work with state or federal agencies to obtain proper medical care, nutrition, housing, or other services for clients before any therapy could benefit them. “All manner of factors can come into play in an individual’s situation,” Dr. Nelsen commented. “We train our therapists to be sensitive enough to allow their clients to identify these factors and then establish collaborative therapeutic relationships to address them. The client must truly want to improve. We cannot simply prescribe an operation to make things better. There is a lot of hard work required by therapist and client.” Some graduate students joined Dr. Fleming to serve on the Mental Health Task Force of the Erie International Institute. In 2003, they began offering services to Erie’s community of “Lost Boys” [see page 6]. The team moderates a monthly discussion group helping the young men socialize, discuss problems, and share tips on adapting to life in Erie.
a
fter their clinical and practical experiences, graduate students must complete 2,000 hours in an internship approved by the American Psychological Association (APA). These highly competitive internships are similar to the rotations required of medical students and do not differentiate between clinical and counseling psych students. Dr. Fleming noted that Gannon’s students have been extremely successful in obtaining the internships they sought at locations such as Danielson Institute at Boston University, Montana State University–Bozeman, and West Virginia University Counseling and Psychological Services Center, to name a few. The students must complete and defend their doctoral dissertations after finishing their internships. Dissertations cover research of interest to the student and have examined topics such as gender issues in therapeutic interaction between male clients and female therapists; family relationships of Bosnian refugees and posttraumatic stress; and evaluations of the effectiveness of training teachers, clergy, and AIDS workers in basic counseling skills. The APA requires another year of supervised post-doctoral experience before psychologists can sit for their licensing exams. The requirements of Gannon’s program and the APA ensure that graduates are well-equipped, fully competent psychologists with the tools to serve those in need.
d
octoral candidate Kim Coddington knew from her first elective psychology course in high school that she wanted to major in psychology. Following her bachelor’s degree in psychology and work in a mental health unit, she earned her Clinical Psychology master’s degree and gained experiences working with children, adolescents and communities in different locations. “My work prior to entering Gannon’s doctoral program in Counseling Psychology helped lay the foundation for developing a deeper understanding of the theoretical knowledge presented in the course work. I was able to apply personal experiences to theories we discussed in class, deepening my understanding of both.” Coddington said her most influential clinical knowledge grew from her doctoral-level practicum and clinic experiences at Gannon. The program deepened her clinical competence and enriched her professional identity. She noted that the strengths of Gannon’s program include the chance to build strong mentoring relationships with faculty members and the direct supervision provided during the practicum and clinic experiences. The faculty were open to exploring diverse spiritual issues in the counseling setting when appropriate. Married with three children, Coddington says balancing her academic pursuits and family responsibilities has been worth the challenge. Those family responsibilities offered painful but fertile ground for Coddington’s work in 2000, when her eight-yearold son had a stroke at school. Her son’s full recovery drew Coddington’s interest to neuropsychological treatment issues, including relationships between the brain, behavior, emotions, and the rehabilitation of brain injury. Having finished all her course work, Coddington will soon complete her clinic and practical experiences and begin an internship with the Erie Psychological Consortium in September. This will include rotations with Community Integration, Inc. (a community counseling resource serving Erie County), Northshore Psychological Associates and Health South Rehabilitation Hospital. She is eager to put her experience and training into practice.
13