The Clinical Training Program, a part of the Clinical Services Program, hosts students from psychology and social work graduate schools and therapists who are collecting hours towards licensure.  The training emphasizes a family and community approach to clinical work.  We use videotape, live supervision, and narrative reflecting teams in addition to more traditional individual and group supervision.  Trainees are matched with programs and supervisors based on areas of interest, ranging from families with young children to teen issues to substance abuse.  We have eleven trainees in the program for the 2009-2010 year.

The Training Program is connected with all of the other programs of Alameda Family Services.  Everyone in the Training Program comes together for a full day of training every week and also shares the commonality of providing services at the clinic site.  Trainees provide the bulk of the family, couple, and individual therapy at the clinic under the auspices of the Clinical Services Program.  The work in the clinic also involves on-call crisis response by phone and in person.  Specifically, therapists are trained to respond to family crises which have resulted in police action, though we intervene in quite a wide range of crisis situations.

In addition, trainees work in the high schools of Alameda, providing individual, family, and group therapy to students via the School Based Health Centers.  Trainees also work in the middle schools and provide group therapy to students.  We also have trainees working as consultants to Head Start teachers in the classroom, providing support to parents, and engaging Head Start children in therapeutic activities individually and in small groups.  Outside of the classroom, trainees provide family and individual therapy to Head Start families.  Trainees also facilitate groups, such as one for parents of children with special needs and one for Head Start fathers and other important male figures in the children's lives.

In the Early Head Start program, trainees facilitate developmental play groups and provide parent-infant and parent-child therapy services.  Trainees also have the opportunity to be involved in home visits and screenings for post-partum depression and child development.  At DreamCatcher, trainees have been able to provide crisis assessment, individual therapy, family mediation, psycho education, and group support to the young people staying at DreamCatcher or utilizing the drop-in center.  Finally, trainees work in the Drug and Alcohol Treatment program by co-facilitating substance abuse treatment groups as well as providing individual and family therapy to clients in the DAT program.

While the populations and services vary, the Training Program has a unified focus on supporting families in context.  Using a narrative and social justice perspective, the program is strength-based and solution-focused.  We all work closely together as a team.

Practicum (including third year doctorial, advance Master's students, and post-Master's students) applications are due by February 12, 2010, while intern (pre-and post-doctorial) applications follow CAPIC guidelines and are due by March 5, 2010.  Please address in your letter of interest which programs attract you most and why you want to work with families/community.  The training year begins in late August with a three-day orientation and ends in mid-June for practicum students and mid-August for interns.  Full-time and part-time internships are available, though stipends of $7,200 may only be available for full-time interns.  Second interviews include a family role play for interns, whereas practicum applicants may only be interviewed once.  For an information packet about the training program, please email Elizabeth VanDeventer at ElizabethV@alamedafs.org, or call (510) 629-6300.

Please mail your complete application, including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, recommendation letters (2 for practicum, 3 for pre- and post-doctoral interns), as well as completed CAPIC application (pre-doc only), to Jennifer Wu, Psy.D. Clinical Training Coordinator, 2325 Clement Avenue Alameda, CA 94501.