Social Work Training Program
Counseling and Psychological Services offers a 9-month practicum training program for students in the second year of a master's program in clinical social work.
Setting
The University of Pennsylvania is a privately endowed Ivy League institution founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1740. The student body is comprised of 10,275 full-time undergraduate students, 9,853 full-time graduate and professional students, and 3,979 part-time students; 4,708 of these students are from outside of the U.S. Penn is conveniently located near Center City Philadelphia.
About CAPS
CAPS is a component of the University Life Division. Its missions include providing professional training for graduate psychology and social work students and offering professional psychological services to students having concerns which include a broad spectrum of personal, social, emotional, educational, and vocational issues. Individual, couples, and group psychotherapy, structured workshops, staff training, psychological and vocational testing, and consultative services are made available to university students free of charge. CAPS employs a multidisciplinary treatment model on a short-term basis with long-term therapy provided to a limited number of students. Our clients present with a wide variety of issues, ranging from relationship conflicts, low self-esteem, and stress reactions to anxiety disorders, severe depression, and sexual trauma. The University population is comprised of very bright students from various racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds and far ranging countries of the world. This provides our trainees with many rich crosscultural counseling experiences. In addition, the CAPS staff is diverse in terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation, theoretical approach, and areas of expertise.
Prerequisites
We expect clinical social work students to have completed one year of their masters program with supervised clinical social work. In addition, we expect all students to have completed some basic coursework in counseling or psychotherapy theory.
While it would be advantageous if the previous practical experience was with an adolescent or college age population, this is not a requirement. What we consider most important is an indication that the student is genuinely interested in working with a diverse college student population and exhibits on openness and willingness to learn from our setting
Activities and Responsibilities
Clinical social work students are expected to spend 3 days per week at CAPS. About 60% of the time will be devoted to direct individual counseling to students, 20-30% to individual and group supervision, and 10-20% to related counseling activities such as chartkeeping, scheduling, etc.
As part of the direct service training, each social work student will be a member of an intake triage team (which includes a senior staff person, a full-time psychology intern, and a clinical social work practicum student and/or psychology practicum student). each day a separate triage team performs two hours of intake evaluations and meets for a third hour of disposition, where all cases seen on intake that day are discussed.
Opportunities for group therapy experience, career counseling, and university community outreach activities may also be available for social work students who express an interest in pursuing these areas.
Clinical social work students receive one and a half hours of individual supervision and one hour of group supervision (case group) per week. Supervision methods may include use of a one-way mirror, audio or audio-visual tapes, or in vivo observation. Individual supervision for clinical social work students is carried out with a licensed clinical social worker. In addition, senior staff make themselves readily available for additional, information consultation and supervision if and when the need arises. Social work students may also receive supervision from professional staff with whom they might co-facilitate a group, workshop, or couples counseling.
Self-Disclosure Statement
Given that one of the goals of the training program is to prepare effective practitioners with a consolidated professional identity, opportunities for personal exploration and reflection occur throughout the year. In this program, trainees are encouraged to discuss and explore their personal qualities and how these impact their work. When appropriate, supervisors and trainers assist trainees in this exploration and in identifying how their personal qualities facilitate or hinder their successful performance. Trainees are not required to disclose personal information in program-related activities except in cases where personal information is necessary to evaluate or obtain assistance for trainees whose personal problems may be preventing them from fulfilling their training or professionally-related activities in a competent manner or may be posing a threat to the students or others. The training program functions in a manner consistent with the APA's 2002 Ethical Standard 7.04 as contained in the Revised Ethical Principles of Psychologists Code of Conduct.
Application Process
A resume and in-person interview is required. Contact the Training Director or Coordinator of Social Work Training Program at 215-898-7021.
Contact Us
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
133 South 36th Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Hours: 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday
Emergencies: 215-349-5490 (ask for CAPS Clinician On Call)
Tel: 215-898-7021
Fax: 215-573-8966
Email: caps@pobox.upenn.edu
