The purpose of this Open House is to answer questions you may have about the 2007-2008 Social Work Externship at UCLA Student Psychological Services. If you have any additional questions after reading through the materials presented here, please feel free to contact me.
My telephone number is (310) 825-0768.
Patricia Rodriguez-Holguin
L.C.S.W., BCD
Coordinator of Social Work Training

Who can apply to the externship?
For this year, Social Work students from UCLA who have completed their first year of graduate school are eligible for this externship.

Tell me about the Student Psychological Services.
SPS is a comprehensive psychological service for registered UCLA students. We provide individual psychotherapy (both short-term and long-term), group therapy, couples counseling, medication management, psychiatric evaluation, and emergency services. We also provide Consultation, Outreach, Prevention, and Education to the campus community in the form of various workshops, liaison with academic departments, response to campus emergencies, etc.

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Where is SPS located?
Student Psychological Services is located at John Wooden Center West, which is adjacent to the Wooden Center. We overlook the intramural practice field, across from Pauley Pavilion and Drake Stadium. Our office environment is bright and airy and recently built, with many amenities. Each office has a computer with Internet access, access to the UCLA library backbone and built-in audio/video taping access for supervisory purposes.

Tell me about the SPS staff.
We are a multidisciplinary staff of licensed Social Workers, Psychologists, and Psychiatrists. Our staff is one of the most culturally diverse of any University Counseling Center in the U.S. All of the staff members are involved in the Training Program, so you will have the opportunity to learn from a variety of approaches and personal styles while you are here. There is no hierarchy based upon discipline at SPS. There is frequent cross-discipline consultation and collaboration.  For more information on our staff, visit www.sps.ucla.edu/roster.html.

How many Social Work Extern openings are there?
We select up to 3 social work externs each year.

Are there other trainees at SPS?
Yes. We are very proud of our integrated training program. You will be trained with 3 doctoral students in Clinical and Counseling Psychology, 3 practicum students in their 3rd year of the UCLA doctoral psychology program, 2 postdoctoral fellows, and at times a Psychiatric Resident. Because our Psychology Internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association, we recruit our Psychology interns nationally. Again, as a training group, you will learn from each other. Time is set aside in your busy training schedule for the training group to meet together each week without other staff present. The training group often becomes very cohesive and the other trainees can be a great source of emotional support as well as of learning for you.

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What is the client population like?
University students tend to be interesting and challenging clients. They are very bright, generally articulate, and they are usually in a developmental phase in which you can observe real change from your psychological intervention in a short period of time. They come from all over the U.S. and all over the world. They bring with them an infinite variety of cultural life experiences. Often, they are involved in fascinating academic endeavors here, so we are always learning from our clients. For example, you could see someone who is working on a cure for AIDS, or who has made an interesting documentary film, or who will be in the next Olympic Games.

However, despite how generally high-functioning this population is, externs are sometimes surprised to discover that they will be working with clients who have the full range of psychopathology. Each year we mention this during our interview process and each year some interns are still surprised to learn that they will be dealing with suicidal/homicidal students, spousal violence, drug addiction, rape, first manic episode, the need to hospitalize students and to make Tarasoff warnings, etc. I mention this because many of you may want the experience of working with the full-range of psychopathology, and to make it clear that you can have that experience here. Anyone whom you would see as a client at a Community Mental Health Center you could see at SPS as well.

Another misperception is that you would only be seeing adolescents and young adults. The age range of our clients is broad, from 17-60+. About half of the students who utilize our service are graduate students, and UCLA has many older, returning students. You will have no difficulty keeping your caseload filled with clients as we are a very well-utilized service. In fact, if you have a particular interest in working with a specific type of client (eg. couples, gay or lesbian clients, etc.) or need a certain type of clinical experience to round-out your training, you can make that request and we will do our best to fill your need. However, we do want you to leave here as a competent generalist and not as a specialist in just one area.

Would I be doing any Outreach Projects to the Campus Community?
Yes. We expect each Social Work Extern to participate fully in Outreach during their placement here. Examples might be a workshop on a topic of interest to you, a training that you provide to other campus departments, an article on a mental health issue for the Daily Bruin, or a group project with other trainees.

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Tell me about the supervision I will get.
You will receive one hour per week of individual supervision with a Social Worker who will be your primary supervisor. You will receive a second hour per week of individual supervision with either a Psychologist or a Social Worker. If you co-lead a therapy group you will receive up to an hour of supervision each week with your group co-therapist.  So you may receive a total of 3 hours of supervision each week. All supervisors are licensed with at least 1 year of post-licensure experience.

Are there any other opportunities for professional development?
Each week, trainees attend a 2-hour clinical training meeting. In this meeting, you will participate in various presentations by professionals from SPS and the community on a variety of topics that include ethical issues, the treatment of students with chronic medical problems, treatment of gay and lesbian clients, etc. Trainees also attend the all-staff professional development meetings, with outside presenters. Trainees are often invited to attend other conferences during the training year.

What is my caseload expected to be?
You will be see a varying number of individual clients per week. One or more of your clients may be seen for up to 9 months. The rest of your caseload will be seen in brief individual therapy, as well as group treatment.

OTHER IMPORTANT FACTS

University Holidays: There are 13 paid University Holidays.

SELECTION PROCEDURE
If you are still interested in applying to SPS for an externship after reading through the above material on this site, please call Patricia Rodriguez-Holguin, (310) 825-0768 to ask any questions you might have about the placement . The interview will be conducted by two members of the Staff and will include a Social Worker. PLEASE BRING THE "SUMMARY OF YOUR EXPERIENCE" (GIVEN TO YOU BY YOUR SCHOOL) WITH YOU TO THE INTERVIEW! You will be asked several general questions about your past experience, and about what you would like in your second year placement. Then we will ask you to respond to a clinical vignette. You are not expected to respond to every aspect of the vignette, or to respond perfectly, but to discuss some of the relevant points. After all of the interviews are completed, the selection committee will meet to make our selections. Sometimes we rank-order the applicants. Sometimes a whole group of applicants would do well here, and we ask the school to decide for us. The school will notify you, usually before Spring Quarter ends, if you will be placed at SPS next year.

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OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are you looking for in an extern?
We would like someone who is mature, self-aware, able to function in the integrated intern group, and who would work well with the staff as a whole.

What is the paperwork like?
All of our "paperwork" is now completely computerized. You will be trained on our system during your orientation.

What is it like to work at SPS?
We work with interesting, high-functioning clients and are well utilized so you will be kept busy. We have a diverse staff. The interdisciplinary staff is a rich learning resource, and staff relations are warm and collegial. The best way to answer this question is that staff members rarely leave SPS once hired, and externs often don't want to leave at the end of the year.

TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW APPOINTMENT:
Please contact our training program scheduling coordinator,
Deb Sriberg at (310) 825-0768, after April 1st.
Thank You!
Patricia Rodriguez-Holguin, L.C.S.W. BCD
Coordinator of Social Work Training.