UCC internships

[Throwawayaccount67]

Hi all,

4th year counseling psych doc student here entering the internship gauntlet this season. The TL;DR version of this is: will having no experience at a UCC bar me from gaining an internship at one?

My list of clinical exp:
-Inpatient assessment/group
-VA group/individual therapy
-Residential sex addiction group therapy
-Several semesters in program's in-house clinic seeing college students/community

My experiences obviously gear me more toward a VA, but I'm actually very interested in the UCC sites I'm applying to. Perhaps I could spin my in-house clinic experience as akin to work at a UCC?

I'm wondering from those working in UCC's or have completed internships at these sites, will I be wasting my time applying with no UCC experience? I definitely see it being a hurdle of sorts, but just thought I'd get some feedback.


Edit: I wasn't able to complete a placement at our UCC as i received therapy there briefly. Very limited resources in our community, but still wish I had gone somewhere else so I wouldn't have shot myself in the foot.

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[PhDToBe]

I don't have personal experience, but I have heard that you do need to have done a placement at an UCC in order to obtain an internship at one. I am wondering if you could play up your in-house experience with college students (i.e., focus on that in your essays and cover letters), as it's basically the same thing.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I don't have personal experience, either, but know of at least one or two folks who didn't match to UCC internships (despite solid CVs) largely because they had no previous counseling center training placements.

 

[Doctor Eliza]

This was my experience, although it was 7 yrs ago now. I was a competitive applicant from an program that required an apa internship. I have a lot of clinical and research interests in gender and diversity and so many ucc's seemed to be a great fit. I applied to 15 ucc's and 3 others. I didn't get a single ucc interview. My DCT was shocked and so he called the internships for feedback. He uniformly got the same reply: no ucc experience. Similar to you, I had worked in a in house clinic and even had some student clients. I was from a clinical rather than counseling program, so perhaps that hurt me too. For some reason ucc's like to act like they are all exclusive. So, my best advice is to apply to a mix of sites, and don't count on the ucc's.

Good luck!

 

[psychnic]

I agree with the other posters that, in my experience, UCCs definitely prefer applicants with prior UCC experience. However, you might be competitive at sites that offer a UCC rotation alongside other non-UCC placements (e.g., Oklahoma, Nebraska Consortium, Vanderbilt Consortium). That way, you could play to your strengths by applying to sites that mirror your past experiences, while also giving yourself room to get UCC experience during internship.

 

[Justanothergrad]

I've heard just the opposite from several UCC training directors. They don't consider it vital to have had UCC experience.

I think this is part of the difficulty of applications is that these factors which determine application are not always clearly listed. It would be nice if, just like there is for minimum hours, there were a listing for 'required' and 'preferred' training experiences. There is simply too much variability to assume that one UCC, or any type of site for that matter, is like another in terms of what they are looking for.

You might e-mail the training director and ask if they consider individuals without UCC experience.

 

[MCParent]

Play up whatever experience you have working with college students, and also play up the other experiences that intersect with UCC (e.g., LOTS of vets going back to college on GI bills, so lots of opportunity to work with a vet group on campus and see vets; my VA experience was a plus in UCC apps).

 

[LAPsyGuy]

I know at least a couple of people with no prior UCC experience getting desireable UCC APA internships.

I'm starting my UCC APA internship this coming Monday and I had a year of prac at one, so perhaps I can offer some advice. I don't agree with what others said about playing up your work with college students in other treatment settings. I don't think they'll care too much, but experience in short term therapy is important. What probably matters more is expressing interest in gaining experience in the pillars of UCC practice, including therapy, group therapy, consultation, crisis and outreach. Additionally mention interests in the specific cultural diversity elements of UCC practice such as first generations to attend college, and third-culture kids. Most UCCs are very culture focused. And note that you find working within the university community and administration is of interest to you. The key is to make it sound like you know what you're getting into because it's different than most other practice settings. I hope this helps.

 

[Throwawayaccount67]

I agree with the other posters that, in my experience, UCCs definitely prefer applicants with prior UCC experience. However, you might be competitive at sites that offer a UCC rotation alongside other non-UCC placements (e.g., Oklahoma, Nebraska Consortium, Vanderbilt Consortium). That way, you could play to your strengths by applying to sites that mirror your past experiences, while also giving yourself room to get UCC experience during internship.

That's very helpful. I'm looking into some sites like this, and I agree that I probably would have a better shot at these. Thanks for adding some recommendations as well

 

[Throwawayaccount67]

I know at least a couple of people with no prior UCC experience getting desireable UCC APA internships.

I'm starting my UCC APA internship this coming Monday and I had a year of prac at one, so perhaps I can offer some advice. I don't agree with what others said about playing up your work with college students in other treatment settings. I don't think they'll care too much, but experience in short term therapy is important. What probably matters more is expressing interest in gaining experience in the pillars of UCC practice, including therapy, group therapy, consultation, crisis and outreach. Additionally mention interests in the specific cultural diversity elements of UCC practice such as first generations to attend college, and third-culture kids. Most UCCs are very culture focused. And note that you find working within the university community and administration is of interest to you. The key is to make it sound like you know what you're getting into because it's different than most other practice settings. I hope this helps.

That's actually very helpful, thanks. As I've been going over drafts of my essays over and over, it's helpful to know what kind of specifics UCC's might be looking for. I hadn't considered emphasizing my experiences with brief therapy and group. Thanks!

 

[deleted343839]

The key is to make it sound like you know what you're getting into because it's different than most other practice settings.

This is good advice. UCCs are looking for internship candidates whose training goals align well with the unique experiences they have to offer. Having done a practicum at a UCC is helpful but not essential.

 

[LAPsyGuy]

That's actually very helpful, thanks. As I've been going over drafts of my essays over and over, it's helpful to know what kind of specifics UCC's might be looking for. I hadn't considered emphasizing my experiences with brief therapy and group. Thanks!

For your cover letters, be sure to look at each of the UCC training websites. Some UCCs may not train in a given pillar of practice or have special opportunities that you should mention, for instance supervision.