Advanced Practicum and Externship Training
Practicum Coordinator: Amanda Tyson-Ryba, Ph.D.
The University and Its Environment
Located on two spacious, attractive campuses, the University at Buffalo is the largest, most comprehensive member of the State University of New York system. It boasts an ethnically and culturally rich and diverse student body of approximately 28,000 students, 20 percent of whom are minority students and 14 percent of whom are international students. The distinguished faculty includes nationally and internationally recognized figures in all major disciplines. In addition, the presence of three major coordinating divisions, Undergraduate Education, Graduate and Professional Education, and the Division of Continuing Education, allows for a variety and scope of academic programs that is unsurpassed. The quality and extensiveness of the facilities at both on- and off-campus sites greatly enhance the reputation of the University. As the second largest city in New York State, Buffalo is proud to be the home of this prestigious institution. Indeed, the University represents a major cultural center for all of Western New York. Films, concerts, art exhibits, and lectures by a wide variety of prominent people are available on campus throughout the year.
The Counseling Services: An Overview
Counseling Services is a department in the Division of Student Affairs. Our office provides a full range of services and programs which promote the personal development and psychological well being of students and the attainment of personal and educational goals. The staff is strongly committed to programming related to student diversity and to an overall university environment which celebrates individual and cultural differences. Among the services offered are individual and group therapy, couples counseling, crisis intervention, consultation, career counseling, psychological evaluation, and referral. Skill-building workshops are offered to augment the personal growth and development of students and staff members of the university. As a mental health agency for a student body of over 28,000, Counseling Services works with students comprising the full range of concerns, from developmental issues to severe psychopathology. Counseling Services also offers APA-accredited Pre-doctoral Psychology Internship, as well as practicum, internship, and externship training for doctorate and master’s level students.
Counseling Services has a staff of full-time psychologists and social workers, part-time counselors, consulting psychiatrists and psychiatry residents, full-time pre-doctoral psychology interns, social work interns, practicum trainees, and externs. Several staff members hold adjunct appointments with the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology and the School of Social Work. Staff members are actively involved in professional organizations.
Setting and Facilities
The Counseling Services offices are located on the North Campus of the State University of New York at Buffalo in a residence hall complex. The facilities include office space, a group room, webcam recording equipment, and computer resources. There is also a satellite office on the South Campus.
Counseling Services has a strong commitment to maintaining close working relationships with other departments of the Division of Student Affairs, including Student Health, Wellness Education, Career Services, Residence Life, and throughout the University, such as the Educational Opportunity Program.
Training Philosophy
Since each trainee possesses a variety of skills, we believe that it is important that training is tailored to the experience and needs of each existing trainee. Staff members of Counseling Services utilize interventions from a wide variety of theoretical orientations, including cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, interpersonal, developmental, systems, feminist, multicultural, gestalt, humanistic, existential, eclectic, and integrative. Thus, a trainee has the opportunity to develop his or her own individual therapeutic style.
The Counseling Services staff is dedicated to the concept of excellence in a training experience within a multifaceted, service-oriented agency. While broad exposure to a variety of professional activities is advocated, a genuine commitment to intensive supervision and to the furthering of the trainee's personal and professional growth exists as the foundation of our philosophy. Overall, we seek to create an atmosphere of respect and trust where trainees and professional staff support their own and others' growth both personally and professionally.
Diversity Issues
The staff of Counseling Services is committed and dedicated to the affirmation of diversity. The students at the University at Buffalo are quite diverse not only among traditionally under-represented American groups, but also among international students. Issues of diversity are included in the didactic training experiences, as well as in clinical practice. Several seminars are presented throughout the year addressing various topics related to diversity. Trainees are provided with exposure to clients of differing ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, religious backgrounds, ages, genders, abilities, and other diversity factors. This is also reflected in the Counseling Services staff, as there is diversity among staff. Workshops are also provided to the university community in an effort to assist in the celebration of diversity throughout the campus.
The Typical Week
You will be expected to be here approximately 16-20 hours/week, with an expectation that your placement at UBCS will be for both the fall and spring semesters of the academic year for which you are accepted. Your time will be devoted to a variety of activities, some recurring, some occurring only once, as the needs of our office and the training dictate.
You may be required to attend orientation training the week before the fall semester begins. During the academic year, you will be required to be here only when classes are in session. This placement ends at the end of Finals Week, but you are expected to terminate with all clients before then, to leave time for paperwork and final supervision issues.
Here are some of the typical activities you will engage in (please note, this list of activities is accurate at the time of this writing, and is subject to change):
- Individual therapy: You will carry a caseload of approximately 6-8 clients. Presenting concerns range from developmental issues to severe psychopathology.
- Initial Assessments: Following training in our initial assessment procedures during the beginning of the Fall semester, you will be scheduled for one to two initial assessment appointments per week.
- Group therapy: There is the possibility of either process-observing a group and/or co-leading a group with a staff member. Supervision of group therapy will also be provided.
- Group supervision (practicum/extern seminar): Each week you will meet for 1½ hours on Thursday mornings from 9-10:30 am with the other externs and advanced practicum students and the practicum coordinator for group supervision and seminars.
- Individual supervision: You will meet with an individual supervisor for one hour of supervision each week.
- Clinical Meeting: You will meet with staff each Tuesday morning, 8:30 am-9:30 am, during which time cases are discussed/assigned.
- Workshops: You will co-lead (with other trainees and/or staff) 2-3 workshops per semester of your placement at Counseling Services. Workshops are offered during the day, as well as on weekends and evenings.
- Paperwork and Case Management: Time is built in to your schedule for paperwork and preparations. It is essential that your paperwork be kept up to date at all times.
Work Expectations*
| Hrs./Wk. | |
| I. Clinical Services | |
| Individual Counseling | 6 - 8 |
| Initial Assessments | 1 - 2 |
| Group Therapy | 2 |
| Paperwork & Case Management | 2 - 3 |
| II. Outreach Activities | |
| Workshop Presentations | (2+ per semester) |
| III. Supervision and Meetings | |
| Individual Supervision | 1 |
| Group Supervision (Practicum Seminar) | 1.5 |
| Clinical Meeting (Tuesday mornings) | 1 |
Total 16-20 | |
* Time allocations are approximate and subject to change. A more individualized program may be discussed with the Practicum Coordinator.
Application for Practicum/Externship Placement
All potential practicum/extern students must apply for a practicum/externship position at University at Buffalo Counseling Services. Applications (see application form: PDF (71KB) | Word (27KB) ) should be submitted to Amanda Tyson, Ph.D. by March 18, 2013. Qualified applicants will be interviewed, and selections will be made and notified accordingly within a reasonable time frame.
Amanda Tyson-Ryba, Ph.D.
Practicum Coordinator
Counseling Services
120 Richmond Quadrangle
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14261-0053
Phone: (716) 645-2720
E-mail: atyson@buffalo.edu
