The Center is American University's primary mental health agency, providing clinical services to the AU student body. It is an ideal setting for externs to gain experience working with clients from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds who present with a variety of concerns. The AU Center engages in a multi-theoretical approach to psychotherapy with the common thread of working relationally with clients and having a strong emphasis on cultural competency and social justice.

The program requires externs to be onsite for 16-20 hours per week, depending on the requirements of the extern’s home institution and interests. Each extern is responsible for ensuring that their hours meet criteria for their respective program. Externs are required to be on site on Thursdays 9am-12:30pm. The externship program begins mid-late August and ends early May. Included below is an outline of typical weekly activities:

Individual therapy (8-12 hours per week)
Clients are generally seen once per week and sessions take place at the Well-Being Center. All counseling sessions with clients are videotaped for supervision purposes. Externs carry a caseload of seven to 10 clients throughout the year.

Supervision of individual therapy (2 hours per week)
Each extern will meet with two different clinical supervisors who oversee the provision of psychological services. At least one supervisor will be a licensed clinical psychologist.

Initial Consultation assessments (1 hour per week)
Externs will provide one Initial Consultation assessment per week. They will receive training and supervision in this area.

Seminar (2 hours per week)
Externs are required to attend a weekly seminar (Thursdays, 10am-12pm) conducted by AUCC staff members and visiting clinicians. The seminar series focuses on a number of clinical topics and issues, with suggested readings provided by various presenters.

Clinical case conference (1 hour per week)
Every Thursday (9am-10am), externs meet as a group with an AUCC staff member to present and discuss case conceptualizations. They are expected to complete a brief write up of the case prior to the conference.

Readings
Readings for the seminars are often assigned in advance of class, but additional reading materials are also suggested during seminar.

Outreach
Each extern facilitates or participates in two outreach projects within the AU community during their externship.

Training Director meeting
Externs meet with the Associate Director for Training on most Thursdays (12-12:30pm) in order to facilitate understanding of AUCC policies and procedures, receive and provide feedback regarding their training experience, and discuss issues of professional development.

Professional development
Externs will be afforded the opportunity to discuss issues related to professional identity and development throughout the training year. One goal of the externship training program is to prepare clinical trainees for their internship year.

Formal feedback will be provided to externs at the end of each semester. Informal feedback will be provided throughout the semester. Externs are evaluated in a variety of areas, including the competencies laid out in the Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychologists.

The American University training programs view supervision as a means for trainees to learn how to assess and intervene with clients and to recognize, understand, and manage their personal reactions to those under their care. The clinician's response to the client "in the room" can be an important vehicle for understanding and helping the client. As such, an integral aspect of supervision is the exploration of such issues. In accordance with the APA Ethics Code, Section 7.4, it is important for trainees to be informed that they will be expected to explore and reflect upon their feelings and reactions to clients. In the process of this self-reflection, personal information about the trainee may be discussed and addressed. The staff believes that the decision as to how much or how little to share is a choice that needs to be made by the trainee, and supervision is never viewed as psychotherapy. Also in accordance with APA Ethics Code, Section 7.5, it is important for trainees to be aware that the due process procedures for our training programs indicate that the staff may require trainees to obtain psychotherapy in those cases in which a trainee is deemed impaired.