Student Affairs : Counseling Services : Training : Clinical Practicum Internships

Clinical Practicum Internships

Counseling Services' Clinical Training Program is a nine-month training program that generally begins in the third week of August and ends approximately during the first week of June. General information about our program, including application procedures are found below. For more specific and "hands-on" information please telephone or email Dr. Kell Fujimoto, Training Coordinator, (408) 924-5910.
 
The major goal of the SJSU COUNSELING SERVICES' CLINICAL TRAINING PROGRAM is to provide high quality learning experiences to graduate students and post graduate students in counseling, clinical psychology, or social work in preparation for a career in mental health. To help attain the goal, our staff has a strong commitment to supervise, teach, and mentor our trainees. Additionally, our specific goals for trainees are to assist them in:

1) increasing their levels of effectiveness and confidence;
2) understanding and integrating theoretical learning with clinical experiences;
3) finding their individual therapeutic style;
4) developing professional relationships and assuming a professional identity; and
5) learning about agency norms and decision-making processes.

These goals are addressed and facilitated by supervision, modeling, didactic training, experiential learning, peer group consultation, and mentoring. Our supervision staff currently is composed of six licensed psychologists and one licensed social worker.

AGENCY DESCRIPTION: San José State University Counseling Services is a department within the Division of Student Affairs at San José State University. Counseling Services offers services designed to help San José State's diverse student body of 28,000 identify and accomplish their academic and career goals, enhance personal development, meet life's challenges, and improve interpersonal relationships. Counseling Services is established as a comprehensive counseling center offering core clinical services, developmental and life skills interventions, consultations, and outreach to our diverse student population. Short-term counseling and psychotherapy are the primary means of direct service delivery.

AGENCY OBJECTIVE: Counseling Services provides quality services to students so they can achieve their goals of becoming successful graduates of San José State University, both academically and socially. To fulfill this objective, we look at the whole student and provide guidance and tools to become productive and well-rounded. To do that, professionally trained psychologists, social workers, and counselors are available for students on an individual or group basis for counseling on a myriad of psychological and academic issues. In addition, we provide services such as outreach presentations for students, student groups, staff/faculty, and staff consultations on issues of student mental health and campus climate; and professional training, teaching, and supervision for future mental health personnel, consistent with the educational mission of the university.

POPULATION SERVED: Counseling Services provides services for all enrolled students of San José State University. The student population of SJSU is a highly diverse group. For example, there is no one clear majority group (more than 50%) in terms of ethnicity on the campus and ages range from late teens to many students in their fifties. In addition, there is diversity around ability/disability, religion, culture, sexual orientation, value systems and lifestyles.

THEORETICAL ORIENTATION: Counseling Services' staff utilize a variety of theoretical positions including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, feminist, gestalt, humanistic, and systems perspectives. Generally, an integrated approach to counseling and psychotherapy is shared by the staff.

CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING: Training in cross-cultural therapy and counseling is integrated into most, if not all, training activities. As noted, SJSU Counseling Services serves a highly diverse population.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Responsibilities for practicum trainees vary and depend greatly upon the maturity and experience level of the trainee. In general, new trainees do individual, group and couple counseling, receive supervision, attend a weekly trainee seminar, participate in weekly staff meetings, perform intakes, do weekly paperwork such as writing intakes and case notes, and participate in consultation and outreach activities for student groups.

OTHER INFORMATION AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES: Our training program for practicum interns is nine months. Practicum interns are expected to be at Counseling Services 16-20 hours per week.  Practicum interns must be available all day on Thursdays and half the day on Fridays to attend weekly clinical consultation meetings, training seminar, and occasional staff meetings.  The training generally begins around the third week of August and ends approximately during the first week of June. We generally have program accommodations for 2-3 practicum trainees each year. Additionally Counseling Services' Clinical Training Program follows the California Psychology Internship Council (CAPIC) guidelines for Internships.

Applicants for our Clinical Practicum Training Program need to submit:

• SJSU Counseling Services Practicum Application
• A letter of interest
• Transcripts from graduate program 
• Three recent (less than 3 years old) original  recommendation letters
• A curriculum vita indicating the number of face-to-face and group therapy hours provided from previous sites

Candidates may obtain the SJSU Counseling Services Practicum Application by clicking on the link above or by sending an email to kell.fujimoto@sjsu.edu.  Please send application materials to:

• San José State University
  Counseling Services
  Attention: Kell Fujimoto, Psy.D.
  One Washington Square, ADM 201
  San José, CA 95192-0035

The closing date for acceptance of applications to our practicum internship is Monday, February 11, 2008.  Selected applicants for interview will generally be notified two - three weeks after the deadline.