Doctoral Internship Training Program

UC CAPS achieves excellence through a community-based, integrated care approach to psychological services and training that creates an optimal healthy environment for students to grow psychologically, spiritually, and intellectually, as well as achieve wellness and academic success. We seek to encourage holistic well-being through psycho-education, community outreach & consultation, and direct clinical services. UC CAPS is committed to personal growth, human development, and promoting understanding and respect for individual, cultural, and role differences.

CAPS strives to be a system that encourages emotional, psychological and relational health, and builds a responsible and compassionate community that supports the holistic development and academic success of students.

1. Organized Teamwork: We rely on teamwork and collaboration which values diverse ideas, actively engaged communication and organized action between CAPS staff, the UC community and most importantly students. 

2. Care and respect in all our relationships: we value all experiences and respect and value all individuals, groups and ideas with compassion and care. We value openness, honesty, and genuine care and concern for each other.

3. Student-centered: We meet students where they are and respond to their needs with open communication and respect. We encourage autonomy and informed choice. 

4. Equity & Inclusion: We contribute to a highly inclusive campus and value equity, inclusion, and social justice in programming, service provision, recruitment, curriculum involvement, and advocacy.

5. High Quality Accessible Services: dedicated to reducing stigma and barriers to create high quality accessible services.

6. Data-informed: we encourage innovation, creativity, and quality services that are always informed by data, research, and best practice.

7. Contemplative Practice: We value presence in our work and a focus on joy, mindfulness and meaningful interaction.

8. Graduate Training: CAPS is focused on contributing to quality, multi-disciplinary graduate training focused on integrative practice and inter-professional education

The aim of the training program is to facilitate intern growth from a place of reliance on supervisors to a position of readiness to enter the profession of psychology and provide clinical services to a diverse population of clients.  Our dedication to intern growth mimics the UC CAPS dedication to creating an optimal healthy environment for student growth, and our commitment to training is also echoed in the fact that UC identifies training as a part of its mission statement.  Furthermore, UC CAPS’s commitment to providing understanding and respect for individual, cultural, and role differences is consistent with our desire to provide a multiculturally-focused internship program that will increase intern readiness for working with a variety of diverse clients as they move toward independent practice.  Our internship program, therefore, is a natural extension of the UC CAPS mission.

CAPS is compliant with FERPA and the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) regarding our approach to confidential information.  All interns will receive training on FERPA at the start of their internship, and are expected to comply with the provided guidelines for handling confidential and private information.  In addition to FERPA and ORC regulations, we request that interns do not share any passwords that they may have for their computes, emails, trainings, etc, as a way to promote confidential handling of confidential and sensitive information.  Per APA requirements, intern information, including a description of the training year and a copy of all evaluations and certificates are maintained indefinitely in a confidential file that is accessible only to the Training Director, Associate Director, and Executive Director of CAPS.

Cultural and individual diversity issues are highly valued at CAPS by all staff and are at the core of our training. Knowledge and skills in issues of diversity are essential in providing competent and ethical services to our campus community. Diversity awareness and competency skill-building are an emphasis on our internship program and are infused into all aspects of training. Interns at CAPS will participate in a social justice/multicultural counseling seminar in which they will be asked to reflect on their own identities as diverse individuals and as a psychologists-in-training and how this impacts their work. They will be exposed to ways in which to expand their knowledge, skills, and awareness of cultural diversity, broadly defined. All of our seminars will incorporate aspects of diversity so that our interns leave the internship with skills to help them improve their cultural competency as psychologists and with the understanding that cultural competency is a lifelong process. Additionally, all staff at CAPS will participate in regular discussions and trainings on issues of diversity to demonstrate our commitment to learning and teaching in a competent manner. Supervision will provide a safe environment for interns to process reactions to and reflections of diversity conversations and issues. Finally, interns will evaluate staff and the training program on how well we meet our diversity training goals so we can make continual improvements to the program.
 
Each CAPS staff member is committed to providing assistance that is culturally-sensitive and affirming to our diverse clientele. We take a stance against discrimination and oppression in any form and we strive to create an atmosphere of openness, trust, and safety where all attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors can be openly shared and explored.
 
The UC CAPS Internship program’s commitment to equity and inclusion is reflective of the mission of the University of Cincinnati as a whole, as reflected in the university’s Notice of Non-Discrimination.  An excerpt of that notice is included below:

“The University of Cincinnati does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity and expression in its programs and activities.

The university does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on these bases and takes steps to ensure that students, employees, and third parties are not subject to a hostile environment in University programs or activities.”

CAPS services take place at 225 Calhoun St, Suite 200, Cincinnati, OH, 45219.  We are a large university counseling center with multiple offices, two group rooms, a meditation room, and a biofeedback room.  Interns have access to all of these rooms.  CAPS is staffed by a multidisciplinary team of staff clinicians that come from psychology, clinical counseling, and social work backgrounds.  We have support staff team and an office manager who help us with administrative tasks and facilitate insurance and check-in duties, managing insurance, and financial matters.

The interdisciplinary staff at CAPS provides interns the opportunity to work with mental health and wellness professionals from a wide array of theoretical backgrounds and professional interests.  We work closely with our colleagues at the Student Wellness Center to provide prevention services across campus and we work closely with our colleagues at  University Health Services to refer for medical and medication referrals.  CAPS also uses a stepped care model of treatment that presents clients with a variety of therapeutic support options to meet the level of their needs.  This model includes, but is not limited to, access meditation resources, access to online self-help resources, participation in workshops, group therapy, and short-term individual therapy.  We offer interns opportunities to participate in all of these levels of treatment.  In addition to providing therapeutic interventions, CAPS is highly involved in professional activities and programs in the university community via outreach and liaison relationships.  

Doctoral interns have their own offices where they conduct individual therapy sessions.  Their offices are complete with a computer, telephone, bookshelf, desk chair, and two counseling chairs.  The interns are encouraged to personalize their offices with items of their choice.  Each office is equipped with a computer-mounted camera to record counseling sessions.  Recordings are saved to an encrypted file within our network, accessible only to interns, their supervisors, the training director, the associate director and executive director of UC CAPS.  Interns are also provided with a unique user ID for the University of Cincinnati system, which requires that they create a password.  Interns are not to give this password out to anyone else, and it is their responsibility to keep it confidential.  
 
Interns have two office mailboxes, one for regular correspondence and one for confidential information.  The UC CAPS mailroom also has a printer and a fax machine available for interns to use.  UC CAPS also has a refrigerator in file room off of the mailroom, and interns have access to both that refrigerator as well as the refrigerator and microwave in the central break room.  The UC CAPS file room has one large storage room for basic office supplies; the interns have access to these materials.  If interns need supplies that are not in inventory, they can place a special order request with the Program Manager.  
 
CAPS has purchased several books and videos for training purposes.  They are kept in the trainee suite which houses offices for practicum students, and part-time counseling and social work interns.  Psychology interns may borrow these books at any time.  Interns also have access to all of the resources available to anyone who works at the University of Cincinnati, most notably, library resources and access to the extensive online journal database.
 
Interns have access to a variety of assessment instruments to be used under the supervision of the Assessment Coordinator and/or their supervisor.  The instruments most commonly use include: WAIS-IV, WIAT-III, WRAT-IV, Conners-3, and PAI-R; however, our library of assessment instruments extends well beyond the instruments listed above.  

The doctoral internship has its foundation in a generalist, practitioner-scholar model, which is a refinement of the traditional scientist-practitioner model and incorporates a developmental learning model. The primary mission of CAPS is direct service to the University of Cincinnati community. The internship is designed to maximize quality service to that community and provide a challenging and supportive learning environment for interns. Our developmental, practitioner-scholar model views learning as cumulative and sequential with an emphasis on providing a level of training to each intern based on her/his individual learning needs and style. We assist our interns with a progressive advancement and acquisition of clinical skills and professional identity by offering supportive collaboration and modeling with our senior staff clinicians. The goal is to facilitate intern growth from a reliance on supervisors to a position of independent practice and readiness to enter the profession of psychology.
 
Our practitioner-scholar model views the doctoral intern as an emerging professional seeking to integrate knowledge, skills, and experiential training in the journey from student to new professional psychologist. We expect that professional tasks of our interns will increase over time in frequency, intensity, and complexity. The internship builds on the combination of experiences the trainee brings from her or his previous graduate coursework, practica, research and other professional applied experiences. We stress the importance of consultation and supervision, emphasis on experiential learning, and the integration of scholarly knowledge and research into practice. Interns are encouraged to focus on ongoing growth in counseling skills and abilities via multiple formal and informal learning opportunities during the course of their training. CAPS views development as a lifelong process over one’s career and as such, continuing education with all staff is promoted through case conferences, inservice programs, and staff development activities. At CAPS, we expect our interns will consolidate their professional identity and emerge as culturally sensitive, clinically skilled, and ethical psychologists.

The interdisciplinary staff at CAPS provides interns the opportunity to work with mental health and wellness professionals from a wide array of theoretical backgrounds and professional interests. CAPS uses a stepped care model of treatment that presents client with a variety of therapeutic support options to meet the level of their needs. This model includes, but is not limited to, access to meditation resources, participation in  group therapy, and short-term individual therapy. We offer interns opportunities to participate in all of these modalities of treatment. In addition to providing therapeutic interventions, interns are heavily involved in professional activities and programs in the university community via outreach and liaison relationships.

RACs are intended to be a brief assessment of client risk factors as well as a short-term problem solving session in which CAPS clinicians work with clients to clarify presenting concerns and provide brief interventions.  Some students engage in RAC appointments-only via our one-session-at-a-time counseling.  Interns begin observing RACs during their first weeks post-orientation, and have the opportunity to both see how other staff members conduct these appointments, as well as be observed by staff members when they conduct their first RACs.  After completing their observation period, interns conduct up to 8 RACs per week.  

In cases where interns need diagnostic clarification or more thorough history, interns may provide thorough intakes/initial assessments prior to the start of therapy.  Interns observing initial assessment appointments early in their internship year, and complete a process of observing and being observed conducting intakes prior to completing them on their own.  Interns always have senior staff members available to them for consultation during these initial assessment appointments (as well as all other appointments).

Interns spend approximately 50% of their time conducting individual counseling. Individual sessions occur on a biweekly basis, and we follow a brief-therapy model of treatment. With consultation from their supervisors, interns will have the opportunity to hone their initial assessment skills, their clinical decision making about a client’s appropriateness for our center, and their individual therapy skills.  All individual therapy is videotaped as part of the training program.

CAPS offers a wide range of groups to students. Groups run during Fall and Spring semesters, and some groups run during the summer semester as well. Interns co-facilitate groups with other senior staff members, and typically facilitate one group in the Fall semester and one group in the Spring semester. Interns may have the opportunity to design and facilitate a new group consistent with the needs of the center during the Summer semester and may have the opportunity to facilitate a group with a fellow intern at that time as well. For a current listing of groups, please use the following link:  https://uc.edu/counseling/services/groups.html.  All group therapy is videotaped as part of the training program.  

During the second half of their internship, interns may have the opportunity to participate in providing Counselor on Duty (CoD) coverage.  CoD coverage includes providing on-call crisis care for students who walk in to CAPS during the on-call hours, as well as conducting phone consultations with students, staff, family members, etc. who call for support. All on-call coverage takes place during regular business hours, and interns will always have senior staff members with whom they may consult during this experience. No on-call hours occur outside of business hours because CAPS contracts with an outside counseling agency to address crises that are reported during evenings, overnight, and on weekends.

Interns will learn the holistic process of assessment, including providing thorough, culturally and contextually sensitive interviews, choosing appropriate assessment instruments, assessing clients, interpreting assessments, and then writing comprehensive reports and sharing findings with clients in therapeutic ways.  Interns are expected to complete a minimum of 4 assessments during their internship year.  

Doctoral interns will provide supervision to a psychology practicum student or to a Masters level intern within the counseling program. They will meet with their supervisee, review tapes, and help trainees develop and hone their therapy skills and self-efficacy. Interns will receive supervision of supervision   to help them feel prepared to take on this role.

All interns will conduct outreach presentations to the greater UC community as part of their internship program. Interns typically participate in at least three outreach presentations each semester. Common outreach topics have included: overview of CAPS services, stress management or identifying students in distress. Outreach may also include collaborating with campus partners to facilitate an event, such as Stress Less Fest.

Group Therapy Seminar:  This seminar includes didactic teaching of information, discussion of your experiences and process in your roles as group facilitators, as well as review of video-tape for feedback and learning.  The content of this seminar includes: conducting group screenings, learning the development of the group processes, learning how to utilize here-and-now techniques and conducting effective termination rituals.  It also provides a place for you to receive support and provide feedback for each other in your group work.
 
Intersectionality Seminar: This seminar includes didactic teaching of information, self-reflection, discussion of cases, and experiential activities.  The content of this seminar includes discussion of the intersectionality of multiple facets in one’s own identity and the identity of clients, exploration of how your identity may interact with the identities of your clients.  This seminar places emphasis on the importance of understanding one’s own experiences with privilege, oppression, and biases, as well as understanding how these experience impact your experience counseling a diversity of clients.  
 
Assessment Seminar: This seminar includes didactic teaching of information, modeling of assessment interview and delivery practices, and discussion of cases.  The content of this seminar includes increasing knowledge and skill in the area of psychological assessment.  Content also includes conducting effective pre-assessment interviews, choosing appropriate tests for an assessment client, and effectively interpreting those tests.  Special attention is paid to assessing clients from diverse backgrounds and making interpretations that are multiculturally appropriate.  
 
Case Conceptualization Seminar: This seminar includes didactic teaching of information, discussions of your theoretical orientation, discussions of therapy cases, and case presentations.  The content of this seminar includes increasing intern knowledge of different theoretical orientations and identifying how they may be applied to conceptualize the etiology, symptomology, change process, and treatment plan for clients.  
 
Trauma Seminar: This seminar includes didactic teaching of information and discussion of cases.  The content covered in this seminar includes the neuropsychological basis of trauma, standard assessment tools for trauma-related disorders, DSM-5 criteria for trauma-related disorders, stages of trauma and recovery, evidence based therapy interventions and trauma-informed care, and clinical decision making based on stages of recovery.  It also includes the application of trauma-informed assessment, conceptualization, and interventions to real life case presentations.  
 
AoD Seminar: This seminar includes the didactic teaching of information, case consultation, and role playing.  The content includes the etiology, experience, and progression of addiction patterns, strategies for assessing and treating substance use problems, and differentiating between clients with AoD concerns who are within and outside of the scope of practice at CAPS.
 
Supervision Seminar: This seminar includes didactic teaching of information as well as case consultation and discussion.  The content covered includes the Integrated Developmental Model (IDM) of supervision, imposter syndrome in the supervisory role, maintaining appropriate boundaries, ethical supervision, parallel process, balancing directive and non-directive supervisory interventions.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Seminar (DBT): This is a short, summer seminar which includes didactic teaching of information.  The content covered includes: learning introductory principles of mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation, as well as learning how to implement those principles with clients.
 
Professional Development Seminar: This seminar includes didactic teaching of information as well as discussion.  The content covered includes exploring and processing the identity of being a psychology intern and moving toward the future identity of licensed psychologist, exploring the challenges of being an intern, identifying early career issues, as well as providing a space to gather practical information about EPPP preparation, applying for jobs, and seeking employment in the psychology field.  

Staff Meetings: Interns participate in weekly staff meetings, during which time all members of UC CAPS come together to check in on how we are feeling, discuss news related to CAPS and the greater UC community, introduce and discuss new policies and procedures, discuss ways that we are collaborating with campus partners, and recognize positive actions taken by fellow CAPS members.  All CAPS members, including permanent staff, training staff, and support staff are included in this meeting.
 
Clinical Team Meetings: Clinical team meetings occur weekly.  They are a part of interns’ supervision hours, given that the content of these meetings includes presentation and discussion of complex, challenging, or high-risk cases that clinicians have encounters.  In these meetings, trainees and staff members consult with each other and give feedback to each other.  The entire clinical staff is broken into two separate groups to facilitate small-group discussion.  
 
Intern/Training Director Check-In: This meeting is discussion based, and intended to be a way that interns have regular, formal contact with the Training Director.  The content includes exploring how interns are feeling with their transition to UC CAPS, discussing their goals for themselves during the year, as well as progress they are making, processing challenges that arise, as well as providing space for professional development concerns or other topics that arise.  
 
Intern Meeting/Self-Care Time: Interns are provided one hour every 2 weeks to spend time together, share more of themselves with each other, and form trusting bonds with each other and support each other during this unique and intense time of training in their lives.  If interns prefer, they may spend this time separately focusing on self-care activities.  

Although CAPS offers a well-rounded training for interns to grow in their skills as generalists, we also provide specialty training in trauma-informed care. The ARISE program supports students who have experienced sexual assault or gender-based violence. The ARISE program reduces barriers to treatment for these students and provides them with specialized care. Interns are welcome to work with ARISE clients as part of their specialized trauma training. Our trauma focused treatment includes trauma recovery groups that run each semester, ongoing liaisonships with Title IX, and connection to advocate resources available to students on campus.

CAPS offers opportunities for interns to participate in suicide prevention and mental health promotion efforts with campus and community partners. We provide the Question, Persuade, Refer training (QPR) to many of our campus partners.  Interns are welcome to learn and facilitate suicide prevention trainings, and are provided opportunities to collaborate with university mental health groups such as the Bearcat Support Network or the Mental Health Champions.

The CAPS internship is a full-time, paid, 2000-hour experience, of which 25%, or 500 hours, must be direct service or “face-to-face psychological services to patients/clients.” These hours are based on APA recommendations as well as requirements in the State of Ohio for licensure purposes.  Be aware that some U.S. states and Canadian provinces require different numbers of face-to-face psychotherapy hours for licensure. Interns are responsible for ascertaining the requirements of specific states in which they may wish to practice in the future, and for meeting those requirements. It is best to plan to accumulate the majority of these clinical hours during Fall and Spring semesters, since CAPS typically sees fewer clients in the summer.  Additionally, with August orientation, no-show appointments, semester breaks, University holidays, and vacations, it is important for interns to accumulate the required clinical and total hours in a deliberate, planned manner.

Interns are encouraged to check the licensure supervisory requirements of the state/province in which they plan practice.  Some states require that doctoral clinical hours are completed under the supervision of someone licensed for at least 1-3 years (depending on the state/province).  At CAPS, OH licensure requirements are prioritized; there currently is no stipulatin about post-licensure years of experience for supervisors. CAPS will try to accommodate special requests for working with a particular supervisor but there are no guarantees. For more information on licensure supervisory requirements, see the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) website: www.asppb.net
 
 
CAPS hours of operation are M-W-F, 8:00am-5:00pm and T, Th 8:00am-7:00pm.  Senior staff members work one late day per week on Tuesday or Thursday in which they arrive at 10 and leave at 7.  

2 Hours: Emergency Coverage (occurring in Spring semester)

4 Hours: Rapid Access Consultations/Intakes

14 Hours: Individual and Group Therapy

Subtotal = 20

Training seminars last an hour long, and interns receive two seminars per week.  Seminars occur on a rotating schedule that is described below:

Seminars occurring all year round: Intersectionality, Assessment, AOD, Trauma, Case Conceptualization, Group Therapy, and Professional Development.

Additional seminars that are included during the fall semester and spring semester include: include: Supervision 

Additional seminars that are included in the summer semester include: DBT Skills.

Subtotal = 2

2 hours weekly individual supervision with licensed pscyhologist (all year)

.5 hours weekly individual supervision of group therapy (with licensed group co-leader)

1 hour weekly rotating supervision all year (Assessment, Single-Session, Intersectionality and Group clinical team rotate) 

1 hour weekly supervision of supervision (spring semester only)

1 hour weekly clinical team case consultation meeting (all year) 

Subtotal = 4.5 hours during the fall and summer semesters, and 5.5 hours during the spring semester.

1 hour: Staff meeting

.25 (1 hour monthly): Intern/Training Director Check-in

1 hour: Professional Development/Research/Job Search (depending upon time of year)

5 hours: Lunch

.5 hour (1 hour biweekly): Intern Meeting/Self-Care time 

9.25 hours: Paperwork/Administrative Duties

Subtotal = ~19 hours

45 Hours per week.  5 of those hours are set aside for a one hour lunch break per day.

Vacation

You need to request vacation time in advance by sending your supervisor and the Training Director an e-mail listing the particular dates for approval. Once approved, you are responsible for marking yourself out in Titanium and for managing your client schedule, so that clinical needs of clients can be covered in your absence.  You are required to save at least 5 vacation days to be used at the end of your internship experience to facilitate ease of job search and transition.

Leave

If you are ill, you are encouraged to call off.   However, it is to your advantage to work as many days as possible in order to accumulate the hours of clinical and training experience that you need to complete the 2000-hour internship.  In the event that you are out of the office due to an unplanned need, such as illness or an emergency, it is your responsibility to call/text your supervisor, as well as call and leave a message for the front office staff (513-556-0648) before 8:00 am to inform them of your absence and ask that they inform your clients, and anyone with whom you had a meeting that day.  The front office staff will cancel your appointments for the day, so please be sure to keep your client contact information and other appointments updated regularly in Titanium.  Please be sure when you contact the front office staff that you inform them of any higher risk clients on your schedule that day so that they can offer services with the Counselor On Duty, if needed.

Holidays

You are required to take all 14 official University holidays.  

As mentioned above, in order to compensate for vacation time and official University holidays, and to complete the required 2000 hours, you can and should:

• Document time that you happen to be working on internship-related tasks outside of your regular work hours;
• Count professional development time (e.g., APA, other professional conferences or workshops, dissertation defense, job interviewing) toward your total internship hours;

Remember that of the required 2000 hours, you must be sure that at least 500 of these hours are direct service.

Our internship program received APPIC membership in Fall 2015 and maintains APPIC membership currently.

UC-CAPS is an APA-accredited program.  We received APA-accreditation in 2021 for 10 years.  Questions related to our accreditation status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: 

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation

American Psychological Association

750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002

Phone: (202) 336-5979

Email: apaaccred@apa.org

Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

University of Cincinnati Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Training Program is committed to embracing and celebrating diversity, as well as working towards inclusivity and belongingness for all of our staff members, trainees, and campus community. We are dedicated to promoting an environment of respect and appreciation for the race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity, age, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, physical/mental ability, and socioeconomic status of all.  We take a stance against discrimination and oppression in any form and strive to create an atmosphere of affirmation, openness, trust, and safety where all attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors can be openly shared and explored.  At UC CAPS, we believe that a diverse staff makes us stronger as a team.  It challenges our own biases and increases the creativity of our practice by inviting new lenses and views.  As such, it also makes us better clinicians and helps us to serve the UC student population better.

For these reasons, our training program is built on the value of diversity.  We strive to infuse training with didactic and experiential activities that help to stretch our trainees to be able to work with individuals who differ from them in culture, identity, background, and role.  We work to create a safe environment where trainees can examine and challenge their assumptions and biases, knowing that they will be supported in this vulnerable process.  Furthermore, we strive to serve as good role models for the challenging and ongoing work of exploring our own assumptions and biases so that we can continue to grow as clinicians and model the value of this work for our trainees.

Given our value of diversity, we expect all trainees to engage in the introspection and educational activities presented as part of their training in diversity, and we require them to achieve competency in individual and cultural diversity as a part of their successful completion of the internship program.  We enforce these requirements as part of our own commitment to honor diversity, and to ensure that trainees are able to provide competent psychological services to all members of the public.

UC CAPS currently offers 2 full-time internship positions.  Students interested in applying for the internship program must submit an online application through the APPIC website (www.appi.org) using the APPIC Application for Psychology Internships (AAPI) and must also complete a short information gathering survey through the UC Jobs website.   

A complete application consists of the following materials, all of which may be submitted as part of the AAPI if the applicant applies via the APPIC website:

1. A cover letter
2. A current Curriculum Vitae
3. Three letters of recommendation in the format of the AAPI Standardized Reference Form (SRF).  Two of those letters must be from persons who have directly supervised the applicant's clinical work.  Please submit no more than three letters of recommendation.
4. Official transcripts of all graduate coursework.
5. A short survey of information via the UC Jobs protal.

UC CAPS bases its selection process on the entire application package noted above; however, applicants who have met the following qualifications prior to beginning internship are considered preferred:

1. A minimum of 400 intervention hours;
2. A minimum of 20 assessment hours; 
3. Dissertation proposal defended; 
4. Some experience or special interest working wiht diverse populations;
5. Current enrollment and good standing in an APA or CPA accredited doctoral program.

All applications are reviewed by the UC CAPS Training Committee using a standard Application Rating Scale and evaluated for potential goodness of fit with the internship program.  The Training Committee meets to determine which applicant we wish to invite for interviews based upon the results of this review process.  All interviews are conducted via Zoom so as to minimize the financial impact of interviewing on our interviewees.  During the interview process (which lasts one hour), interviewees are asked a standard set of questions and scored by each interviewer on their Professionalism/Maturity, Openness/Flexibility/Curiosity to the Process, Diversity Focus, Clinical/Supervision/Knowledge Base, and Applicable Experience in College Counseling or Other Related Settings.  Each interviewee is also provided the opportunity to speak with one of our current interns as a way to gather additional information about our site, if they desire.  Their conversation with a current intern is non-evaluative and not considered part of their interview process. 

The Training Committee holds a meeting within two weeks after the final interviews have been completed to determine applicant rankings.  The full application package and information gleaned from the interview process are utilized to determine applicant rankings.  As a member of APPIC, UC CAPS participates in the national internship matching process by submitting its applicant rankings for two positions to the National Matching Service.  UC CAPS abides by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.  Questions regarding any part of the selection process or UC CAPS’s academic preparation requirements may be directed to the Training Director.

All interns who either match with UC CAPS via the National Matching Service or are offered a position via the Post-Match Vacancy Service (PMVS) must provide proof of their eligibility to work in the US and must successfully pass a fingerprint-based background check prior to beginning their employment.  Instructions for completion of the background check will be sent out to individuals who are matched with UC CAPS or offered a position via PMVS.  UC CAPS is unable to determine exactly which activities result in a failure to pass the criminal background check because all activities that emerge in the criminal background checks are reviewed by the UC Criminal Background Check Committee to be identify whether or not an applicant will be hired at the university.    

The University of Cincinnati Counseling & Psychological Services (UC CAPS) requires that interns demonstrate minimum levels of achievement across all competencies and training elements. Interns are formally evaluated by their primary supervisor twice annually, at the midpoint and end of the internship year. Evaluations are conducted using a standard rating form, which includes comment spaces where supervisors include specific written feedback regarding the interns’ performance and progress. The evaluation form includes information about the interns’ performance regarding all of UC CAPS’s expected training competencies and the related training elements. Supervisors are expected to review these evaluations with the interns and provide an opportunity for discussion at each time point.

A minimum level of achievement on each evaluation is defined as a 3 for each item on each competency, with no element rated less than a 3. For midterm evaluations, scores of 2 or lower on any item indicate areas in which an intern must improve prior to their completion of their internship. The final evaluation is the exit evaluation; therefore, an intern will not pass internship if they have a score of 2 or lower on any item at the end of their internship year. The rating scale for each evaluation is a 5-point scale, with the following rating values: 1 = Remedial, 2 = Beginning/Developing Competence, 3 = Proficient Competence, 4 = Advanced Competence, 5 = Area of Expertise. If an intern receives a score less than a 2 on any training element at the mid-year evaluation, or if supervisors have reason to be concerned about the student’s performance or progress, the program’s Due Process procedures will be initiated. The Due Process guidelines can be found in the UC CAPS Handbook. Interns’ final evaluation at the end of the year is their exit evaluation.  They must receive an average rating of 3 or above on all competencies and no ratings below a 3 on all training elements on that exit evaluation in order to successfully complete the program. 

Additionally, all UC CAPS interns are expected to complete 2000 hours of training during the internship year. Meeting the hour requirement and obtaining sufficient ratings on all evaluations demonstrates that the intern has progressed satisfactorily through and completed the internship program. Intern evaluations and certificates of completion are maintained indefinitely by the Training Director in a secure digital file. Intern evaluations and any other relevant feedback to the interns’ home doctoral program is provided at minimum at the mid-point and end of the internship year. Doctoral programs are contacted within one month following the end of the internship year and informed that the intern has successfully completed the program. If successful completion of the program comes into question at any point during the internship year, or if an intern enters into the formal review step of the Due Process procedures due to a concern by a faculty member or an inadequate rating on an evaluation, the home doctoral program also is contacted. This contact is intended to ensure that the home doctoral program, which also has a vested interest in the interns’ progress, is kept engaged in order to support an intern who may be having difficulties during the internship year. The home doctoral program is notified of any further action that may be taken by UC CAPS as a result of the Due Process procedures, up to and including termination from the program.

In addition to the evaluations described above, interns complete an evaluation of their supervisor and a program evaluation at the mid-point and end of the internship year, in order to provide feedback that will inform any changes or improvements in the training program. All evaluation forms are available in the UC CAPS Handbook and via the UC CAPS M: Drive.

UC CAPS provides all interns with at least four hours of supervision each week during their training year.  Two of those hours are provided via weekly individual supervision with their individual supervisor, who is a licensed psychologist.  One hour is provided via the weekly clinical team meeting, in which trainees present cases to receive feedback from senior staff members, and also participate in group consultation for other staff members seeking consultation.  30 minutes of supervision is provided via weekly supervision of group therapy.  During the Fall and Summer semesters, the other 30 minutes is provided via the biweekly, 60 minute assessment supervision they receive from the assessment coordinator.  During the Spring semester of their time at UC CAPS, they only receive 1 hour/monthly assessment supervision (for an avg of 15 minutes/wk) because they complete fewer assessments at that time so that they may focus more on their supervision of a practicum student.  During that semester, they also receive 1 hour of weekly supervision of the supervision that they provide to another trainee at UC CAPS.

Individual supervisors maintain overall responsibility for all supervision of individual clients, group therapy supervisors maintain responsibility for all group therapy clients, and the assessment coordinator maintains responsibility for all assessment clients.  Interns change individual supervisors halfway through their year.  They also may change group supervisors from semester to semester.  They maintain assessment supervision with the assessment coordinator throughout the entire year.  At the time when interns change supervisors, their new supervisor becomes responsible for all of their clients within the realm of provided supervision (i.e., group supervisor is responsible for group clients, individual supervisor is responsible for individual clients, etc).  By participating in supervision with two separate individual supervisors over the course of the year, and maintaining supervision with their assessment supervisor over the course of the year, all interns receive formal supervision from a minimum of three doctoral-level licensed psychologists over the course of the year.

In addition to the aforementioned formal supervision, interns have ample opportunity for informal supervision and consultation at all times during which they provide clinical services.  All supervisors are appropriately credentialed for their role in the program.  Contact information for all supervisors is provided to interns at the beginning of the year and updated as it changes throughout the year.  UC CAPS staff members leave their doors open when they are not seeing clients so that interns and other trainees may consult with them when needed.  Supervisors also regularly check in with their supervisees outside the regularly scheduled supervision hours as needed for support with complex or high risk clients, as part of remediation plans, or for other reasons pertaining to intern support, oversight, and growth.

Interns are formally evaluated by their individual supervisor twice annually, at the midpoint and end of the internship year. Each evaluation is based in part on direct observation by the individual supervisor and is also informed by observations from group supervisors, the assessment supervisor, and any other relevant staff members. Supervisors review these evaluations with the interns and provide an opportunity for discussion at each time point. More information about intern evaluations is included in the UC CAPS Intern Evaluation, Retention, and Termination Policy.

Intern evaluations, certificates of completion, and the intern’s individual training plan, defined by the training handbook from that year, are maintained indefinitely by the Training Director in a secure digital file on the M: drive. Records related to Due Process procedures are maintained in the same file, as described in the UC CAPS Due Process Procedures. Records related to grievances or complaints are kept in a separate secure digital file. Intern evaluations and the certificates of completion are shared with the Director of Clinical Training at the intern’s home doctoral program at the mid-point and end of internship year. Remediation plans and notices of termination are shared with the home doctoral program’s Director of Clinical Training as described in the UC CAPS Due Process Procedures.

The clinical training program at the University of Cincinnati’s Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) is designed with professional and personal growth and development in mind.  As a center, we understand the developmental nature of the training process and we expect that there will be some challenges that create problems that need to be addressed, either through an informal or formal process.  Due Process provides a framework to respond, act, or dispute in these instances, thereby ensuring that decisions made are not arbitrary or personally based.  Our Due Process procedure occurs in a step-wise fashion, such that, as problems increase in persistence, complexity, or disruption to our program, the Due Process procedures involve greater levels of intervention. 

Due process protects the rights of both trainees and the UC CAPS training program, while also carrying responsibilities for both.  Due Process procedures are not intended to punish trainees; these procedures are intended to support trainees and the UC CAPS training program by giving guidelines and assistance on how to remediate concerns that arise.  

Trainees have the right to: 

1. Be treated in ethical, respectful, and professional ways.
2. Receive constructive and timely feedback about their performance.
3. Address concerns prior to, during, and after the formal evaluation period.
4. Be given every reasonable opportunity to remediate problems.
5. Participate in Due Process procedures.
6. Appeal decisions that the trainee disagrees with, within the limits of this policy.
7. Enlist the support of the Ombuds office at any point in time during due process, appeal, or the grievance procedures.  Contact information for the UC Ombuds office can be found here: https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/ombuds-office.html
8. As members of the UC community, trainees are entitled to a workplace free from Title IX violations.  That includes a workplace free from discrimination on the basis of your actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, as well as free from sexual violence, dating or domestic violence, and stalking.

Trainees have the responsibility to:

1. Engage with UC CAPS in a way that is ethical, respectful, and professional.
2. Be alert to personal problems that may interfere with professional functioning.
3. Make every reasonable attempt to remediate concerns regarding their behavior and competency.
4. Endeavor to meet the aims and objectives of the training program.
5. Create and contribute to a workplace that is free from Title IX violations.  That includes a workplace free from discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, as well as free from sexual violence, dating or domestic violence, and stalking.

UC CAPS training program has the right to:

1. Be treated in ethical, respectful, and professional ways.
2. Implement Due Process procedures in the manner ascribed below.
3. Maked decisions related to remediation for a trainee, including probation, suspension, and termination, within the lmits of this policy.    

UC CAPS training program has the responsibility to: 

1. Treat all trainees in ethical, respectful, and professional ways.
2. Uphold the integrity of the training program and its commitment to providing quality training to trainees by requiring standards of practice and behavior that meet competency benchmarks.
3. Make every reasonable attempt to support trainees in remediating behavioral and competency concerns.
4. Support trainees to the extent possible in successfully completing the UC CAPS training program.
   

When a trainee's progress is considered "unsatisfactory", it typically falls into one or both of two areas: 

1. Trainee problem behavior
2. Skill deficiency 

Behaviors are identified as problem behaviors if they include one or more of the following characteristics: 

1. The trainee does not acknowledge, understand, or address the problem when it is identified.
2. The problem is not merely a reflection of a skill deficit that can be rectified by academic or didactic training.
3. The quality of services delivered by the trainee is sufficiently negatively affected.
4. The problem is not restricted to one area of professional functioning.
5. A disproportionate amount of attention by training personnel is required.
6. The trainee's behavior does not change as a function of feedback, remediation efforts, and/or time.
7. The trainee's behavior negatively impacts the public view of the agency.
8. The problematic behavior negatively impacts other trainees.
9. The problematic behavior potentially causes harm to a client.
10. The problematic behavior violates appropriate interpersonal communication with agency staff.
    

Skill deficiencies may be identified at any point in time in the training year, including, but not limited to times of formal evaluation.  If, during the process of formal evaluation, a trainee receives a rating of “1” (Remedial) or “2” (Beginning/Developing Competence) in a competency area, then due process procedures are triggered to ensure that a trainee receives adequate support to improve their skills. 

When supervisors or other faculty/staff members believe that a trainee’s behavior is becoming problematic or that a trainee is having difficulty consistently demonstrating the expected level of competence, the first step in addressing the concern should be to raise the concern with the trainee directly and as soon as feasible in an attempt to informally resolve the problem.  This may include increased supervision, didactic training and/or structured readings.  The supervisor or faculty/staff member who raises the concern will monitor the outcome.  If the person who raised the concern is not the supervisor of the trainee, then they will monitor the outcome in conjunction with the trainee’s supervisor.  The supervisor is also encouraged to bring the concern to the Supervisor’s Meetings so as to identify additional clarity of thought and consultation regarding the concern.  Most concerns that occur during the training year are typically resolved through informal intervention; however, if the problem behavior or skill deficiency persists following an attempt to resolve the issue informally, the supervisor will meet with the Training Director and through discussion they must both agree that a more formal process is needed.  If the supervisor is the Training Director, then the supervisor will meet with the associate director and through discussion they both must agree that a more formal process is needed.  In the case of all steps of Due Process, if a faculty/staff member involved in the Due Process procedures is unavailable, then that person, or the Executive Director may name a person to serve to role of the unavailable person.  If a more formal process is needed, then the faculty/staff member, or another person named by the Executive Director will contact the Labor and Employees Relations Division and the following procedure will be followed:

1. Notice: The trainee will be notified that the concern has been raised to a formal level of review, and that a Hearing will be held.
2. Hearing: The supervisor or faculty/staff member will hold a Hearing with the Training Director and trainee within 10 working days of issuing a notice of Formal Review to discuss the problem and determine what action needs to be taken to address the issue.  If the Training Director is the supervisor who is raising the issue, an additional faculty member who works directly with the trainee will be included at the Hearing, and/or to provide a written statement related to their response to the problem.
3. Outcome and Next Steps: The result of the Hearing will be any of the following potential action steps listed below, to be determined by the Training Director and other faculty/staff member who was present at the Hearing.  This outcome will be communicated to the trainee in writing within 5 working days of the Hearing.