UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER TRAINING PROGRAM
The mission of the Villanova University Counseling Center is to provide culturally-aware mental health services to Villanova students through individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, and ADHD assessment, as well as offering outreach and consultation for both students and the wider university community.
Our center is composed of 14 counselors (masters and doctoral level), two psychiatrists, and our current cohort of counseling and assessment trainees. Our training combines supervised individual and group clinical work, didactic seminars, and a range of group supervisory experiences. Trainees are encouraged to join our staff in our center’s commitment to anti-racism/anti-oppression and the ongoing work of liberation and decolonizing therapy. This includes regular trainings, affinity group work, and actively evolving therapeutic practices to affirm and center each person’s lived experiences, identities, and cultures/ancestors.
All trainees work with undergraduate and graduate students presenting with a wide range of concerns, including adjustment and learning issues, mood and anxiety disorders, identity development, and interpersonal challenges. Training emphasizes the integration of theory and practice, development of case conceptualization skills, and cultivating a reflective, socially just, and multiculturally attuned therapeutic stance. Trainees will also be encouraged to explore how systems of power, privilege, and oppression shape the therapeutic process.
Counseling: Trainees will carry an individual therapy caseload and have opportunities to co-facilitate group therapy, developing skills in triage, one-session therapy, and outreach and prevention programming to support the university community. Additional opportunities include a focus on working with athletes, as part of our Sport Psychology Team.
ADHD Assessment: Trainees will receive supervision and training in providing comprehensive, culturally aware, psychoeducational evaluations of students referred for potential diagnoses of learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or other psychological conditions that impact their learning. Assessment trainees may take on therapy cases, depending on trainee interest.
Our training program year runs from mid-August to mid-May, with some flexibility based on student or program needs. Training is an in-person commitment. Specific time commitment will vary depending on the trainee’s institutional requirements, but most trainees spend 2-3 days at our site, with Monday afternoons strongly recommended for trainee group didactic, case conference, and peer supervision. Wednesdays are content-rich, with periodic outside speakers, trainings, and book discussions. In addition to individual supervision, we adopt a team approach in which all members of the staff participate in training through formal and informal case consultation and didactics.
Psychology Pre-doctoral Trainees:
- Practicum positions in either assessment or counseling/psychotherapy: October 28. Interviews are in November. Applicants are informed of decisions by mid-December.
- Internships in counseling: Either January 15, or as specified by graduate program (we are a training site for Widener University’s Clinical Doctoral PsyD Program). Interviews in late January/February. Decisions/match by March.
- Spring practicum in Counseling: November 1. Interviews in November, for a January start.
- Full-year internship in Counseling: Practicum students may request to continue with us. Outside applicants apply by February 1. Interviews in March for an August start.
- Summer practicum in Sports Psychology Specialization: January 1. Interviews are in January/February for late April start.
- Full-year internship in Sport Psych Specialization: Practicum students may request to continue with us, and outside applicants should apply by January 1 . Interviews are in February/March for an August start.
- Cover letter
- Resume or CV
STUDENT SURVEY
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Contact the Counseling Center at 610-519-4050 to schedule an appointment.
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EMERGENCY CONTACTS
In an emergency, call Villanova Public Safety at 610-519-4444.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 988.