Pre-Internship Training Opportunities for Psychology Doctoral Students
The Towson University Counseling Center provides training through its externship program to students enrolled in doctoral programs that are currently accredited (or actively pursuing accreditation) in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or related fields. Rising second year students in Towson University’s Counseling Psychology M.A. program are also eligible to apply for the externship. Externs in our program have opportunities to provide individual and group counseling and offer outreach services to the campus community.
The Counseling Center provides intensive individual and group supervision to externs to facilitate the development of their clinical skills and their understanding of the operation of a university counseling center. Students are asked to commit 16-20 hours per week (depending on home program requirements) for a minimum of 25 weeks during one academic year to maximize the benefits to their professional growth. To successfully complete our externship, externs must engage in a minimum of 400 training hours over the course of the academic year (200 direct clinical service, 200 other related training hours such as note-writing, seminars, supervision, etc.). We also accept students whose programs require more than 400 hours and we welcome discussion of specific training program requirements during the interview process.
Senior staff provide one hour per week of individual supervision and one hour of group supervision to externs in the fall semester. Senior staff and doctoral interns provide two hours of individual supervision and one hour of group supervision per week in the spring semester. Supervision includes discussion of case management, assessment and treatment issues, and general issues pertaining to each extern’s Counseling Center experience. Rotation of supervisors occurs at the half-year mark. Matching of externs and supervisors will attempt to take into account the special training needs of individual externs.
Externs meet as a group once a week for one hour for extern seminar. Seminar time includes case conferences, presentations by senior staff and doctoral interns on topics of special interest to externs, and discussions of general externship issues.
The externship is designed for students who are enrolled in doctoral programs that are currently accredited in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, or related fields. Rising second year students in Towson University’s Counseling Psychology M.A. program who are interested in the externship should connect with the Coordinator of Clinical Training in their program prior to applying. Strong candidates have typically had 1-2 previous therapy externships, however we consider applicants with a variety of relevant experiences.
A. In order the minimize the potential for dual relationships, students who received counseling services at TUCC and who subsequently seek training at TUCC as a clinician will not be considered for a training position (e.g., Extern or Intern) until a period of 3 years has elapsed since their last clinical contact. This does not include a triage or initial consultation appointment that resulted in no further treatment. It also does not include use of the massage chairs, meditation room, or participation in an outreach event. The 3-year interval parallels APA’s ethical guidelines of two years following termination of services prior to any possible romantic relationships. Using three instead of two years further stretches the interval between client status and training applicant status, minimizing the potential impact of dual relationship complications with TUCC staff.
B. Students who received counseling services at TUCC over 3 years ago and are interested in a training opportunity will submit their materials for the desired position and will be reviewed without consideration of prior clinical treatment. Staff interviewing potential candidates will not ask about their history of prior clinical treatment. If a former client is accepted as a trainee at TUCC and shares that information with the Training Director or the Externship Coordinator, their electronic file will be given an additional layer of security, in which only the Center Director and Clinical Director have password-protected access. The Training Director will inform the trainee of this action to minimize potential concerns about the accessibility of trainees’ private information to TUCC staff.
All application materials must be submitted via this application portal (although letters of reference may be emailed directly to the externship coordinator, if preferred). In addition to completing the TU Externship application on the application portal, candidates are required to upload the following documents on that portal as well: a current vita listing all relevant work experience and practica, a graduate transcript (unofficial is acceptable), and two letters of reference, including at least one from a supervisor familiar with your clinical work. Applications are not considered complete unless materials are submitted via the application portal.
Applications are due at 8am on Friday, January 26, 2024.
We welcome applicants who are coming from DC consortium schools, but we are unable to hold offers until that consortium’s deadline. Typically, interviews for our program are held in February and our selection process is completed around the beginning of March. Offers are made on a rolling basis as interviews occur. While some positions may be filled during the interview process, we will not close all available spots until the final interview is completed.
For additional questions, please reach out to externship program coordinator, whose contact information is listed below.
Chrissy O. Walsh, Ph.D - Externship Program Coordinator
Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.