CAPS Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship Overview of Training Program

The overall goal of the training program is to help interns develop into professional psychologists who can think about, and integrate into their practice, the values and qualities that we have found to be essential to the field of psychology. This overarching goal results in interns developing the skills and qualities necessary to provide effective clinical services. A priority in our training is to support interns in the development of multicultural and ethical competencies

Using and incorporating a multicultural lens is a core value of the UNC-CH CAPS’ internship training program. Multicultural issues are woven in throughout the internship. UNC Chapel Hill has over 29,000 students including undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral fellows, and international students. As a result, interns have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of clients. Interns are encouraged to pay close attention to issues of difference (including but not limited to race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, disability, age) in their work with students. Interns have various opportunities to discuss multicultural issues and their impact on their clients and themselves, such as in multicultural mentoring, in their multidisciplinary training team, multicultural case presentations, individual and group supervision. Interns are introduced to the emphasis of this approach during orientation when they have several diversity discussions including a social justice discussion, and have the opportunity to meet representatives of different departments and liaisons to CAPS, such as the Director of the LGBTQ Center and the Director of the Women’s Center. Interns can participate in the area of outreach through the following programs that each add unique multicultural areas of focus, such as the Safe Zone training, Interactive Theater Carolina, and Peak Academic Success and Satisfaction program. In addition, interns are encouraged to consider developing outreach programs to underserved populations, possibly cooperating with the departments listed above as well as others, and to consider a liaison relationship with these departments for the year. In addition, the focus on multicultural training fits with CAPS’ internship program’s emphasis on self-reflection. Lastly, interns are supported in their efforts to create a multicultural project that may include but is not limited to an outreach, collaborating with a department or student group, conducting a needs assessment for underserved populations, etc. Through feedback, current and former interns have shared that the multicultural focus of the program to be most valuable. In addition, staff members at CAPS continually challenge themselves to work towards multicultural self-awareness, and this approach and attitude provide important opportunities for interns to observe and incorporate these skills and values.

Additionally, the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Internship Program focuses on encouraging self-awareness and interpersonal skills which contribute to effectiveness as a psychologist and allow Interns to develop into practitioners who can function autonomously and as part of a team. Throughout their training, interns will utilize and build on their knowledge of Psychological theory and research, and will integrate a scientific approach into their practice of Psychology. Interns will be exposed to, and expected to utilize, a plethora of training opportunities to develop and grow as psychologists. The program trains generalists who are particularly prepared for counseling center work but who are also able to perform in a variety of other positions, especially outpatient settings.

An area of strength in CAPS’ internship program is its focus on crisis work and suicide prevention. One aspect of this area is the unique opportunity for interns to become involved in the Emergency Evaluation and Action Committee (EEAC). Interns have the opportunity to train with the Associate Director of Clinical Services and gain more experience in conducting risk assessments for students who are disturbed or who are disruptive to the campus community. Through this process, interns have been involved with writing psychological evaluations, making psychological recommendations, and collaborating in meetings with the EEAC team in order to decide how to best manage and intervene in the identified campus threat. Several past interns have commented on how much they have learned from the EEAC process and how this in turn made them more confident in their prospective job interviews. CAPS is fortunate to have had a grant from SAMSHA on suicide prevention and has a leading national suicide prevention specialist on staff. Interns are provided intensive training on working with individuals who present with suicidal ideation and through a developmental approach and supervision, learn how to assess and evaluate them. Another area that adds to interns’ broad array of crisis skills is being a member of a triage team for half of a day each week. Interns work closely with their triage team members, in seminars, and in triage supervision on learning how the assessment process works in a time-limited fashion, while establishing and building rapport, as well as learning about various considerations to make while developing a disposition. Again, a developmental approach is taken in training interns on CAPS’ triage model and it is understood that each intern will reach each stage of training on triage at his or her own level of readiness and pace.

Internship is a time to build on the competencies achieved in prior training in order to reach a point of readiness for professional functioning. The CAPS training program provides developmentally-targeted experiences and supervision that help interns move from areas of comfort in order to maximize growth. Interns expand their skill base through exposure to a diversity of clinical phenomena and approaches to treatment. Knowledge of clinical theory, empirically-validated treatment, and clinical research provide a framework through which to consider clinical training experiences. Interns explore the underlying values, belief systems, and assumptions that guide their approach to treatment. During the year, interns further develop their skill level, awareness of their individual theoretical orientation and therapeutic style, and understanding of ethical and multicultural competence. This development results in an increased sense of a coherent professional identity. 

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