Practicum Training
For over 25 years, Student Counseling & Psychological Services (SCPS) has had an active practicum training program at Auburn University.
About the program
Most Student Counseling & Psychological Services (SCPS) Graduate Practicum Clinicians are doctoral students in either Auburn University’s Counseling Psychology or Clinical Psychology doctoral programs. More advanced Counseling and Clinical Psychology doctoral graduate students can also return to SCPS to complete advanced practica dependent on their academic and clinical training and development. Student Counseling & Psychological Services has a longstanding arrangement with the Clinical Psychology program and accepts at least one Graduate Practicum Clinician each year. More recently, SCPS has also begun accepting selected MSW graduate students from Auburn University’s Master of Social Work Program in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work.
The focus
The primary focus of the practicum training experience is on individual counseling, so the majority of practicum hours are devoted to that clinical service. Opportunities for conducting intake appointments, co-leading therapy groups, and making outreach presentations are also available for those Graduate Practicum Clinician with appropriate education and training. Psychological assessment instruments may be incorporated as part of providing comprehensive clinical services. Certain psychological assessment experiences such as the Executive Function Screening (EFS) are limited based on past assessment training and experience of the Graduate Practicum Clinician.
Advanced practicum
Opportunities are also available for more advanced graduate students to return to SCPS and complete further training. Advanced graduate students typically have a more challenging caseload and have greater ability to refine their areas of specialization by having more control over which clients they work with. Additionally, effort is made to pair advanced graduate students with senior staff clinicians at SCPS for supervisors, and these students may also be involved in completing intake appointments. Other opportunities may also be available given SCPS availability and the student’s developmental level.
Student Counseling & Psychological Services
Carlie McGourty, Ph.D.,
Practicum Coordinator, Licensed Psychologist
334.844.5123