Rooted in a commitment to culturally competent and evidence-based practices, SHAW Counseling Services at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) addresses the needs of students to promote psychological health among UWM undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. UWM students seek mental health services for a variety of reasons, including transition issues, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating/body image issues, trauma/sexual assault, alcohol/substance abuse issues, and interpersonal issues, among others. Counseling Services offers a menu of interventions for students, including individual and group counseling, psychiatric services, case management, crisis services, and outreach and prevention services.
Counseling Services has a dual mission to serve the mental health needs of UWM students, as well as to prepare the next generation of mental health practitioners for careers in counseling. Counseling Services offers training to a multidisciplinary cohort each year, comprised of Clinical Fellows, psychology practicum students, and Social Work students.
Overview of Program
The focus of this Fellowship is to provide individuals with supervised clinical practice aimed to refine their clinical skills in preparation for functioning as independent practitioners in a university mental health setting. Fellows experience a supportive environment that encourages greater professional autonomy balanced with support and numerous opportunities for consultation with seasoned senior staff throughout the year.
The Clinical Fellowship program at Counseling Services is part of our focused multidisciplinary training program. The primary role of the Clinical Fellow is to provide clinical services utilizing the experiences gleaned from completion of an internship program or other relevant experience. “Learning by doing” is the philosophical foundation of the training as Fellows focus on the provision of individual and group psychotherapy to UWM students. The Fellows will also have the opportunity to hone their outreach and prevention skills as they work with the Office of Housing to support UWM residential students.
Access to formal training activities, including a weekly case conference, assists individuals with the integration and augmentation of former training and clinical practice experiences. Clinical Fellows maintain a flexible work schedule that includes working five days a week with the possibility of occasional evening/weekend hours for outreach events. The Clinical Fellowship is a multidisciplinary training opportunity that may include representatives from psychology, counseling or social work fields.
Fellowship Components
Direct Clinical Service
Approximately 65% of fellowship time is focused on the provision of direct clinical service. This translates to approximately 26 direct service hours with 14 hours for other activities such as clinical writing, case management, staff meetings and committee involvement.
Outreach: A unique aspect of this Fellowship is the focus on outreach and prevention services to the residential student community living on campus. Fellows will assist in staffing Let’s Talk hours, as well as provide training/outreach programs to RA’s and residents in university housing.
Individual and Relationship Therapy – Opportunities are afforded to work with diverse undergraduate and graduate/professional clients. Clients are diverse both in clinical presentation and identities. Counseling Services provides primarily brief, time-limited counseling.
Group Therapy – Counseling Services offers a variety of groups each semester, which have both topical and general emphases. Clinical Fellows have the opportunity to co-lead with a senior staff member or lead a group, depending on their prior experience level.
Crisis Intervention – Clinical Fellows serve along with senior members of the staff to respond to campus mental health emergencies when needed.
Training (Indirect clinical service)
Individual Supervision – Weekly two-hour supervision with a licensed senior staff member focuses on clinical case management, therapy dynamics, and professional/personal development issues.
Case Conference – Weekly two-hour forum for the discussion of issues surrounding the provision of clinical care in the university setting. Case Conference presentations focus on a multicultural clinical analysis of cases, with attention to conceptualization, diagnosis, case management, ethical considerations, and intervention strategies. Case conference is facilitated by senior staff clinicians.
Professional Development Programs – UCS offers 2-4 professional development programs each year for agency staff. Often these are clinically focused presentations by practitioners and researchers familiar with the mental health needs of university populations.
Orientation Training – This is an intensive training period of one-two weeks duration prior to the start of fall semester. Clinical Fellows are oriented to the university and UCS while becoming acquainted with one another. Agency policies and practices are addressed, as well as topical content pertinent to service delivery and client care.
Training Seminars – Bi-weekly seminars focusing on topics pertaining to clinical issues, multicultural issues, research, and assessment are available to all trainees. This seminar focuses on various training topics and can include: counseling with awareness to intersecting identities, psychopharmacology, brief therapy, group therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety, ethics and social media, working with eating disorders, chemical dependency/substance abuse, and treatment with trauma survivors.
Committee Work – All Clinical Fellows have the option to select an agency committee or task group on which to serve. Committees include: Clinical Services, Training, Outreach, Eating Disorder Treatment Team/Consult Group. This affiliation assists Clinical Fellows in connecting with staff across the agency.
Agency Administration (Indirect Clinical Service)
Required
Staff Meetings – All Clinical Fellows participate in weekly full staff meetings. In addition, regular meetings with the coordinator of the Training Program are held to discuss training and professional development issues on a weekly basis.
Typical Weekly Schedule
Typical Weekly Schedule (may vary week to week)
| Administration Weekly Hours | |
| Full Staff | 1 |
| Paperwork, Case Management, Tx Planning | 9-10 |
| Clinical Service | |
| Individual Clients | 20 |
| Groups | 1.5 |
| Workshops/Outreach (Let’s Talk) | 2 |
| Supervision | |
| Individual Supervision | 2 |
| Case Conference (group supervision) | 2 |
| Cohort Meeting (group supervision) | 1 |
| Structured Training | |
| Training Seminars | 1 |
| Approximate Total | 40 hours |
Benefits
The Clinical Fellowship is a 12-month program with a stipend of $37,500 beginning in August. As a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee employee, Clinical Fellows may be eligible for many outstanding benefit programs, including medical coverage, state or alternative retirement plans, life insurance, 10 paid holidays and flexibility with leave schedule. To view the UWM benefit programs go to https://uwm.edu/hr/benefits/
Clinical Fellows also have a private office with computer, email account, internet access and access to university facilities, including libraries and recreational facilities.
Application Information
These are the minimum requirements to APPLY for the Clinical Fellowship:
Completion of a Ph.D./Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology, from an APA-accredited program preferred (consideration also given to ABD candidates who have proposed), OR MSW degree, working toward independent licensure OR master’s degree in counseling/counselor education or related field, working toward independent licensure. Two years of related experience is a plus.
For the disciplines of social work and counseling, applicants must have degrees conferred and have obtained their APSW or LPC-IT license for the State of Wisconsin by August 1, or the first day of the Fellowship.
A supervised internship or equivalent work in a university counseling center, mental health agency or related professional setting is preferred.
General skills, knowledge, and experience in individual, relationship, group counseling and psychotherapy; assessment; multicultural issues; and crisis intervention.
Application Procedure
All material should be sent via email to fleider@uwm.edu by the application deadline. Applications should include:
- Letter of application, indicating your interest in, goals for, and expectations of clinical fellowship at a university counseling center
- Vitae or Resume
- Academic transcript from graduate program (unofficial copy)
- Two letters of professional reference, one of which speaks to the candidate’s clinical experience
Application Deadline: January 12, 2024
Contact with Questions:
Jeb Ebben, Interim Training Director
(they/them/theirs)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University Counseling Services
Northwest Quadrant, Building D, 8th floor
PO Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413
414-229-7429
jtebben@uwm.edu
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, qualified women, minorities, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.