The CUA Counseling Center is a mental health agency with a professional staff of psychologists, clinical social workers, and a consulting psychiatrist. The Center is the only mental health agency on campus. Therefore, student trainees have an opportunity to address a wider range of issues with graduate and undergraduate student clients than do externs at most university counseling centers. The field placement is a nine month, twenty hour per week position that involves participation in many phases of the Center's activities. Each trainee will carry up to eight hours of casework with individual clients and may also co-lead group therapy.
Trainees receive both individual and group supervision.
Staff development activities are offered and there may be opportunities to present workshops, consult with campus groups, and participate in campus outreach activities, including screenings for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and alcohol abuse. The staff development program includes weekly lectures and workshops on topics pertinent to professional clinicians, such as suicide assessment and treatment, eating disorders, ACOA issues, working with difficult clients, and theory based and cross-cultural treatments. Presenters include in-house staff and local experts who are also practicing clinicians. Those candidates who are judged to be qualified are then asked to come to the Center for interviews. After all those candidates have been interviewed, those chosen for the program will be notified.