Letter from the Training Director

Dear Prospective Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the doctoral psychology internship at The University of Texas at Dallas Student Counseling Center (SCC). We view the internship year as the capstone experience of one’s professional training and are honored at your interest in our program for this pivotal year. Commitment to training is a strong value of our counseling center. In 2012, the UT Dallas SCC internship was accredited by the American Psychological Association. Prior to that, we trained interns as a partner in the APA-accredited Dallas Metropolitan Consortium in Psychology.

I transitioned into the role of Assistant Director, Training Director at the SCC in July 2021. I love university counseling work and particularly love working at UTD, which is reflected in my history as both a staff member and former trainee at the SCC. I was a Practicum Therapist at the SCC in 2008 and a Doctoral Intern in 2013. I returned to the SCC as a senior staff member in 2015 and served as the practicum training coordinator between 2018-2021. During my time at the SCC, I developed a passion for supervision and training, and feel honored for the opportunity to be part of the personal and professional journey for trainees who join our center. I also have passion in areas such as disability identity and accessibility, neurodiversity, gender-affirming care services, anxiety and self-compassion.

One of our primary goals is that interns complete our program with an understanding of the importance of social justice in mental health. The SCC firmly believes that systems of oppression are threats to mental and physical health, and we are committed to creating a welcoming campus community that embraces and celebrates diverse identities and explicitly takes a stand against discrimination. Creating accessible training spaces and working environments is a deeply held value by myself personally and of the center as a whole, and our goal is that interns experience this training program as empowering, affirming and collaborative in creating an accessible internship experience.

One of my favorite things about the SCC and feedback we have often received from former interns is the benefit of engaging with the SCC’s interdisciplinary staff, who are all involved in some way in the training program. Interns have opportunities throughout the training year to develop close supervisory and mentorship relationships with staff members of diverse disciplines, experiences, theoretical orientations, and approaches. Though staff members and intern supervisors bring their own unique skills and perspectives into supervision, all supervisors use a relational, developmental approach that focuses strongly on developing intern’s professional identity. Our commitment to developing supportive supervisory and mentoring relationships creates an environment in which there is great opportunity for increased self-awareness and personal and professional growth. Emphasis on intersectionality is woven throughout all supervision spaces, and interns have shared that the staff model a commitment to this through sharing of ourselves and engaging in important dialogues and self-reflection related to identity throughout the year.

We encourage you to review our materials. If we are a good match for your interests, experiences and goals, we would welcome your application for the 2024-2025 training year. Our application deadline is 11:59 p.m., EST on November 1, 2023.

If you have any questions about our application process or if I can provide further information about our program, I invite you to contact me at erin.schrader@utdallas.edu or at 972-883-2575.

We wish you the best during this exciting process.

Sincerely,
Erin Schrader, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Training Director