Overview

Counseling Services (CS) addresses the developmental and psychological needs of students through educational, therapeutic, and preventative services. Staff members facilitate students’ personal, social, and intellectual growth, as well as adjustment to and engagement within the university community. Students are assisted with identifying and working through personal barriers, normal developmental issues and stressors, and clinical problems which could impede academic success. While students exhibit a broad spectrum of psychological issues, anxiety, depression, interpersonal difficulties, and substance abuse are among the most frequent presenting problems.

Our staff includes psychologists, social workers, a coordinator of Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Recovery, a coordinator of the ENHANCE program for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, a part-time psychiatrist and a cohort of supervised graduate students. Our clinical services include: short-term individual psychotherapy; group therapy; crisis intervention; consultation for faculty, students, and parents; and community referrals. Our staff engages in therapeutic practice, supervision, and outreach programming . Counseling Services is committed to supporting diversity by maintaining a culturally responsive service environment that strives to be culturally attuned and respectful to the varied needs of our clients. Please read our Commitment to Diversity Statement.

Setting

Located 25 miles northwest of New York City, Ramapo College is a warm and inviting campus surrounded by trees and beautiful views of the nearby Ramapo mountains. As a comprehensive institution of higher education, Ramapo prides itself on its interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities, and strong devotion to the liberal arts.

Training Philosophy

The training program is dedicated to fostering curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for the psychotherapeutic process, and encourages this through its warm and supportive atmosphere. CS aims to create a training environment that promotes the development of trainees’ multicultural self-awareness, knowledge, and skills. It is designed to help trainees refine their clinical skills in order to function as competent practitioners working independently and within the community. Over the course of the year, trainees will participate in providing the full range of services the counseling center offers.

The Typical Week

Trainees are expected to work on-site for a minimum of 16 – 20 hours per week, depending on their program’s requirements. Please note that Mondays from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. are mandatory for all trainees.  The program runs from August to May. All trainees are expected to follow the academic calendar of Ramapo College in terms of breaks and holidays.

Individual Therapy

Trainees will carry a caseload of approximately 5-7 clients for short-term treatment. They will have 1-2 intake slots per week designed to provide them with a broad range of students to assess and incorporate into their caseload.

Group Therapy

Depending on trainees’ interests and programmatic needs, trainees may have opportunities to  co-facilitate psychoeducational and/or process groups (e.g., DBT-style, interpersonal process, support groups).

Supervision

Trainees will be assigned an individual supervisor who will provide an 1 hour of supervision per week. They will also meet with their cohort for group supervision for 1 hour each week. Trainees’ sessions are videotaped and discussed with supervisors in order to generate continuing goals for professional growth and development.

Training Seminars

Trainees will participate in weekly didactic seminars on a variety of topics germane to college counseling and will have the opportunity to present cases and obtain feedback from our multidisciplinary team at weekly staff meetings.

Outreach & Prevention

Trainees will present one outreach workshop per year in an area of interest, and will be involved in staff outreach projects (Wellness Fair, Depression Awareness Screenings, etc.) throughout the year.

Performance Feedback

Trainees will receive ongoing informal feedback from their individual and group supervisors. Formal evaluations from the trainee’s individual supervisor will be conducted once each semester.

Application Procedure

Applications will be reviewed in accordance with the Psychology Directors of New York State (PSYDNYS) and the New York New Jersey Association of Directors of Training (NYNJADOT). Interested applicants from doctoral level psychology programs must apply through the APA portal at https://psychpracticum.apa.org/ Interested applicants from master’s level or social work programs should email or send a cover letter, resumé, letter of readiness from their program, and two letters of recommendation to:

Graduate Training Coordinator

Center for Health and Counseling Services

505 Ramapo Valley Road

Mahwah, NJ 07430-1680

Email: CHCS@ramapo.edu

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please call (201) 684-7522.

An Overview

The Center for Health and Counseling Services (CHCS) is staffed by psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurse practitioners, a psychiatrist consultant, and supervised graduate students. Counseling Services addresses the developmental and psychological needs of students through educational, therapeutic, and preventative services. Counseling Center staff members facilitate students’ personal, social and intellectual growth, as well as adjustment to and engagement within the university community. Students are assisted with identifying and working through personal barriers, normal developmental issues and stressors, and clinical problems which could impede academic success.

Ramapo College of New Jersey is located in the beautiful foothills of the Ramapo Mountains, approximately 25 miles northwest of New York City. Accredited by the Middle States commission on Higher Education, Ramapo College is a comprehensive institution of higher education dedicated to the promotion of teaching and learning within strong liberal arts curriculum, thus earning the designation “New Jersey’s Public Liberal Arts College.” Its curricular emphasis includes the liberal arts and sciences, social sciences, fine and performing arts, and the professional programs within a residential and sustainable living and learning environment. Organized into thematic learning communities, Ramapo College provides academic excellence through its interdisciplinary curriculum, international education, intercultural understanding and experiential learning opportunities.

Senior Supervising Staff

The following are doctoral level psychologists who supervise psychology intern trainees:

• Judith Green, Psy.D., Director, Center for Health and Counseling Services
• Cesar Leon, Ph.D., Psychological Counselor, Multicultural Specialist

Purpose

The graduate internship program at Ramapo College of New Jersey is designed to help trainees obtain the necessary counseling skills to function in entry-level psychologist positions. The program will expose intern trainees to the wide variety of functions that psychologists perform within a university community. Trainees will explore their identities as professional clinicians and will participate in providing the full range of services that the Counseling Center offers.

Delivery of Services

Individual Psychotherapy: As the counseling center focuses on short-term treatment, psychology interns will provide short-term individual treatment to Counseling Center clients. Interns will carry a caseload of 20 clients, which will make up approximately 50% of the intern’s time.

Assessment: Interns will be expected to conduct three intake assessments per week for clients who are new to the Counseling Center. Intakes will involve interpretation of standard intake computerized questionnaires as well as an open-ended clinical interview. Interns will provide emergency counseling services, during which time they will be expected to assess and determine appropriate disposition during psychological emergencies. Interns will be expected to keep up-to-date chart notes and adhere to the psychology code of ethics through all aspects of service delivery.

Group Counseling and Psychotherapy: Interested interns may have the opportunity to co-lead psychotherapy groups with a senior clinician. In addition, interns may have the opportunity to create new groups based on their own interests and areas of expertise.

Consultations and Outreach: Interns will have the opportunity to participate in outreach programs on the Ramapo College campus. These may include formal presentations to various groups on campus as well as more informal contacts with various departments. In addition, interns will have the opportunity to create and implement outreach programs based on their own interest and that of the university community as a whole. Finally, interns will have the opportunity to consult with faculty and staff regarding issues relevant to the counseling center.

Summer Activities: During the summer, interns will participate in freshman and transfer orientations and provide outreach at various events during this time. In addition, interns will conduct outreach programs with resident advisors and EOF programs throughout the summer. Interns will also be able to continue seeing clients who live locally and are able to come to campus for individual psychotherapy. Finally, interns may pursue other interests over the summer, including scholarly writing, conference presentations, or writing for newsletters based on the work that they are doing at the Counseling Center.

Supervision and Training

Supervision: Interns will be assigned two individual supervisors who will each provide one hour of individual supervision per week. Interns will also attend one hour per week of group supervision with other trainees led by a licensed psychologist. Additional supervision of group therapy will be provided when interns are co-leading groups. Supervision of supervision will be provided for interns who are supervising more junior trainees. Finally, interns will also attend senior staff supervision for one hour per week.

Training Experiences: Interns will attend a didactic training seminar led by a licensed psychologist for one hour per week. Sample topics include various empirically supported treatments, substance abuse, working with a college-aged population, and self-disclosure in therapy.

Interns will also attend a weekly case conference with senior staff where they will be able to present cases and obtain feedback from our multi-disciplinary staff.

Finally, interns will have the opportunity to attend various on and off-campus trainings to increase their knowledge in various areas of psychology.

Goals of the Internship Program

The internship training program strives to help the trainee become proficient in a number of areas in order to practice psychology in an entry-level psychologist position. These areas include:

1. Proficiency in a range of different modalities of individual psychotherapy.
2. Proficiency in the assessment of clients during intake examination, including level of risk, appropriateness for the counseling center, and preliminary case conceptualization.
3. Proficiency in group psychotherapy through co-leading psychotherapy groups with licensed psychologists.
4. Proficiency in handling emergency walk-in clients and assessing level of safety.
5. Proficiency in outreach to the university campus, as well as understanding the unique aspects of working within a university community.
6. Proficiency in working with multicultural clients.
7. Proficiency in utilizing supervision to help deepen understanding of one’s clients as well as understand one’s strengths and weaknesses as a clinician.
8. Proficiency in supervision of practicum students, for those interns who are interested in this area of training.

Performance Feedback

Interns will receive ongoing informal feedback from their individual and group supervisors. Formal evaluations from both of the trainee’s individual supervisors will be conducted once each semester. In addition, once each semester the trainee will be able to evaluate the site in order to more fully tailor the program to the intern’s needs and desires as well as facilitate a discussion of anything that the intern would like to change about his or her experience.

Qualifications

Internship training positions will be open to doctoral candidates in Clinical, Counseling or School psychology programs. Applicants must have prior clinical experience. Applicants must have completed coursework in counseling skills, theories of psychotherapy, and psychopathology.

Applicants should have passed their comprehensive examinations by the time of application. Preference will be given to applicants who have made significant progress on their dissertations. Applicants must have approval to pursue an internship from their program Training Director.

Duration

The internship program is one year, full-time. During the academic year, interns will be expected to work Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM. During summer months, interns will be expected to work Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM – 5:15 PM. Interns can expect to complete approximately 1,750 hours during the course of the internship training program.

University Nondiscrimination Policies

For information regarding Ramapo College of New Jersey’s Nondiscrimination Policies, please go to https://www.ramapo.edu/poerd/policies-procedures/.

Compensation

The internship at Ramapo College is unpaid.

Application Procedure

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in the spring semester for consideration for the following fall semester. Applicants are encouraged to apply early. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, official transcript and letter of readiness from their academic institution to:

Graduate Training Coordinator

Center for Health and Counseling Services

505 Ramapo Valley Road, D-216

Mahwah, NJ 07430-1680

Email: CHCS@ramapo.edu

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact us at (201) 684-7522.

The following is a sample list of the type of didactics conducted for trainees:

Ethics

Working with College Students in the 21st Century

What to do with a Doctorate in Psychology guest speaker series

Working Effectively in Supervision

Multiculturalism

Working with Trauma

Therapeutic Alliance

Group Therapy

Short-Term Therapy

Self-Disclosure & Countertransference Work

Working with Students on the Spectrum

Working with First Generation Students

LGBTQIA+ Issues

Working with Domestic Violence

Substance abuse/treatment

Therapist’s Self-Care

Existentialism

Mindfulness

Psychopharmacology

Termination