Policy on Receiving Counseling and Training in the Counseling Center

• No trainee at any level may receive counseling at the Counseling Center while in training at the Center
• Therapists working with potential trainees as clients--students who indicate they may be applying here—should talk with their client about the issues that may come up for them as roles switch. Clients should also talk with their therapist about their training considerations.
• No therapist who has worked with a student who is applying for training in the Center will provide any information at all to staff involved in selection. This would be an ethical breach.
• Students in the Counseling or Clinical Psychology Master's or the Counseling Psychology doctoral programs who are receiving counseling in the Counseling Center must end counseling of any kind before the semester in which application for MA internship, master's or doctoral practicum or graduate assistantship is made. Therefore, no one intending to apply can remain in therapy after Jan. 1 of the application year. If a student remains in therapy past January 1 of the application year and then decides to apply, their application will not be considered that year.
• Doctoral students in Counseling Psychology cannot receive therapy at the Counseling Center during the application year (beginning August 1) if they are applying for a Pre-doctoral internship here. Following Match day any doctoral student not matched here as an intern may receive therapy.

These policies have not been put into place to discourage anyone from obtaining therapy that they need. The Center values the contribution therapy can make to the development and growth of graduate students in training. The Center will provide a list of practitioners and will try to work with community agencies and individual therapists to provide no-cost or low cost therapy for graduate students, though we cannot promise this will occur.

Our policy arises from an aggregate of situations over many years that have caused us to be concerned about potential issues emerging out of dual roles. The way our particular center operates, trainees have contact with numerous staff and it may be impossible to prevent difficulties that can arise from dual roles. Therefore we found it necessary to establish these guidelines and policies.

If there are any questions please contact:

        Pei-Yi Lin, Ph.D. 

        Associate Director/Training 

        765-285-1736