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Counseling Center
Pre-Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology: APPIC Program Code Number 125311
The Setting:SIUC and the Southern Illinois Area
Living in Carbondale, Illinois
Eligibility and Application Procedures
Each year the Counseling Center at SIUC offers full-time, twelve-month internships to five doctoral-level graduate students from Counseling Psychology and Clinical Psychology programs. These internship positions begin August 1, 2006, carry a minimum salary of $23,664 per annum, and include all University benefits (i.e., vacation, holidays, sick leave, retirement plan, medical, dental, and life insurance).
Application Process: We will be continuing to use the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers standard application form, which can be downloaded from their Web site. Click here to go to that site and download the application form.
To apply to our internship, please send the following, all in one envelope, to the address at the bottom of this page: a current vita, graduate transcripts, a completed copy of the APPIC application form, and three letters of reference. Please note that we will not accept more than three letters of reference. Applications are due by Monday, November 21, 2005.
There is no need to write to us for information or materials; click here to check out the Counseling Center page for more information about our Center, or click here for more information about SIU. Since the application form is available from APPIC and all of our internship information is available on our web sites, you will not need to contact us for materials in order to apply here.
SIUC will be participating in the APPIC Internship Matching Program. The Program Code Number for SIUC is 125311. All applicants must obtain an Applicant Agreement Package from National Matching Services (NMS) and register for the Matching Program in order to be eligible for our internship program. Click here to go to the site of the National Matching Services, where you may request a registration packet.
The Setting: SIUC and the Southern Illinois Area
The internship is located on the beautiful campus of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The University has a total enrollment of about 20,000 students and offers a large selection of graduate and undergraduate majors, including professional schools of law and medicine. The Department of Psychology offers APA-approved programs in both counseling and clinical psychology. The student body is diverse: about a quarter of the students are American minorities or international students. The University ranks fourth among the country's traditionally white institutions in the total number of undergraduate diplomas awarded to black students.
Carbondale is located 96 miles southeast of St. Louis and within a half-day's drive of several major Midwestern and Southern cities. Carbondale has about 27,000 residents (other than students) and is surrounded by rolling hills, beautiful lakes, and deciduous forests. The history of the region is well preserved in the many small towns in our area. Carbondale borders the Shawnee National Forest, whose cliffs, forests, lakes, and parks offer abundant opportunities to enjoy outdoor life. Carbondale is served by Amtrak, Greyhound, and local buses, as well as by two small local airports with connections to larger cities.
Living in Carbondale, Illinois
Many pre-doctoral intern applicants have never visited southern Illinois and want to know what it is like to live in Carbondale. Carbondale is a town of around 30,000 people with an additional 20,000 college students. SIUC is the largest employer in southern Illinois and therefore has many influences on the area. Over the years many interns have commented that the pace in Carbondale is slower and that the people are very friendly. Interns have been surprised that people say "hi" to them as they walk down the side walk or that they can drive to work in 10 minutes. This slower pace allows for each of us to have more time to enjoy the beautiful outdoors of southern Illinois, the restaurants, cultural activities, and shopping. For more information about living in Carbondale, click here.
The Counseling Center
The Counseling Center's primary mission is to provide therapeutic, training, consultative, and outreach services to the University community. We sponsor the Eating Disorders Outpatient Program (EDOP) in coordination with the Wellness Center and the Health Service.
As of January, 2006, The Counseling Center is located in the Student Health Center which adjoins the Student Recreation Center. The Student Health Center was newly constructed in 2005 and is occupied by the Counseling Center, Medical Clinic, Mental Health Clinic (i.e., psychiatry), Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Sport Medicine, Student Emergency Dental Service, Student Insurance, Wellness Center, and Women’s Services. The Counseling Center facility includes two group rooms, training suites for practicum students, and secured, networked computers for electronic scheduling and clinical record keeping.
Each intern has his or her own fully equipped office, including a computer with internet access and a digital video camera.
The Clientele
Our clients are undergraduate and graduate students whose concerns range from acute situational stress and adjustment reactions to more severe trauma reactions and long-standing psychological problems. Our student body includes many non-traditional, minority, and international students. Approximately twenty percent of our clients are members of racial/ethnic minorities. A fourth of our clients have previously received psychological services in another setting, and the average age of our clients is 25 years old. Consultation and outreach services are available to students, faculty, and staff.
The Staff
Our training staff is friendly, enthusiastic, and committed to diverse professional interests and involvements. Currently, the staff includes five counseling psychologists, three clinical psychologists, and one doctoral-level counselor. Psychiatric services are provided at the University Health Service. We consult closely with the psychiatrist, nurse, and psychologist who work there.
Our staff is experienced in both brief and long-term therapy, and we strive to model integrative eclecticism and the application of the practitioner-scholar model to a practice setting. No single theoretical orientation characterizes us; we strive to be open to a variety of approaches. We also value expertise in the provision of therapy services to special populations. Staff are involved in professional associations and hold part-time or adjunct appointments to the Psychology graduate programs and in the Department of Psychiatry.
To learn how individual supervisors are assigned to interns and to read descriptions of our training staff members' theoretical orientations, clinical interests, and supervision styles, click here. To read less formal descriptions of us as clinicians and people, click here.
The Training Program
A brief overview of the training program is given below. If you are seriously interested in this internship, we encourage you to find out more by following the links to the more detailed information we've provided on additional web pages.
Competency Areas
The internship is organized around ten competency areas, each of which is supported by individual and group supervision and by ongoing seminars. These areas include: Psychotherapy (individual, couples and group), Clinical Assessment, Providing Supervision, Consultation, Outreach, Receiving Supervision, Legal and Ethical Issues, and Professional Behavior. To learn more about each of these competency areas, click here.
Seminars
We offer five seminars to assist interns in developing proficiency in the competency areas: Clinical and Professional Issues Seminar, Supervision of Supervision Seminar, Outreach Seminar, Clinical Assessment Seminar and Consultation Seminar. To find out more about our training seminars, click here.
Areas of Concentration
While we believe in offering broad, generalist training, we also believe in offering an internship that interns can tailor to their specific needs and interests. Interns may designate a portion of their training time for special interest areas, which we call areas of concentration. Interns may choose from a variety of different professional topics for their area(s) of concentration, and they may keep the same area for the entire year or may rotate areas from semester to semester. To view Areas of Concentration, click here.
Professional Development Activities
We encourage interns to further their professional development. This support comes in the form of dissertation release time and also in the form of support for attendance at conferences and training meetings. To learn more about our support for professional development activities, click here.
Internship Schedule/Contract
How much time will you spend on each of these activities? How do we fit all of this into a standard 40-hour week? To see a sample intern schedule, click here.
Intern Evaluation Procedures
On a quarterly basis, interns meet with their supervisors, the training director, and others who have worked closely with them to participate in a competency-based evaluation process. We view evaluation and feedback as important parts of the learning process; our emphasis is on assisting interns in increasing their mastery of skills necessary for independent functioning as a professional psychologist, and assisting them in continuing to identify their professional interests and goals.
Internship Evaluation Procedures
Interns are encouraged to give us feedback about the internship program. Interns are asked to provide written evaluations of supervisors at the end of supervisory relationships, and to provide a written evaluation of the entire internship at the midpoint and at the end of the internship year. The training staff is continuously involved in program development and review via training staff meetings.
Eligibility and Application Procedures
If this sounds like the kind of internship experience you are looking for, please read the sections below on requirements and applications.
In order to apply for the internship, candidates must have passed their qualifying examinations for a doctorate in Counseling or Clinical Psychology by January of 2006 and must have completed their coursework by the beginning of the internship. Prospective interns must also have completed a minimum of 400 hours of supervised direct service practicum experience and 200 hours of indirect practicum experience. Only applicants from programs accredited by the American Psychological Association will be considered.
Interested candidates must submit the following, all in one envelope: a completed application form available from APPIC (see the announcement at the top of this page); a completed current vita; official transcripts of their graduate work; and three letters of recommendation from supervisory faculty who can evaluate the candidate's academic and applied performance. Mail to:
Rosemary Simmons, Ph.D.
Counseling Center
374 East Grand Avenue
Mailcode 4715
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-4715
If you are using overnight mail or UPS, use the following address:
Counseling Center
374 East Grand Avenue
Mailcode 4715
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-4715
The internship program adheres to the Match Policies established by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Specifically, SIUC agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant. Click here to view the APPIC Match Policies. Applications are due by November 21, 2005.
The internship is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association. Please address any comments, concerns or complaints regarding the SIUC Counseling Center Pre-doctoral Internship Program to:
American Psychological Association
Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
(202) 336-5979
http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/
If you have any questions (or if you need a paper copy of the application materials, if you cannot access them through the Internet) write or call:
Rosemary E. Simmons, Ph.D.
Director Of Training
Counseling Center
374 East Grand Avenue
Carbondale, IL 62901-4715
phone (618) 453-5371
fax (618) 453-6151
e-mail Rosemary Simmons
Post-Doctoral Residency
SIUC Counseling Center is not able to offer a paid post-doctoral residency at this time. However, our desire is to secure funding to add this position to the agency. On occasion, post-doctoral individuals are interested in volunteering at the Counseling Center. Please contact the Director of Training if you are interested in such an opportunity.
Rosemary E. Simmons, Ph.D.
Assistant Director / Director of Training
618-453-5371
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