The Teaching Clinic

The goal of The Family Development Center’s Teaching Clinic is to recruit and train therapists to be clinically adept, relationally and systemically minded, as well as in possession of cultural humility. All interested individuals, including Black, Indigenous, Bodies of Culture, persons with disabilities, and persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex, are particularly urged to apply.

The Family Development Center’s Teaching Clinic will do the following:

  • Develop new therapists through curiosity, compassion and reflection. We expect new therapists to be curious about their clients and themselves, compassionate about the experiences of others, and reflective about how the therapeutic work impacts them personally and professionally.

  • Encourage difficult conversations. The Family Development Center will expect that new therapists and staff will engage in conversations that will stretch their levels of comfort, remembering that learning and empathy occurs in those painful places.

  • Train new therapists with current information, skills, and knowledge necessary to grow personally and professionally

  • Build a sense of community in which new therapists and staff feel heard and supported

  • Embrace all forms of diversity by offering culturally relevant training experiences

Co-Therapy

At The Family Development Center we offer a practice of therapy called “co-therapy” with families and couples. 

This means, some of our clients have the benefit of working with two therapists.  A co-therapy team may be made up of a therapist and an Intern therapist or two intern therapists.  Co-therapy is at the heart of The Family Development Center’s Teaching Clinic. This therapeutic model has been researched, studied and documented as an effective method to conduct therapy with individuals, groups, couples and families.


Here are some of the benefits of co-therapy:

  • Promotes not practicing therapy in isolation

  • Allows therapists to share the workload (clinical documents and continuum of care)

  • Allows for multiple perspectives

  • Two therapist are more likely to reduce crisis that can occur during session

  • Increased diversity in the room (i.e., gender, life experience, ethnicity, communication style, etc.)

  • The co-therapy relationship is a live example of relationships (it’s an opportunity for clients to witness and experience success, allows for modeling of healthy relationships).

  • In situations where both therapists are not able to be present, one of the therapists can meet with the client to ensure the client’s needs are met in a timely manner.

Become an Intern

Graduate student interns are an integral part of The Family Development Center.

As part of The Family Development Center, interns will receive training and supervision, as well as opportunities to gain experience in co-therapy, play therapy, and individual, couples, and family therapy. Pre-recorded observation of other therapists and videotaping are also part of the learning experience.  The Family Development Center is committed to creating an environment that is based on trust, learning, and compassion.

Intern Experience: 

In-office and at-home therapy settings: Interns will have the opportunity to observe and practice therapy in a clinical office setting as well as from the comfort of their own homes.

At least 50% of their time must be spent in the clinic.  

In-person and Virtual: Interns will have the opportunity to observe and practice therapy with clients both in-person and virtually.  

Co-therapy teams:  Interns work with therapists in teams to provide therapy to individuals, couples, and families.  Additionally, MFT and MSW interns work as a team to best meet the needs of client assessment and diagnosis. 
           
Individual and Play therapy: Interns will have a caseload of their own. They will meet with individuals, couples and children. Interns will record their sessions to be observed in their intern group as well as with their supervisor.

Recording: The Family Development Center has cameras in every therapy office. This allows for all therapists to record their sessions (with client consent). Interns can watch videos and learn different styles of therapy as well as follow several different cases throughout the year.

Consultation: The Family Development Center therapists meet weekly for case consultation. This is an opportunity to staff cases, build relationships, receive/learn about additional training opportunities, and stay updated with necessary announcements. We run these meetings in a structured format. Therapists are also encouraged to consult with each other as needed outside of the weekly group consultation. 

Supervision: Interns have a supervisor on site with whom they will meet weekly for one hour.

 

Intern Commitment: 

  • Full Year (12 months) commitment.

  • Minimum of 20 hours per week

    • for combined administrative work, office agency duties, co-therapy, client contact hours, supervision, and consultation.

  • At least five (5) evening (4:00 p.m. or later) or weekend hours

    • Three (3) of which are to be in person.

      • At least one (1) of which should be a 5:00 p.m.

  • Weekly Client hours; ramp up to a minimum of 10 scheduled hours.

    • The ramp-up period is generally 13 weeks.

  • One hour of individual supervision per week.

    • To be scheduled with your supervisor.

  • One-and-a-half hours of group supervision every other week.

    • Friday 10:30-12:00 p.m.

  • One-and-a-half hours of group consultation per week.

    • Wednesday 12:15-1:45 p.m.

 

Application & Selection Process:

  • Applicants will answer the questions below and submit a formal cover letter and resume from MFT, MSW, or LPCC.

  • For Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) applicants, interviews begin in December of every year.

  • For Clinical Social Work (MSW) applicants, interviews will begin in March of every year.

  • All applicants go through an interview process that consists of an individual interview with several The Family Development Center staff members.