University of Houston - Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers a nine-month 500 hour clinical practicum open to doctoral and/or masters students in counseling and clinical psychology. There are 4 practicum positions available each year. These are part-time (16-20 hours/week) unpaid positions, and Wednesday 8am – 5pm is a required day. All placements are two semesters long, beginning the third week of August and ending in May at the closing of the University of Houston Spring semester. If after reading these materials you have questions, please e-mail the Training Director, Dr. Cecilia Sun cecilia.sun@mail.uh.edu

The following courses must be successfully completed before the start date of practicum or by December of the practicum if not available earlier in the curriculum

Course	Description
EPSY 6343*	Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling
EPSY 6345*	Atypical Growth and Development
EPSY 6325*	Theories of Counseling
EPSY 6391*	Laboratory in Individual Counseling
EPSY 6335*	Introduction to Group Counseling
EPSY 8337*	Multicultural Issues in Counseling Psychology
* or equivalent

There are four practicum positions available each academic year. All placements are two semesters long, beginning the third week of August and ending in May at the closing of the University of Houston Spring semester. Applications will be accepted beginning in February. Interviews will be conducted in March. Preference is given to applicants who have completed at least 1 semester of practicum.

To apply, please email the following items to Dr. Sun cecilia.sun@mail.uh.edu

• curriculum vitae – include year in current program, previous clinical experience
• a list of courses taken to date (transcript not required)

Practicum trainees are expected to be here 16-20 hours/week over a minimum of 2 days. Wednesdays are a required day for common training activities for the cohort. Time will be devoted to a variety of activities, some recurring, some occurring only once, as the needs of our office and the training dictate.

Practicum trainees are required to be here only on days when UH classes are in session, and through the end of Final Exam week each semester. Trainees are encouraged to terminate with all clients the week before Final Exams, to leave time for paperwork and final supervision issues.

Clients are seen only during the hours CAPS is officially open 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. The office closes at 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday during semester breaks and summer.

Trainees receive broad exposure to the many professional activities that exist in a multi-faceted, service-oriented agency. CAPS uses a developmental model to guide decisions about skills training. Specifically, an individual trainee’s clinical skills, experience, professional behavior, and progress are considered when determining that trainee’s assignment to and level of participation in various agency activities, as well as the appropriate level of supervisory support needed. As trainees progress, they are typically given more challenge, responsibility and autonomy. CAPS trainees and supervisors are expected, both individually and collaboratively, to assess the trainee’s needs and goals over the course of the training placement.

Practicum trainees receive at least 2 hours of supervision per week, 1 hour of which is face-to-face individual supervision by the primary supervisor. The primary supervisor is involved in an ongoing supervisory relationship with the trainee and has primary professional clinical responsibility for the cases on which he/she provides supervision. A practicum trainee may have different primary supervisors engaged in providing individual supervision during the course of the placement.

The other 1+ hour of supervision is regularly scheduled practicum cohort supervision with a licensed psychologist (1 hour per week) and group therapy supervision with the group facilitation team (30 minutes per week). At different points in the practicum placement, additional supervision is provided for intakes and outreach activities.

Practicum supervision is a two-tiered structure, comprised of three people: the practicum trainee, the primary supervisor (unlicensed clinician), and the supervisor of record (licensed psychologist). The primary supervisor is a pre-doctoral intern or postdoctoral level unlicensed clinician (typically, a CAPS psychology postdoctoral fellow). The first tier of supervision is the supervisory relationship between the practicum trainee and the primary supervisor. The primary supervisor meets weekly with the practicum trainee, views video recordings, and provides edits/feedback on the trainee’s case notes and intake reports. The second tier of supervision is the oversight of the first tier provided by the supervisor of record. The supervisor of record meets weekly with the primary supervisor, provides consultation regarding the practicum trainee’s cases and supervision, and provides the final signature on the practicum trainee’s case notes.

Trainees participate in extensive orientation training. During the third week of August, practicum trainees participate in CAPS New Clinician Orientation for 2 full days (Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30am – 5pm). Orientation activities continue during the first few weeks of the Fall semester. The orientation covers all major services and activities of the agency, as well as tours of affiliated departments. The training program is reviewed in detail, acquainting trainees with their assignments and options for the year. Time is built in to allow relationship-building with each other as a cohort, and with other staff with whom they will be working.

The following hours are based on a standard 16 hour/week practicum. Trainees who commit to a higher number of practicum hours/week will be expected to carry a higher number of direct service hours.

Activity	Allocation	Description
Intake	2 hours/week	Practicum trainees are assigned to 2 intake interview hours per week. Intakes consist of a 50 minute assessment interview during which the clinician assesses the nature of the presenting concerns, determines the urgency and appropriate level of intervention, and refers the student to the appropriate service(s) at CAPS or an external agency. Initially, trainees shadow an intake supervisor and learn how to write intake reports. In the spring semester (or earlier depending on developmental progress), trainees conduct intakes on their own. Intake training takes place over several weeks at the beginning of the practicum.
Individual Therapy	5 hours/week	Practicum trainees schedule 5 individual therapy clients per week. Cases must be reviewed and approved by the primary supervisor. All sessions are to be video recorded. (When a trainee is not simultaneously assigned to a therapy group, or if the assigned group is not currently running, trainees can schedule 2 additional hours of individual therapy clients per week.)
Group Therapy	2 hours/week	Most practicum trainees will have the opportunity to be a process observer (one semester) for a weekly 1.5 hour therapy group co-facilitated by a staff member and an intern. Depending on the availability of group, the needs of the center, and the trainee’s developmental progress, it is possible for this experience to occur over two semesters and to expand to include co-facilitation responsibilities. Trainees receive 30 minutes per week of supervision on this group experience from the staff and intern co-leaders. In addition, practicum trainees participate in a regularly scheduled Group Therapy Case Conference.
Psychological Assessment	by request	With appropriate academic coursework in Intellectual Assessment, Personality Assessment, and/or Vocational Assessment, a trainee may request to be assigned a testing case under supervision.
Crisis Intervention	variable	Practicum trainees do not have walk-in or after-hours crisis responsibilities. However, trainees may encounter crises involving intake clients or clients on their own caseloads. Supervisors must always be informed and consulted when crises arise before the client leaves the center.
Individual Supervision	1 hour/week	Practicum trainees are assigned primary clinical supervisors with whom they meet for one hour of individual supervision per week (see Practicum Supervision Tiered Structure). The primary supervisor is involved in an ongoing supervisory relationship with the trainee and has primary professional clinical responsibility for the cases on which he/she provides supervision. Typically a different primary supervisor is assigned in the Spring semester in order for the trainee to experience different supervisory styles.
Cohort Supervision	1 hour/week	Each week all the CAPS practicum students will meet together for 1 hour of cohort supervision, facilitated by a licensed psychologist. Cohort supervision offers opportunities to give case presentations, review video, receive peer feedback, and discuss professional development issues.
Psychiatry Training	1 hour/month	CAPS has a collaborative relationship with UH Psychiatry, located next door in the Student Health Center. Psychiatrists meet monthly with trainees as a group throughout the year to discuss medications for treatment of various diagnoses.
Paperwork & Preparation Time	4-5 hours/week	Time is built in to trainees’ schedules for paperwork and other preparation (review of client recordings, workshop design, supervision preparation, consultation). It is essential that paperwork be kept up to date at all times. Practicum trainees must forward all notes to their supervisors before leaving CAPS each week.
Outreach	at least 2 per semester	Trainees are required to complete at least 2 scheduled workshops each semester. Opportunities to participate in more are encouraged. Periodically, trainees are asked to staff CAPS information tables, such as for Depression Screening Day, the Wellness Fair, or Alcohol Awareness Week.

Trainees and their supervisors are involved in mutual formal and informal evaluations throughout the year. They are encouraged to discuss goals for supervision, progress being made toward those goals and areas of supervision needing attention. Each evaluation period, supervisors and trainees complete a formal written evaluation of each other and the supervisory experience. Trainees are also asked to evaluate the training program itself. Information gathered from evaluations is used to assess trainees' progress and to make needed changes in the supervision process and/or the practicum program.