Philosophy of Training
The Butler Consortium Doctoral Internship in Professional
Psychology focuses on the training of generalist practitioners
in psychology. We approach this endeavor through our emphasis on
intensive supervision, enabling the intern to work toward
increasingly complex clinical practice as well as an integrated
sense of personal and professional development. The program values
experiential learning in which interns "learn by doing" in terms of
providing services under the direct supervision and mentorship of
senior staff psychologists. Interaction between interns and staff
is both formal, through involvement in individual and group
supervision, intern seminars, case conferences, supervision of
supervision and staff development activities, and informal, through
an "open door policy" which emphasizes the value of consultation
and collaboration. Training staff may be called upon to fulfill
multiple roles with interns including consultant, mentor, teacher,
evaluator, advocate, advisor and colleague. It is through these
roles and relationships that skill development, professional
identity and personal integration are modeled and taught. One goal
of the training program is that what begins as a mentor-mentee
relationship may ultimately result in a collegial consultative
relationship in which both trainer and trainee perspectives are
seen as equally useful and valuable.
Although applied practice is the focus of the internship
experience, the ability to access and utilize scientific research
in the treatment setting is highly valued. Attention to scholarly
contributions to the field can be seen through assigned readings
for seminars, support for individual intern research interests,
including dissertation time, and a general approach to clinical
work that calls on the processes of "hypothesis testing" and other
scientific models to inform case conceptualization and
treatment.
The philosophy of training of the internship program is grounded
in the consistent ethical treatment of the intern and his/her
clients at both sites. An effort is made, through teaching and by
example, to model and promote a humane work environment conducive
to learning and growth. Formal and informal staff development
opportunities emphasizing team-building, including the value of a
sense of fun and humor, are seen as important in maintaining
balance. Individual and cultural differences are honored and the
intern is encouraged to work toward the integration of his/her
person with his/her role as a psychologist.
Finally, the Butler Consortium internship embraces the
awareness and use of self perspective as part of our training
model. We value personal exploration and expect interns to examine
the qualities and dynamics they bring to interactions with clients,
peers, and other work-related relationships. We believe such
discussions, as they relate to interns' activities on internship,
can be quite useful when trying to understand transference and
countertransference issues and in facilitating the interns'
professional growth. This may call for interns to reflect on and
discuss personal information that may influence their clinical
practice. Such disclosure frequently occurs within a supervisory
relationship characterized by safety, trust, and respect.
Supervision is not viewed as psychotherapy, and the focus of
personal exploration is meant to enhance interns' growth and
effectiveness as clinicians rather than serve as a form of
psychotherapy.