Support System
Firsthand counseling experience gives students a career head start.
Seated in front of two large closed-circuit television screens, Bryce Hagedorn, 麻豆精品 S�00, surveys the 10 rooms at UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Community Counseling and Research Center (CCRC).
Hagedorn, a UCF associate professor in the Counselor Education Program, drags his cursor along the computer screen and clicks a button to enlarge the screen for one counseling room.
On screen, a lone supervisor sits with her back to the camera, adjusting her chair and looking over her notes. Hagedorn watches the room fill with a dozen counseling practicum students, who settle in for their morning discussion.
Hagedorn was among the first group of student counselors to train at the clinic when he was studying for his master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in 1999. 麻豆精品 S淏efore the center opened, 麻豆精品 S� he recalls, 麻豆精品 S淚 remember doing family therapy with our knees basically touching due to the small rooms. 麻豆精品 S�
Seated in front of two large closed-circuit television screens, Bryce Hagedorn, 麻豆精品 S�00, surveys the 10 rooms at UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Community Counseling and Research Center (CCRC).
Hagedorn, a UCF associate professor in the Counselor Education Program, drags his cursor along the computer screen and clicks a button to enlarge the screen for one counseling room.
On screen, a lone supervisor sits with her back to the camera, adjusting her chair and looking over her notes. Hagedorn watches the room fill with a dozen counseling practicum students, who settle in for their morning discussion.
Hagedorn was among the first group of student counselors to train at the clinic when he was studying for his master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in 1999. 麻豆精品 S淏efore the center opened, 麻豆精品 S� he recalls, 麻豆精品 S淚 remember doing family therapy with our knees basically touching due to the small rooms. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淏efore the center opened, I remember doing family therapy with our knees basically touching due to the small rooms. 麻豆精品 S�
Filling Gaps
The CCRC opened in 1998. Through the center, counselors see more than 1,800 clients a year. More importantly, Hagedorn notes, it is the only free mental health clinic in Central Florida.
麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 a very active practice, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭here 麻豆精品 S檚 always a waitlist. 麻豆精品 S�
In addition to serving the Central Florida community free of charge, counselors at the clinic also work with UCF students who have been referred from the university 麻豆精品 S檚 Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) center. These referrals occur when students 麻豆精品 S� mental health needs go beyond the mission of CAPS, which is to address concerns in six to eight sessions. If students need longer-term counseling, they can be referred to the CCRC and see a counselor for up to one year.
The clinic is also unique in its staffing arrangement 麻豆精品 S� all 60 or so counselors are master 麻豆精品 S檚 or doctoral Counselor Education students at UCF. 麻豆精品 S淥ur advanced graduate students gain supervised clinical experiences during their practicum (i.e., pre-internships) in ways that surpass students from other university counseling programs in Central Florida, 麻豆精品 S� Hagedorn says.
In other graduate programs, students often enter their initial internships in the community needing to shadow licensed counselors for an entire semester before being ready to work with clients.
The clinic puts UCF student counselors in a position to go into the community and begin immediately working with clients during their internships. 麻豆精品 S淲e have a current list of approved internship sites where we have strong reciprocal relationships: We provide them with strong student counselors, and they refer clients who are looking for the services we can offer, 麻豆精品 S� Hagedorn says. 麻豆精品 S淥ur students come highly prepared, so site supervisors are always asking for us to send more students their way. 麻豆精品 S�
One of those approved internship sites is The Center for Drug-Free Living, one of Central Florida 麻豆精品 S檚 largest nonprofit behavioral health organizations. Roughly 10 to 15 UCF student counselors work as interns at the center each semester.
麻豆精品 S淲ithin a couple of weeks, the UCF interns are ready to start seeing their own clients, 麻豆精品 S� says the center 麻豆精品 S檚 clinical director, Jody Scott, 麻豆精品 S�77. 麻豆精品 S淲hen we get students from another university counseling program, we end up serving as their practicum site, and it can take two to three months before we allow those students to have their own caseload. 麻豆精品 S�
A Bug in Their Ear
New counselors are highly supervised in the CCRC, meeting with faculty supervisors for weekly sessions and to discuss ongoing cases. Once students successfully complete the practicum portion of their graduate studies, some choose to stay at the clinic as interns and manage a larger caseload of clients.
Whenever a student counselor is working with a client, their supervisor sits in the control room, able to offer the counselor suggestions through an earphone.
Vanessa Dominguez, a master 麻豆精品 S檚 student and counselor in the clinic, says the earphone was awkward at first. 麻豆精品 S淢y supervisor chimed in on the bug in my ear 麻豆精品 S� you can hear it sometimes if it 麻豆精品 S檚 a little too loud 麻豆精品 S� and there was this moment when the client and I made eye contact, and I said, 麻豆精品 S榊eah, you just heard my supervisor chime in. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
Hagedorn says, 麻豆精品 S淭o settle the potential nerves of clients who may have some initial trepidation with having cameras in the rooms and the counselor having an earphone, I suggest that the counselors tell them on the first day that they are getting two counselors for the price of none. 麻豆精品 S�
All counseling sessions are digitally recorded, allowing student counselors and their supervisors the opportunity to review and assess their work with clients. According to Hagedorn, this greatly enhances self-critique and supervision processes, which lead to better counselor development.
The staff at the CCRC pairs counselors and clients based on the counselor 麻豆精品 S檚 experience level and the severity of the client 麻豆精品 S檚 concerns. Student counselors work with a wide range of mental health concerns, from self-esteem issues to depression and anxiety to relationship issues. 麻豆精品 S淔or example, whereas beginning student counselors may be paired with clients who are experiencing mild depression, advanced students would be paired with clients with more severe depression, 麻豆精品 S� Hagedorn says.
Because the clinic is a training facility where clients only have access to their counselors on the day of their weekly session, there are certain concerns the CCRC isn 麻豆精品 S檛 equipped for. 麻豆精品 S淭he clinic is not a crisis facility, 麻豆精品 S� says Hagedorn. 麻豆精品 S淲e do our best to refer clients with more severe concerns to specialists they can access more than once a week. 麻豆精品 S� Clients seeking counseling for substance abuse, domestic violence or depression that has resulted in a suicide attempt within the last six months are referred to other facilities.
麻豆精品 S淭he challenging thing about those three areas [substance abuse, domestic violence and active suicidal ideation] is that people are as forthcoming as they feel they can be during an initial telephone call. These issues often come up later in counseling sessions once trust has been established, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淪o we navigate those issues on a per-case basis. If we find out that a client 麻豆精品 S檚 panic attack is related to the fact that she is being abused by her partner, the last thing we want to do is penalize her disclosure by telling her she can 麻豆精品 S檛 be seen here. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淗aving multiple clients at once is good preparation if you are going into the mental health field in the community. 麻豆精品 S�
Trust in the Training
Some new graduate student counselors are their own worst critics. 麻豆精品 S淚 constantly remind them that they are too self-critical and ask, 麻豆精品 S極K, how long have you been doing this? Oh, so you should be an expert? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� says Hagedorn. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S楻emember who you are, trust in your training and in your supervisor, and give yourself a little break. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
Aaron Distler, 麻豆精品 S�13, a graduate of the Counselor Education master 麻豆精品 S檚 program, recently finished four semesters working in the clinic (two as a practicum student and two as an intern) and is taking a position as a residential life coordinator at Stetson University in Deland, Fla., managing residence hall assistants and being responsible for crisis response in the dorms. One challenge for Distler was the transition from having live supervision as a practicum student to being on his own during the internship phase.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot of dealing with having personal confidence and knowing that I do know how to apply the class lessons that I 麻豆精品 S檝e learned and relate those to actual people, 麻豆精品 S� he says. In the internship phase of training, graduate students like Distler are given a caseload of 12 to 15 clients per week. 麻豆精品 S淚 think that as you transition from a practicum student to an intern, there 麻豆精品 S檚 a lot more paperwork, and the caseload is something you need to get used to, 麻豆精品 S� Distler says. 麻豆精品 S淗aving multiple clients at once is good preparation if you are going into the mental health field in the community. 麻豆精品 S�
Measuring Progress
The clinic continuously assesses both how its clients are improving and how new counselors are performing. 麻豆精品 S淲e use pre-, mid- and post-assessments on clients 麻豆精品 S� progress so we can actively demonstrate what our students are doing to make an impact, 麻豆精品 S� Hagedorn says. 麻豆精品 S淲e also assess our counselors 麻豆精品 S� development to ensure that they are progressing as professionals. 麻豆精品 S�
The clinic 麻豆精品 S檚 focus on assessment has attracted the attention of other institutions looking for ways to measure the effectiveness of new counselors. UCF Associate Professor Glenn Lambie and his research partners have developed the Counseling Competencies Scale, a means for assessing how beginning counselors perform. Other institutions have adopted this measurement tool, including Rollins College, Northern Illinois University, the University of Denver and Syracuse University.
Bryce Hagedorn, 麻豆精品 S�00, is an associate professor of Counselor Education in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Education and Human Performance. As the Program Director of Counselor Education and School Psychology, he oversees the education and training of graduate students with tracks in school, mental health, and marriage and family counseling.
Expanding Access
Despite the more spacious setting today, the clinic continues to look for ways to grow. Counselor Education faculty are mulling an expansion that would make the clinic a site for DUI assessments and educational programs, which would require more space.
Another challenge facing the university is the center 麻豆精品 S檚 location. 麻豆精品 S淚f you live in Ocoee or Winter Garden, you are 25 miles away from the CCRC, 麻豆精品 S� Scott notes. 麻豆精品 S淎nd if you need free services, you may not be able to get there. It would take you half a day on a bus. 麻豆精品 S�
麻豆精品 S淭here is a tremendous need for low-cost or free services, 麻豆精品 S� she adds. 麻豆精品 S淔lorida 麻豆精品 S檚 near the bottom for allocating funds toward mental health services. At [The Center for Drug-Free Living], we serve thousands of people a year and are in four counties, and we still have to turn people away sometimes. That 麻豆精品 S檚 heartbreaking. 麻豆精品 S�
The clinic is in the process of adopting a new system called TelePresence, which Hagedorn describes as 麻豆精品 S淪kype on steroids, 麻豆精品 S� a way of seeing clients in a teleconference setting. Such a system, he says, might allow for clients who can 麻豆精品 S檛 travel to UCF to tap into the clinic 麻豆精品 S檚 free services.
Help in High Definition
Telepresence connects students 1,530 miles away.
In Mankato, Minn., the winters are unusually harsh. To help keep her students from having to traverse treacherous roads, Diane Coursol of Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU), stays connected via TelePresence high-definition videoconferencing technology.
麻豆精品 S淚 have some students who commute from Fargo, N.D., which is a seven-hour drive, 麻豆精品 S� says Coursol, a professor in the university 麻豆精品 S檚 Counseling and Student Personnel Department.
She describes TelePresence as watching the very best high-definition television. 麻豆精品 S淪ome of my students say, 麻豆精品 S業 麻豆精品 S檒l have to wear makeup because every blotch is going to show. 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
In March 2013, Coursol visited UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Community Counseling and Research Center and proposed a partnership between UCF and MSU to use this tool to train counselor education graduate students. As early as next spring, she hopes that students at UCF and MSU will begin practicing their counseling techniques with each other (as part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Techniques of Counseling course and MSU 麻豆精品 S檚 Counseling Procedures and Skills II course) before they begin counseling real clients.
Originally from Florida, Coursol has worked with UCF Professor Edward 麻豆精品 S淢ike 麻豆精品 S� Robinson through the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e had a long-term connection with Mike, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I thought of universities that I would want to partner with, I thought of Mike and knew of the quality of UCF. 麻豆精品 S�
She began working with TelePresence about three years ago when MSU introduced the technology as a way to enhance distance education between its main campus and its satellite campus in Edina, Minn., more than 70 miles away.
She believes that UCF and MSU students will benefit by using the system to practice their skills with unfamiliar students and gain exposure to different regional and cultural issues. Speaking about the relationship between the two programs, Coursol says, 麻豆精品 S淲hat I think we are bringing in is a broader exposure to diversity for all of our students. 麻豆精品 S�
MSU 麻豆精品 S檚 TelePresence system utilizes a large monitor with a built-in HD camera; each unit costs close to $9,000. The technology helps students identify nonverbal cues more clearly than traditional Web-based videoconferencing technology. It also features a recording setting that allows users to replay both sides of conversations side by side for analysis, allowing counseling students to review their techniques and their partners 麻豆精品 S� responses.
Though Coursol 麻豆精品 S檚 experience with the technology is relatively recent, she has been studying distance counseling and supervision since the late 1990s, having examined both the counselor and client sides of the online counseling process.
麻豆精品 S淚 think [counseling 麻豆精品 S檚] future is online, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭hose digital natives are seeking counseling services, and currently, our field hasn 麻豆精品 S檛 prepared counselors on how to break through the digital barrier to meet those needs. 麻豆精品 S�
However, she adds, 麻豆精品 S淚 don 麻豆精品 S檛 think you can ever take away the human element. 麻豆精品 S� Instead, Coursol envisions counselors using a hybrid model where initial meetings are face to face, followed by periodic online appointments using videoconferencing technologies.
麻豆精品 S淚 have lofty ideas about putting these systems in YMCAs and local community centers, so that people can access therapeutic services regardless of where they live, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淗ere, when people can 麻豆精品 S檛 travel due to snow and ice, TelePresence could allow them to see a counselor and get the services that they need. 麻豆精品 S�
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREW LYONS