Field-based training in community organizations, schools and mental health settings is a vital component of the Community Mental Health Program. These experiences offer a way for the student to verify and challenge the theory acquired in the classroom as well as to examine his/her own role as a clinician.
During field placement, the supervisor works closely with placement sites to ensure diverse and personalized learning experiences that provide closely supervised opportunities to do counseling and consultative work with individuals, groups and families. Students choose conveniently located sites that fit their professional interests, and schedules.
In their second year, students finish their coursework and complete two semesters sequence (Residency I and Residency II) to complete 270 hour residency. The residency is combined with a small group seminar at Al-Quds University, with the instructors of the seminars serving as liaisons between Al-Quds University and the field sites. The seminar is designed to integrate the student's theoretical knowledge with his/her experience in the field. The instructor monitors the students' progress at their placements by initiating site visits several times during the semester and dealing with issues that arise in relation to field training.
In the intensive small, group seminar within which students discuss their field placement experiences and their cases. Students address personal issues involved in transference and counter-transference in their cases, learn to integrate theory with practice, benefit from feedback from their colleagues and instructor, learn how to construct and present case analyses, and explore this opportunity for professional growth. It brings students into contact with the most recent and sometimes controversial clinical issues.
The aim of the residency placement is to ensure that students develop their core skills through experiences with different client groups and have a full range of psychological work in health settings. This includes applying a variety of psychological models to a wide range of clinical problems and clients across the age spectrum, and in a variety of settings.
Al-Quds University requires that students receive one hour of individual supervision per week. In addition to the supervision provided by the site, students receive two hours of group supervision each week at Al-Quds for the duration of the academic year. Specific days, hours, vacation times, and length of placement are negotiated between the site and the student.
This two semester sequence, (Residency I and Residency II) of supervised practicum in the field provides an in-depth face-to-face counseling experience with children, adolescents, adults, couples, groups and families in community agencies, schools, youth centers, and hospitals. This core placement involves direct assessment and intervention work with clients and liaison work with agencies and other health professionals. It also provides ongoing experience in the use of applied psychotherapeutic techniques, assessment, diagnosis, counseling, crisis intervention, and the treatment of individuals in need.
- Teacher: Najah Al-khateeb