Graduate Clinician Training Program

The clinical staff at Counseling & Psychology Services of LaGrange, Inc. recognizes the importance of quality clinical training offered by college and university graduate programs, as well as the benefits to participating in the process of developing professionals. For these reasons we offer a select number of students the opportunity for advanced clinical training through practicum and internship. The following are important aspects of our practicum and internship programs:

• Weekly supervision by licensed clinicians (psychologists and professional counselors).

• Supervision is provided in group and individual formats and includes, but is not limited to, reviews of work samples (e.g., audio and/or video tapes of therapy sessions), direct observation, review of documentation (e.g., progress notes), didactic presentations, and case presentations.

• Opportunities to develop advanced assessment skills with a wide range of instruments, such as:
  • Cognitive Functioning - the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (2nd Edition), the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV), the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV), and the Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE).
  • Personality Functioning - the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI-2), and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-IV).
  • Career Development – the Strong Interest Inventory and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-IV).
  • Other measures commonly utilized by trainees include the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5), the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Instrument (SASSI-3), the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), and the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA).Direct client services would include, but not be limited to, comprehensive clinical intake, individual counseling, group counseling, assessment, treatment planning and case staffing.

• Clinical conditions treated by students during the training experience include, but are not limited to, substance use disorders, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD.

• Clients at the clinic are diverse in terms of age, culture, race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. As a certified National Health Services Corps (NHSC) site, the clinic does not discriminate based on an individual’s ability to pay, race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, or sexual orientation.

• Referral sources include, but are not limited to, the general public, local churches and faith-based organizations, a local private college, the Troup County DUI/Drug Court treatment program, a shelter for battered women, and two shelters for homeless persons.

• Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: provision of individual and group counseling / psychotherapy, scheduling clients, conducting comprehensive intakes, attending group and/or individual supervision, attending court staffing and court status hearing sessions, preparing presentations of topics and/or journal articles to other students and staff, presenting cases at supervision group or to the clinic staff or at the court staffing meetings, maintaining quality client documentation, and clerical duties such as making copies and filing.

• Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) – This organization embraces EBPs and evidence-based interventions; therefore, graduate students are exposed to and trained based on related philosophies. Although not guaranteed, students are often offered the opportunity to receive training in EBPs through external resources (e.g., professional workshops, seminars, etc.).