The Core Psychology Practicum Experience
Psychotherapy Supervision Practicum trainees receive one-to-one
supervision of their individual, group, family, child/adolescent,
and couples therapy. Supervisors are drawn from all the mental health
disciplines, have staff positions in Cambridge Health Alliance,
are on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School appointed through
the Cambridge Health Alliance Department of Psychiatry, or both.
Trainees in outpatient settings receive two to three hours per week
of individual supervision for their outpatient cases and one hour
per week of supervision for psychological testing. Trainees in specialty
settings receive two to three hours of supervision for child and
adolescent work, adult inpatient work, and group, family and couples
treatment. The quality of supervision and the clinical work with
patients are viewed by trainees as two of the strongest parts of
the training program.
Testing and Testing Supervision
In addition to psychotherapy, the program emphasizes the development
of psychodiagnostic and clinical inference skills. For trainees
who are placed in settings that require testing, they typically
administer two to three test batteries per year, for which they
ordinarily receive three hours of testing supervision per battery.
The high ratio of supervision to testing time provides an opportunity
to analyze the data in depth, and to understand the person's psychopathology
and adaptive capacities. A psychological testing seminar is offered
to (and required of) students who conduct testing as part of their
placement. This seminar provides theoretical perspectives as well
as hands-on practice in scoring, coding, and interpreting test data.
Precepting
The Director of Psychology Practicum Training and the respective
Site Director serve as program preceptors who advise and advocate
for the trainee within the total program. Trainees may also have
an additional psychology preceptor at each site who oversees the
work of the trainee, and makes suggestions to help tailor the program
around case assignments and seminars. Trainees meet weekly with
Preceptors who help coordinate the evaluations at mid year and year
end. Trainees meet regularly with the Director of Psychology Practicum
Training who also approves all evaluation documents for students
in the program.
Seminars and Conferences
Each training site offers required seminars on topics relevant
to their specific patient population and treatment modality. In
addition, practicum trainees are required to attend a weekly Professional
Development Seminar with Dr. Conklin, as mentioned above. This seminar
addresses professional clinical issues relevant to all graduate
students in psychology, such as making use of supervision, clinical
interviewing and case presentation, multicultural issues, and preparing
for internship.
Additional Seminar Options
The Cambridge Health Alliance Department of Psychiatry also has
an extensive offering of elective seminars and conferences which
are available to the trainee, with topics such as the treatment
of severely disturbed persons from various theoretical orientations,
behavioral medicine, trauma, couples and family therapy, treatment
of narcissism, cross-cultural issues, and psychopharmacology. Attendance
is recommended at the weekly academic Grand Rounds, which draws
speakers on current clinical, theoretical, and research issues.
Continuing Education courses are offered throughout the year sponsored
by the Department of Psychiatry alone, or jointly with the Harvard
Medical School. These optional courses include nationally recognized
speakers on topics such as Psychotherapy, Substance Abuse, Suicide,
Women's and Men's Issues, Spirituality, Couples and Family Treatment,
and Psychopharmacology. Interns attend these conferences at a scholarship
rate as trainees of Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health
Alliance.
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