Policies and Procedures J-O

If a graduate student in the doctoral program was determined by »¨¼¾´«Ã½ to be required to take the Duolingo English Test (DET) prior to being allowed to teach at »¨¼¾´«Ã½, that student is also required to take the DET prior to being in practicum their second year. This information is shared with relevant students during the First Year Orientation. In addition, any graduate student for whom the Clinical Section has concerns regarding their English fluency after the first year of the program could be directed by the Clinical Section to take the DET prior to being in practicum in the second year; these students are informed about this requirement by their faculty mentor and/or their yearly evaluation letter.

Every applicant who receives and accepts our offer of admission to the clinical program is subject to a background check intended to identify potential risks that might impede placement at health, education, and human service practicum sites and on internship. A background check that reveals a felony conviction could result in immediate dismissal from the program; other infractions may prevent a student from being able to successfully complete selective training experiences and/or the program. This background check is conducted during a student’s first year in the program and is paid for by the »¨¼¾´«Ã½ Psychology and Social Work Clinic. It is possible that certain traineeship or internship training sites may require you to repeat a background check, and it is the student’s responsibility to pay for any repeated background checks.

Clinical students normally serve a traineeship of 15 to 16 hours per week in their third and fourth years. For students entering with their master’s degree and who have completed prior practical training, it is possible that they can start their traineeship in their second year (if the Section faculty agree this is appropriate and if the traineeship supervisor determines they are ready for placement at the traineeship site). The traineeship provides supervised clinical experience at a variety of mental health facilities, including placements in inpatient, outpatient, VA, clinical child, clinical health, and clinical neuropsychology settings. Traineeships are usually scheduled in blocks of 9 to 12 months, although most are 12 months. Students should consult with their mentors/advisors as to how they wish to fulfill this requirement.

In the late fall semester of each year, the Director of Clinical Training and/or the Clinic Director hold an informational meeting to inform students about traineeship sites that are available for the upcoming year. Students are informed of the clinical experiences available, population served, and specific requirements for eligibility at each site. Over winter break, students need to prepare application materials for the sites they are interested in. At the very least, this includes a CV, a cover letter specific to each site, and a summary of clinical experiences and hours (which could be part of the cover letter, although some programs want a specific AAPI style summary, which students can print from Time2Track). By noon on the first day of classes in spring semester students should provide to the Internship and Traineeship committee a copy of their CV, a sample cover letter, a summary of clinical experiences and hours, and a list of traineeship sites to which they plan to apply; the committee reviews these materials and provides students with feedback. After students have applied to various sites, the traineeships themselves arrange for interviews and make offers. Traineeships inform the Director of Clinical Training and the Clinic Director about whom they will interview and also about offers to students. Should students receive more than one offer, they can decide from amongst the sites interested in them as to where they will be placed in the upcoming year. Following placement, a letter of agreement is signed by the site, the student, and the Clinic Director.

Every semester that a student is on an external traineeship they must register for 1CR of PSY7910 (Fieldwork) with either the Director of Clinical Training or the Clinic Director. This is important for maintaining student malpractice insurance. If the traineeship is in our Training Clinic, the student will register for Advanced Clinical Practicum (PSY 7925).

Students who travel to external traineeships that are more than 30 miles from their home to their placement receive a 500-dollar William Snyder Scholarship to help alleviate travel costs. Students must provide evidence (such as a google map from their home to the placement) that their placement is more than 30 miles one way in travel. Students can receive this scholarship only once during their time in the program. Receipt of the scholarship is facilitated by the Director of Clinical training after traineeship decisions have been finalized in the spring semester.

For students entering the program with a master’s degree who completed clinical experiences outside of the doctoral program and for those students who opt to obtain additional clinical experiences other than the traineeships that are required and assigned by the Clinical Section, they must have their supervisors fill out the Program-Sanctioned Training Experience Form (available from the Director of Clinical Training), if they want to have the hours accrued count toward training hours for internship applications. For students entering the program with a master’s degree, they must give this form to the supervisor(s) at their prior clinical placements to complete; this should be returned to the Director of Clinical Training. For students who opt to obtain additional clinical experiences while in the doctoral program, they must have this form signed by the supervisor at the site prior to the initiation of the training experience. Further, the potential training experience must be reviewed and approved by the Director of Clinical Training prior to its initiation. In addition, students who complete clinical experiences that could count as pre-internship direct client hours (see above) as part of their research labs should complete the Program Sanctioned Training Hours (Research) form (available from the research supervisor or from the Director of Clinical training) together with the research supervisor who served as the clinical supervisor for this experience. Of note, not all experiences are program sanctioned; they must meet criteria for being clinical experiences and must be supervised consistent with accreditation standards.

In our APA-accredited program, we are committed to a training process that ensures graduate students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work effectively with members of the public who embody intersecting demographics, attitudes, beliefs, and values. When graduate students’ attitudes, beliefs, or values create tensions that negatively impact the training process or their ability to effectively treat members of the public, the program faculty and supervisors are committed to a developmental training approach designed to support the acquisition of professional competence. We support graduate students in finding a belief- or value-congruent path that allows them to work in a professionally competent manner with all clients/patients.

For some trainees, integrating personal beliefs or values with professional competence in working with all clients/patients may require additional time and faculty support. Ultimately, though, to complete our program successfully, all graduate students must be able to work with any client placed in their care in a beneficial and noninjurious manner. Professional competencies are determined by the profession for the benefit and protection of the public; consequently, students do not have the option to avoid working with particular client populations or refuse to develop professional competencies because of conflicts with their attitudes, beliefs, or values. If trainees do not feel comfortable or capable of providing competent services to a client because it conflicts with the trainee’s beliefs or values, it is the trainee’s responsibility to bring this issue to the attention of their supervisor. Because client welfare and safety are always the first priority, decisions about client assignment and reassignment are the responsibility of the faculty/supervisors.