Field Experience

The aim of this course is to provide undergraduate students with exposure to a variety of work experiences typical of a Counseling Center environment (except provision of direct clinical services to clients). Students will have the opportunity to participate in Counseling Center research projects and attend advanced training presentations on a variety of clinical topics. In addition, field experience students may choose an emphasis of either Campus Outreach or Website Psychoeducation during their semester at our center. You will work with Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Price to choose among options and determine your requirements and schedule for this course. Click here to see an example of one student's Field Experience schedule. This experience will likely be particularly beneficial for students interested in pursuing graduate work in Counseling or Clinical Psychology. The syllabus for this course is provided below. Please direct inquiries to Dr. Wendy Wolfe at 912-478-5541.

PSYC 4830 - Field Experience (3 credit hours)
Placement: Counseling and Career Development Center
Georgia Southern University

Course Pre-requisites:

Student should be majoring in Psychology or a related discipline.

One letter of recommendation by an advisor or a current/past instructor. The letter should comment on your competence, knowledge base, maturity, and responsibility.

You are encouraged to contact Dr. Wolfe prior to registering for the course to discuss your interest in this field placement and to discuss the course requirements.

Counseling Center clients seeing Dr. Wolfe or Dr. Price for individual or group therapy are not eligible for this experience. Work study students at the Counseling Center also are ineligible during their term of employment.

Course Description:

The aim of this course is to provide undergraduate students with exposure to a variety of work experiences typical of a Counseling Center environment (except provision of direct clinical services to clients). Students will have the opportunity to participate in Counseling Center research projects and attend advanced training presentations on a variety of clinical topics. In addition, field experience students may choose an emphasis of either Campus Outreach or Website Psychoeducation during their semester at our center. In addition to these more formal training experiences, students will have the opportunity to learn more about the profession of Counseling Psychology through interaction with Counseling Center staff. This experience will likely be particularly beneficial for students interested in pursuing graduate work in Counseling or Clinical Psychology. Students may only take one semester of Field Experience at the Counseling and Career Development Center.

Course Requirements:

Research Component
Students are required to attend a weekly, one-hour research meeting (time TBA). During the research meeting, current Counseling Center research projects will be discussed, articles relevant to current projects will be reviewed, and research tasks for the upcoming week will be assigned. Recent research projects have included: The Effect of Counseling Center Services on Student Retention, Barriers to Utilization of Counseling Center Services, and Similarities/Differences Between Parent and Student Expectations for College. Students will be required to complete all assigned research tasks in a timely fashion. You should be prepared to spend 2-3 hours per week outside of the research meeting engaged in research-related activities (e.g., reading journal articles, data entry).

Didactic Component
Students are required to attend at least one advanced training presentation over the course of the semester. The presentations are provided to master's level practicum students during their Thursday 11:00 seminar meeting and are often given by Counseling Center staff. Recent presentations have included: Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders, Career Counseling, and Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Depression and Anxiety. The content of the presentations will be geared toward the practicum students. As a result, some of the information may be confusing. However, even if you do not comprehend all that is discussed, you will likely benefit from exposure to the advanced training material and from participation in professional discussion on the topics presented.

Psychoeducation Component
Choose either Campus Outreach, Website Psychoeducation, or negotiate a combination)

1. Campus Outreach:

• Observe one or more outreach presentations given by a Counseling Center staff member to a class or student group (frequently requested topics include stress management, sexual assault, alcohol abuse). Meet with the presenter before and after the presentation to discuss how they prepared for the presentation, what they think makes a good presentation, and frequent questions that arise during the presentations. Students may be asked to do some outside readings with regard to making effective presentations, learning presentation skills, etc. Please note that outreach presentations may not be scheduled at convenient times for your schedule. You may need to arrange to make time during the day or evening to attend or facilitate a presentation.
• Assist a Counseling Center staff member with an outreach presentation. Be prepared to meet with the staff member one or more times before the presentation to work out your role in the presentation. They will give you feedback after the presentation about your performance.
• Develop your own outreach presentation to be offered to students living in one or more residence halls on campus. You will work with a member of Residence Life to identify a topic that will be of benefit for students. Counseling center staff will be available to assist you in this process and will accompany you to the presentation as your assistant.
• Work with Counseling Center staff on activities related to one "awareness week" during the semester. Fall semester awareness week topics are "Alcohol Awareness" and "Depression Awareness". Spring semester topics are "Eating Disorders", "Out Week", and "Sexual Assault". Participation options are flexible and may include handing out educational pamphlets to students, designing posters for display during awareness week, and assisting with special presentations or programs (e.g., Take Back the Night march/rally during Sexual Assault Awareness Week).

2. Website Psychoeducation:

• Students will be responsible for writing at least two psychoeducational articles for the "Self-Help Topics" section of the Counseling Center web site (with the assistance of Dr. Price). We currently have more than 40 topics to choose from including assertiveness, depression, anxiety, homesickness, test anxiety and more. Students should be prepared to work with staff to research topics, locate additional outside resources or internet links, and write a brief, yet comprehensive article appropriate for an informational web site at a college Counseling Center. Students may be asked to do outside readings on web site usability issues such as how to write effective online articles.
• Students will assist Dr. Price with one of the following (based on availability and Dr. Price's discretion)
  • Assist Dr. Price with either facilitating a series of focus groups or conducting a usability study of the web site (the choice of which may be at Dr. Price's discretion). With either project, students will participate in recruiting participants, managing and monitoring aspects of the study, recording data, and consolidating the results into a written report. This report will be co-presented with Dr. Price to the Counseling Center staff. Students may be asked to do outside readings on how to effectively facilitate focus groups or conduct a web site usability study.
  • Assist Dr. Price with developing, writing, and implementing on online psychoeducational workshop. Possible topics include "Managing Anxiety," "Managing Depression," "How To Be Assertive," "Healthy Relationships," "Communication Skills," etc. Students will participate in designing the navigation and flow of the workshop, writing content, designing interactive components, and addressing usability concerns.
  • Assist Dr. Price with current online research pertaining to the Counseling Center web site. Projects have included evaluating the effectiveness of online relaxation exercises, conducting opinion polls, and assessing features of counseling center web sites nationwide.

Grading:

1. Attendance: Students are allowed one unexcused absence of a scheduled meeting with a staff member (e.g., weekly research meetings or other meeting with staff). Each additional absence will result in lowering of your semester grade by one letter. Students are not to miss appointments for running subjects, conducting focus/usability groups, or outreach presentations. Unexcused absences for these activities will automatically result in lowering of your semester grade by one letter. Excused absences consist of emergencies verified by a doctor's note or other documentation and notification should be provided as soon as possible to Counseling Center staff.
2. Participation: Students are expected to complete all of the tasks outlined on the syllabus in a comprehensive and timely fashion. Some projects may be graded. However, your grade is primarily based on effort. After an initial warning about tardiness or incomplete/sloppy work, students will be penalized by one letter grade for each additional late or incomplete project or task. If you are unsure about a project, assistance will be available for you - Just Ask!
3. Students will meet with the Counseling Center Field Experience Coordinator(s), formally or informally, at the mid-point and end of the semester to discuss their performance.