graduate and professional students. Eleven percent of the incoming freshperson class is classified as first-generation college students. USC attracts students from all over the United States and the world. In fact, USC has the largest international student population in the country. About Student Counseling ServicesThe Student Counseling Services (SCS) is part of the University Park Health Center (UPHC). Even so, the Health Center and Counseling Services are housed in separate buildings. SCS is located near the heart of the campus in the YWCA Building. USC Student Counseling Services is staffed by ten psychologists, four psychiatrists, three social workers, and three administrative staff. We have a large training program that includes: four pre-doctoral interns, two post doctoral fellows, four practicum counselors, and two social work interns. We provide mental health treatment for students, including short-term psychotherapy, couples counseling, group counseling, and crisis intervention. We also provide extensive outreach to students. As related to student needs, we provide mental health consultation to faculty and staff. Our staff assists students with not only the normative developmental issues that one might anticipate in a college counseling setting (e.g., intimate relationships, individuation, cultural adjustment and identity development), but also with more serious or longstanding struggles (e.g., major depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and psychosis). Our clients are diverse in terms of their sexual/affectional orientations, ethnicities, ages, genders, religions, socio-economic statuses, abilities, and cultural backgrounds. Training EquipmentOur Center has portable video equipment for recording individual sessions. We also have two training areas set up for observation of individual and group sessions. The APA Accredited Pre-Doctoral Internship ProgramOur internship program has been APA-Accredited since 1989. Verification of our status can be found at the APPIC website: www.appic.org. The following links will provide you more information about our program: Service, Training and Administrative Activities Per Week LU090930 |
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