• Practicums and Internships at the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling
• Undergraduate Peer Educator Internships at the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling

Practicums and Internships at the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling :

Description of Center

The Center for Educational Resources and Counseling (ERC) is a department within the division of Student Affairs at Tulane. Mental health services are also provided by the psychiatry department of the Tulane Student Health Center. The two centers work together to offer a broad range of mental health services to currently enrolled students.

The Center provides short-term psychotherapy, study strategies help, career testing, tutoring and disability services to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at Tulane. Several therapy and support groups are offered each semester, depending upon student interest. Individual counseling appointments are limited to 10 per year. However, interns are allowed to see a small number of clients longer than 10 sessions, particularly in cases of compelling need and limited resources.

Staff

The ERC currently has licensed psychologists and counselors. Each intern receives at least one hour per week of individual supervision with an appropriate professional. Other staff include the manager of Disability Services, the Accommodations and Testing Accommodations Coordinators, the Tutor Coordinator, the Psychological Testing Coordinator, the Executive Secretary, and two Administrative Secretaries.

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Counseling Internship

All interns are expected to participate in the full range of services typically provided by a university counseling center (i.e., individual and group counseling, educational counseling, career testing, outreach programs, consultation, and crisis intervention). Interns are also expected to attend weekly supervision, staff meetings, case conferences, intern training seminars, and occasional joint staff meetings with other departments.

In our experience, a one semester commitment is insufficient to meet the needs of the intern. Therefore, all interns must make at least a two semester commitment to work at the Center (i.e., one Fall and one Spring semester). Although there is some flexibility in scheduling, interns are strongly encouraged to work at least 18 to 20 hours per week (certain programs require even more hours). Interns who need a certain number of direct service hours per week should multiply this figure by two to estimate the total number of weekly hours they should plan to work (e.g., if you need to average 10 direct service hours per week, plan on spending 20 hours per week). Interns are expected to have documentation of professional liability insurance coverage (i.e., an individual policy, or group coverage through their department or training program) before beginning to work with clients.

Disability Services Internship

In addition to mental health counseling practica and internships, the Center also offers an internship in Disability Services. Interested graduate students should contact the Manager of Disability Services.

Undergraduate Peer Educator Internships at the Center for Educational Resources & Counseling :

The Center offers "Peer Educator" internships for interested Tulane undergraduates. Three or more Peer Educators will be selected to: (1) provide individual study strategy help (e.g., time management, test-taking, note-taking) for other Tulane students; (2) lead occasional study strategy workshops (e.g., in residence halls); and (3) help Educational Resources and Counseling staff with other related projects, as time permits.

At the start of the internship, peer educators will be required to participate in at least 12 hours of counseling skills training and at least six hours of study strategy training. Some of the training may need to be scheduled on weekends, or before classes begin in the Fall semester. After the initial training period, peer educators will be expected to devote at least six hours per week to the internship. In addition, peer educators are required to attend a weekly group supervision meeting led by the Center's staff.

This internship provides a unique opportunity for Tulane undergraduates to obtain counseling-related experience, and may be ideal for students who are considering graduate study and/or a possible career in a mental health profession.

Interested students will be interviewed by the center's staff before a final decision will be made about their participation in the internship.

Criteria for Peer Educators:

• Excellent interpersonal skills, including empathy, understanding, warmth, genuineness.
• Good listening and communication skills.
• Tolerant, respectful, nonjudgmental attitude toward each individual, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, and/or disability.
• Personal qualities such as responsibility, reliability, commitment, and flexibility.
• Responsiveness to supervision.

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