Description
This practicum includes primarily individual treatment for adults with the possibility of group treatment during the Spring semester. The treatment approach is cognitive behavioural (CBT) or interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). There is an emphasis on diagnostic assessment, case formulation and treatment planning as well as on progress and outcome monitoring. Depending on client needs, you will learn a variety of specific CBT interventions including psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, graduated exposure, behavioural experiments, behavioral activation, and goal-setting. For IPT cases, you will learn how to develop an interpersonal inventory and include treatment interventions such as communication analysis and role play.
Types of Cases
Panic disorder, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, health issues such as headaches or irritable bowl syndrome, and depression.
Caseload
First year students start with one individual case and are expected to add a second individual or a group in the Spring term.
Supervision Approach
We will have a 2-hour group supervision meeting and a 1-hour individual supervision meeting each week. In the group supervision meeting, we will discuss current cases with an emphasis on providing peer supervision (i.e., asking questions, giving feedback/suggestions to the other students) and brief didactic lessons (e.g., mini-lectures on specific skills, role plays). In our individual meetings, we will focus in more detail on each of your cases and will also discuss what you are learning through self-reflection about personal reactions that may help or hinder your clinical work. Each student is required to nominate one client as their “team case.” You will be asked to watch all sessions for the team cases. With 4 students on the team, this means you will be expected to observe and provide feedback on 4 sessions/week in addition to your own face-to-face client sessions.
Supervision for groups will take place during individual supervision meetings and also for one hour immediately after the group. Groups are led by myself, a student in third year or beyond, and a student in second year (their first internal practicum). More advanced students will also have an opportunity to offer supervision to less experienced students. Students not leading the group are invited to observe from behind the mirror and participate in the group debriefings/supervision.