Training Program

INTERNSHIP/PRACTICUM POSITIONS

Our training class for academic year 2009-2010 has been filled.

Check back in December 2009 for instructions to apply for the next academic year!

Minimum Requirements

• Completion of 24 graduate credit hours in a counseling related field of study
• Able to provide the following  number of site hours each week:
• 14 – 17 ½ (2-2 ½ days)   (Practicum students)
• 17 ½ - 21 (2 ½ - 3 days) (Internship students)
• Available to start during the third week of August
• Available every Tuesday from 11:00 to 2:30 (exclusive of the lunch hour of 12-1)

To Apply please submit the following:

• A letter detailing your interest
• Your current Curriculum Vita or Resume
• An official copy of your graduate transcript (to date)
• Names and contact information for two professional, or job related references (Phone numbers and e-mail addresses)

Send to:

Carol Evangelisto, Coordinator of Clinical Training
Counseling and Psychological Services
The College of New Jersey
Eickhoff Hall, Suite 107
PO Box 7718
Ewing, NJ 08628-0718

Please note…

Pending a review of your application information you may be called for an interview.  An interview does not guarantee that you will be offered a position. 

Features of Our Site and Program

• One hour of individual supervision, provided weekly by licensed psychologists and licensed professional counselors
• Two additional hours of group supervision and training per week
• One and a half day orientation program (Fall semester)
• Regular in-service presentations related to current topics, issues and theories
• Required video case conference presentations
• Facilities and equipment for audio taping, videotaping and/or live observation
• Comfortable, modern facilities with private offices, meeting rooms, and record storage
• Intern offices equipped with computer/printer systems that include internet access, scheduling and word processing software
• On-site library of classic and current psychological texts, journals and periodicals
• Easy access to campus dining halls, library and bookstore
• Free and convenient parking
• Beautiful, suburban campus (with easy access to I-95/295). We are also accessible from NYC via mass transit.
• Fully integrated into the Division of Student Affairs which includes such other student services as Health Services, Campus Ministries, Differing Abilities Services, Anti-Violence Initiatives, the Alcohol/Drug Education Program and Residential Education and Housing
• Provides outpatient rotation experience for the New Jersey State Psychology Internship Program
• IACS Accredited (International Association of Counseling Services, Inc.)

The Mission of Our Training Program

The training program’s mission is to contribute to the development and training of new practitioners entering the fields of professional counseling and psychology and to support and enhance the effectiveness of CAPS by providing interns with a continuous, multifaceted learning experience that addresses the knowledge, concepts, and skills needed to function effectively in the performance of their responsibilities at CAPS and beyond. The training program seeks to foster the development of interns, as persons and as professionals, while helping them to function effectively as members of CAPS team.

More about Our Training Program

Training has been an integral part of our identity for over 25 years. Our training program continues to enjoy an excellent reputation with administrators and faculty from Counselor Education and Graduate Psychology programs in the tri-state area, and beyond, for providing a quality training experience for their counseling and psychology interns and practicum students.

Training and supervision are provided by a staff of seasoned professionals that includes two licensed psychologists, one licensed professional counselor and one counselor [working toward licensure]. All are experienced supervisors who are knowledgeable about the challenging role of the mental health professional, particularly within the college setting.

Many of the experiences included in the training program help to prepare interns for other types of positions within the broader fields of professional counseling and psychology

The training program is planned and implemented by the Coordinator of Clinical Training, in consultation with the Associate Director for Counseling and the other professional staff members.

Program Philosophy

It is a belief of CAPS that the professional counselor must continually seek new knowledge and skills in order to provide the best possible support to clients being served.

Within the counseling profession, there are myriad theoretical perspectives and a wide array of counseling interventions that professional practitioners need to be aware of and/or master. The training program is intended to promote such learning, on a continuous basis, by exposing interns to various theoretical approaches and introducing them to related skills and interventions.

The training program also recognizes that counselors provide services through a combination of personal, intellectual, social, and professional attributes that affect the quality of the counseling received by clients. The training program is intended to also address each of these aspects.

Additionally, counselors are affected by a full range of human emotions and experiences; insofar as these emotions and experiences are likely to impinge on the counselor’s perceptions and responses in working with clients, CAPS believes that it is vital for the individual intern to engage in a continuous process of self-exploration and growth. The training program attempts to foster this intra-personal development as an integral part of a total professional improvement process.

In that clients served by CAPS come from diverse cultural, ethnic, religious and personal backgrounds another integral part of the training program is to help interns increase their awareness of issues related to diversity and to recognize the importance of these within the counseling relationship. To this end, the training program seeks to facilitate interns’ exploration of their own backgrounds and experiences, with an eye toward understanding how these impact the counseling process for the client, as well as for the counselor. The facilitation of the interns’ learning and growth toward multicultural competency is a highly valued focus of the training program.

CAPS also believes that the effectiveness of services rendered by the counselors is enhanced and energized by the degree to which individuals in the team are able to interact effectively and supportively. The social attributes and skills of the interns are expected to contribute positively to this dynamic; the training program is designed to facilitate this, with interns being considered vital members of CAPS and college community.

Program Goals

• To provide a balanced training environment that provides both support and challenge for the intern
• To foster intern growth along a continuum from student to new professional
• To increase the intern’s knowledge and understanding of client issues/presentations typical of a college population (depression, anxiety, substance use, sexual assault, eating disorders, identity issues, loss and transition issues)
• To increase the intern’s skill and ability to assess clients and provide intervention based on current theoretical models and research
• To facilitate the intern’s knowledge of the core components of brief counseling models for use with a college population
• To promote the intern’s knowledge of and adherence to ethical standards of the counseling and psychology professions
• To increase the intern’s ability to articulate clearly the theoretical foundations for chosen approaches to the care and treatment of clients
• To facilitate the intern’s development of a professional identity
• To develop the intern’s multi-cultural awareness and competency
• To promote the intern’s understanding of the importance of the therapeutic relationship and of how the intern’s personal qualities influence the therapeutic process
• To develop the intern’s understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of following either a developmental model or a medical model within the college counseling setting
• To contribute to the development and training of new practitioners who are entering the fields of professional counseling and psychology