Clinical Training Opportunities

Clinical Training Opportunities

The clinical training year begins early August each year. Students will be expected to be on-site 24 hours per week spread over at least three days. The clinical training year begins August 15, 2023 and ends May 31, 2024. Unfortunately, training opportunities outside of this time frame are not available.

LOCATIONS: While the Counseling Center is located on the border of Lakeview and Uptown, training positions may be located both in our North Side and/or South Side locations. 

COVID-19 training statement  Howard Brown Health takes the safety of our interns and externs seriously and follow CDC  guidelines around COVID-19. Students in our training program are working on-site and are providing both teletherapy and in person therapy as both modalities continue to be viable and important ways to provide services. Additionally at this time, masking and COVID-19 vaccinations are required for our trainees.

Philosophy
Howard Brown Health is a “student-focused” training site. We understand that students are coming to our site to learn. As a result, we do not expect to hire experts in the field. While here, the focus is to foster the growth of each student as a therapist-in-training, but also as a professional. We encourage questions, dialogue and curiosity. In return, we offer patience, passion for training and an interest in seeing you grow. During the training year, students will learn how to support clients within an interdisciplinary environment. Learning how to communicate with other disciplines and contribute to collaborative work between disciplines ensures increased client satisfaction and overall health and wellness. Students at Howard Brown Health have a unique opportunity to support the LGBTQ+ community and its allies and our hope is that each student will take what they learn here and share it with others in the future.

Direct Clinical Services
Students devote 50% of their practicum hours, or approximately 12 hours, in the provision of direct clinical services. Typically, a student’s weekly provision of direct clinical services will be distributed as follows:

The provision of direct clinical services can be tailored to the individual interests and training needs of the students in conjunction with the agency’s needs.

Supervision
The clinical staff members of Behavioral Health Services (BHS) are all licensed professionals in various disciplines and represent a diversity of theoretical orientations, sexual identities, and gender identities. Some of the highlights of the staff include:

Each student will be assigned a primary supervisor, and will meet with that supervisor individually once or twice a week to address overall training needs. Weekly group supervision is also provided, in which all students will meet as a group with a group supervisor different from the primary supervisor. Furthermore, all staff members with varied interests and specializations are also available as added resources, and single-case supervision can be arranged on an as-needed basis. This supervisory arrangement allows each student exposure to a variety of clinical styles and approaches.

Orientation
Orientation has two parts. The initial part is a three-day orientation with our HR department that begins on Aug 15th and will run from approximately 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each of those days. The second part of orientation is with the training and supervision team. This orientation will be Aug 21 – 25 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (the first two full weeks of the training year). During these two weeks, trainees will be oriented to Howard Brown as an agency and also policies and procedures specific to training in Behavioral Health Services. Additional topics covered will include the department’s mental health intake process, crisis intervention procedures, electronic health records system, as well as a focus on building a professional identity, affirmative care, and professional boundaries. Orientation is a required and mandatory portion of the training year.

Presentations
In August, the students of Howard Brown join the students of Center on Halsted in a training consortium and attend weekly didactic presentations on topics that are of specific interest in working with the LGBTQ+ community. Some of the topics include: Racial/Ethnic Minority LGBTQ+ Issues, HIV Grief and Loss Issues, and Kink Issues in the LGBTQ Community. The training consortium is an excellent opportunity for students to network with students in other disciplines and from other schools. Presenters in the training consortium are local clinicians who are considered experts in working with the LGBTQ+ community. Exposure to so many other professionals provides additional networking opportunities for students, which have proven invaluable for students each year. We have seen these training consortium relationships support learning goals and assist students in accessing future career placements.

Weekly Meetings
Lastly, as part of the BHS team, students will attend weekly team meetings. This will give the students exposure to administrative and other issues impacting the department, the agency, and the community and that will have direct bearing on their clinical services with their clients. Case and topic presentations are also included in the staff meetings.  Students’ opinions are valued at Howard Brown Health and as a result, students are encouraged to participate and share their ideas and feedback within meetings.

Required Hours on Site
Students schedule 24 hours per week for their clinical training time and have 50% of that time for clinical hours. During the training week, students are required to be on site from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Wednesdays. Students are also required to work at least one evening throughout the year (until 8 p.m.) OR Saturdays (9 a.m. -3 p.m.) (site dependent). To get the full benefit out of training, students’ schedules need to be spread across three days (minimum). Students may change their schedule at the midpoint to accommodate shifts in class schedules for the new semester at school. The training year begins in August and ends during the following May.

Start dates and required hours on site are non-negotiable. The Wednesday required hours will be located at our Counseling Center location (3948 N Sheridan Rd). Other training days will occur at the specific clinic a student is assigned to.

Clinical Training Positions available:

NEW IN 2023-2023: DIAGNOSTIC PRACTICUM (Psychological Assessment)

This practicum position is open to Doctoral level practicum students interested in adult assessment and will follow a similar structure to Direct Clinical Services students. Due to the clinical nuances of each testing case, and the structured workflow of test administration and production of comprehensive evaluation reports, a student’s weekly provision of clinical services will consist of some combination of the following:

As part of a multidisciplinary team, the focus of testing will be primarily on adults seeking ADHD/LD and neurodiversity testing to determine eligibility for placement within the Howard Brown Health continuum of behavioral and psychiatric services.

Generalist Therapy Trainee

The Generalist trainee is located on our Mental Health team and provides individual and group therapy services to clients seeking improvements or management of their mental health.  A generalist trainee in BHS will have the opportunity to provide therapy services to clients within varied length of time frames (brief and longer term therapy based on clients co-created treatment plan).  Additionally, trainees will have the opportunity to co-facilitate therapy groups with staff members and may also provide brief phone screening appointments for individuals interested in group therapy services. Trainees may also have the opportunity to learn to consult and provide integrated care through consultation with medical providers and case managers. * For our Southside location positions, an interest/experience in working with the Englewood community is strongly preferred.

The Generalist trainee’s hour distribution will be as follows:

Substance Use Focused Trainee

The Substance Use Focused trainee is located on our Recovering with Pride (RWP) team and provides individual, relationship, and group therapy services to clients seeking services with a focus on managing or improving their relationship with substances.  Trainees on the RWP team will have the opportunity to provide therapy services to clients within varied length of time frames (brief and longer term therapy based on clients co-created treatment plan). Additionally, trainees will have the opportunity to co-facilitate therapy groups with staff members and may also provide brief phone screening appointments for individuals interested in group therapy services. Trainees may also have the opportunity to learn to consult and provide integrated care through consultation with medical providers and case managers. * For our Southside location positions, an interest/experience in working with the Englewood community is strongly preferred.

The RWP trainee’s hour distribution will be as follows:

Integrated Care Trainee

The Integrated Care trainee is located on our Behavioral Health Professional (BHP) team and provides targeted assessment, short-term intervention, and brief follow up in a Coordinated Care Model to Howard Brown’s primary care medical patients. The Integrated Care Trainee is an active primary care team member whose goal is to improve patient functioning, assist with the implementation of the primary care provider (PCP) treatment plans and support patients in achieving improved health outcomes. This includes, but is not limited to, assessment of needs and barriers to health, treatment planning, adherence counseling, lifestyle modification, referral to internal and external resources, patient psycho-education, treatment plan follow-up, relapse prevention planning, discharge planning and crisis management. BHP trainees will be housed in the medical clinic and will work hours that coincide with the hours of clinic operation. These trainees also may have the opportunity to hold and work with therapy clients who are interested in therapy outside of brief focused work.  * For our Southside location positions, an interest/experience in working with the Englewood community is strongly preferred.

The BHP trainee’s hours distribution will be as follows:

View the Application for Clinical Training Opportunities

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