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 2024 and ends May 2025. Unfortunately, training opportunities outside of this time frame are not available.

LOCATIONS: All clinical training will be based out of our Counseling Center located on the boarder of Lakeview and Uptown.

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.

Training Program Information

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 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, which follows the three day HR orientation through the following week (approx. from 10 am to 4 pm each day).  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. 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.

Clinical Training Positions Available

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.

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

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