Interns are involved in individual, group, and family psychotherapy. Interns carry a full outpatient caseload in Community Services and pick up additional short-term cases on inpatient rotations. Austin State Hospital provides extensive opportunities for training in group psychotherapy. Most interns lead a group in their outpatient setting, and almost all interns will be involved in at least one inpatient group at any point in time. Many of the group assignments entail co-therapists, which include supervising psychologists, professionals from other disciplines, and other trainees.
Training is accomplished through direct case supervision, seminar instruction, and co-therapy.
The training staff includes various theoretical orientations, but psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches are most prevalent. There are also opportunities to participate in psychosocial programming activities such as skills training groups, medication maintenance groups, or assertiveness skills training. On some units interns can gain experience in the design and implementation of individual and group behavior therapy programs. Training is assured in all of these areas through collaboration with other staff members and through supervision by psychology staff. Interns are expected to play an active role on a multidisciplinary treatment team at some point during their internship year.