Professor: Jerome L. Short, Ph.D.
Office: David King Hall 2045
Phone: 703-993-1368 (Office)
E-Mail: jshort@gmu.edu
Website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~jshort
Office Hours: 2:00 - 3:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays

This doctoral practicum consists of group and individual supervision of clinical work in a professional psychological services setting. The main goals of this course are to (a) help students increase their ability to provide high quality clinical services, (b) ensure that students work with their clients in a competent and ethical manner, and (c) help students develop their ability to provide constructive feedback on the professional work of their peers. There is no required textbook, but the instructor may provide pertinent readings for discussion throughout the course. There are no written exams.

Requirements:

1. Participation in Group Supervision. We will meet as a group for 90 minutes per week. Each student will present interview or therapy tapes, test results, or psychological reports. The designated presenter will receive constructive feedback from the other group members.

2. Participation in Individual Supervision. Each student will meet with me individually for 30 minutes per week. Please prepare clinical material such as case conceptualizations, consideration of therapy techniques, test results, or empirical research findings on treatment effectiveness to discuss at each meeting.

3. Completion of Clinical Assignments. Students are required to complete one comprehensive assessment of a client at the GMU Center for Psychological Services during the fall semester. Students must complete cases within 8 weeks of an intake session. The Clinic Supervisory Assistant will review the scoring of students’ test protocols and I will supervise the interpretation and written report. Students will give a case presentation of their assessment work in the group supervision. In addition, students will conduct psychotherapy with a caseload of 1 to 4 clients from the Center. Please audiotape or videotape every session with your clients and we will review the tapes in supervision. Students need to complete intake summaries, progress notes, and termination summaries for each client.

4. Participation in Evaluation. At the end of the semester, students will receive written feedback on their clinical performance. This will come in the form of a narrative description of strengths and weaknesses and a quantitative rating of specific skills on the Supervision Evaluation Form (described in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program Handbook).

Grading: Students’ final grade will be based on the completion and quality of your assessment and psychotherapy work. Each of the following aspects is important and follows from the Supervision Evaluation Form:

1. Psychological Assessment Skills that include: competent assessment skills including formulating a clear referral question or problem, correct administration and scoring of tests, organizing and integrating test results skillfully, and clearly written reports.

2. Psychological Intervention Skills that include: development of working alliances with clients, applying clinical theory and research in case formulation and treatment for each client, carrying out psychotherapy techniques effectively, and responding appropriately to relationship issues.

3. Good Use of Supervision that include: receptive to feedback and listens non-defensively, incorporates feedback in clinical work, and gives feedback to others in a supportive and professional manner.

4. Professional Reliability that includes: writing progress notes and therapy reports skillfully and in a timely fashion, adhering to ethical practices, and dealing with staff and colleagues in a respectful and professional manner.

Final grades will be based on ratings from the Supervision Evaluation Form. A mean rating will be calculated using the 5-point rating scale on the form. This mean will be used to determine final grades as follows:

A = Consistently excellent work (overall rating of 4.50 – 5.00) and completion of all requirements.
A- = Generally excellent work on each dimension (overall rating of 4.00 – 4.49) and completion of all requirements.
B+ = Very good work on each dimension (overall rating of 3.50 – 3.99) and completion of all requirements.
B = Good work (overall rating of 3.00 – 3.49) and completion of all requirements.
C = Substandard work (overall rating below 3.00) and completion of all requirements.
F = Failure to complete all requirements.

Honor Code. The Honor Code of George Mason University deals specifically with cheating and attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing. Students should be familiar with the code and connected policies, set out at http://www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies This course will be conducted in accordance with those policies.

Accomodation of Disabilities. If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703-993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.

Last Day to Add (Full-Semester Course) September 9, 2008
Last Day to Drop (Full-Semester Course) September 26, 2008