- Joined
- Nov 2, 2016
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
I am Posting this under a pseudonym because I'm not sure if the details of this situation will identify me.
In a nut shell my cohort is extremely unhappy with this internship site mainly because the training director is unprofessional, chastising, and negative. I understand the hazing process and I understand that some of her personality traits can be ignored however I am primarily concerned about some specific incidents that occurred in individual supervision. I will list them.
1. She constantly tells us that everything we have learned thus far is not applicable in treatment. The other two are younger than me but I have 15 years as a Master level clinician and she tells me that part of my steep learning curve is my bad habits I learned at other jobs. She has brought up at least 3 times to me in supervision how the places I have worked are terrible and I couldn't possibly have learned any clinical skills in that setting. My last place of employment specifically hired me for my years of experience and specialization in a certain area and they want me to continue to consult after internship as they grow their program.
2. Last week she inquired about my future goals and I stated honestly that I would like to work in various settings because I like to stay challenged and I like to keep things interesting. I gave the example of teaching a class, doing therapy several times a week, doing consultation and carving my own niche. She indicated to me that I should take the CARS because I clearly have ADHD. She than started laughing inappropriately saying she was just half joking. I've been doing those things before my internship I'm not sure whey she thinks it's odd. Many psychologists have multiple sources of income.
3. Today she asked me if I would be able to score a rating scale by Monday and I said I would try. The only reason this is not a for sure answer of "yes" is because the site is a consortium and I will not be at this location again this week except for Thursday when I have 8 clients scheduled. I indicated I would use "no show" time to score but they do not allow us to take the manuals out of the clinic and I have never scored this particular scale before. I was being honest and she went on to say that I would score on the MMPI scale 4 for sociopath because I don't want to work with others I want to do things in my own time frame and I'm being defiant. I don't believe those to be the exact traits of a sociopath but that's irrelevant. I have never received negative feedback before. I am a hard worker and want to learn yet I speak my mind and will defend myself. I indicated to her that internship is a time to solidify our identities as psychologists and that those traits might be helpful but I've absolutely incorporated all of her feedback regarding therapy, charting, testing and every other aspect of the training. In fact she does not seem satisfied when I say I will make the changes she suggests she seems to want to argue because she will continue to press me for why I "did this or that" even after I've made the changes. Acquiescing is not good enough.
I'm wondering what to do at this point. I don't want to make waves because yes I want a good experience and good future LOR (not in a sociopathic way LOL!) but I'm really struggling as are the other students and we just want the year to be over with. Even taking into account some of the factors such as: understanding that there is a learning curve, that I am in a position of being a student after being a professional, internship itself is a growth enhancing year and the stipend is awful -what else can I do to make this less stressful? I can handle negative feedback if it is constructive and I can handle incorporating change and adapting to be a better clinician. What I am struggling with is the insistence that her personal style is the only and right way and the constant personal attacks. I truly want to learn this year and not just how to deal with ineffective supervisors.
In a nut shell my cohort is extremely unhappy with this internship site mainly because the training director is unprofessional, chastising, and negative. I understand the hazing process and I understand that some of her personality traits can be ignored however I am primarily concerned about some specific incidents that occurred in individual supervision. I will list them.
1. She constantly tells us that everything we have learned thus far is not applicable in treatment. The other two are younger than me but I have 15 years as a Master level clinician and she tells me that part of my steep learning curve is my bad habits I learned at other jobs. She has brought up at least 3 times to me in supervision how the places I have worked are terrible and I couldn't possibly have learned any clinical skills in that setting. My last place of employment specifically hired me for my years of experience and specialization in a certain area and they want me to continue to consult after internship as they grow their program.
2. Last week she inquired about my future goals and I stated honestly that I would like to work in various settings because I like to stay challenged and I like to keep things interesting. I gave the example of teaching a class, doing therapy several times a week, doing consultation and carving my own niche. She indicated to me that I should take the CARS because I clearly have ADHD. She than started laughing inappropriately saying she was just half joking. I've been doing those things before my internship I'm not sure whey she thinks it's odd. Many psychologists have multiple sources of income.
3. Today she asked me if I would be able to score a rating scale by Monday and I said I would try. The only reason this is not a for sure answer of "yes" is because the site is a consortium and I will not be at this location again this week except for Thursday when I have 8 clients scheduled. I indicated I would use "no show" time to score but they do not allow us to take the manuals out of the clinic and I have never scored this particular scale before. I was being honest and she went on to say that I would score on the MMPI scale 4 for sociopath because I don't want to work with others I want to do things in my own time frame and I'm being defiant. I don't believe those to be the exact traits of a sociopath but that's irrelevant. I have never received negative feedback before. I am a hard worker and want to learn yet I speak my mind and will defend myself. I indicated to her that internship is a time to solidify our identities as psychologists and that those traits might be helpful but I've absolutely incorporated all of her feedback regarding therapy, charting, testing and every other aspect of the training. In fact she does not seem satisfied when I say I will make the changes she suggests she seems to want to argue because she will continue to press me for why I "did this or that" even after I've made the changes. Acquiescing is not good enough.
I'm wondering what to do at this point. I don't want to make waves because yes I want a good experience and good future LOR (not in a sociopathic way LOL!) but I'm really struggling as are the other students and we just want the year to be over with. Even taking into account some of the factors such as: understanding that there is a learning curve, that I am in a position of being a student after being a professional, internship itself is a growth enhancing year and the stipend is awful -what else can I do to make this less stressful? I can handle negative feedback if it is constructive and I can handle incorporating change and adapting to be a better clinician. What I am struggling with is the insistence that her personal style is the only and right way and the constant personal attacks. I truly want to learn this year and not just how to deal with ineffective supervisors.
