Dear Prospective Applicant: SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FAMILY COURT-SOCIAL SERVICES DIVISION CHILD GUIDANCE CLINIC 510 4th Street NW, Room 330 Washington, DC 20001 GUIDELINES FOR CLINICAL/FORENSIC EXTERNSHIPS Thank you for your interest in a supervised placement with the DC Superior Court s Child Guidance Clinic. We offer two externship tracks: assessment and psychotherapy. The Clinic is a unit within the DC Superior Courts Social Services Division. The mission of the Social Services Division is to assist the Court in the administration of justice and to serve the youth involved in the criminal juvenile system. The Social Services Division is responsible for providing information and recommendations through various diagnostic and investigative reports to assist the Court in making decisions in the adjudication process. The Child Guidance Clinic operates to meet the needs of the Court by providing psychological assessments and therapy for children and adolescents, typically ranging from age 10 to age 18. Parent/guardian involvement is necessary for all clinical services provided. Regarding the Clinic s assessment externship, Judges and probation officers make the referrals for assessments. The assessments examine intellectual, educational, and personality/emotional functioning and are used to recommend appropriate placement, assist with treatment planning, and examine the impact of traumatic events on the youth. Regarding the Clinic s psychotherapy externship, Judges and probation officers make the referrals for individual or group therapy services. We are a staff of five licensed clinical psychologists, including one specialist in neuropsychology, with a multitude of assessment and therapy experience and a variety of other clinical interests. There are two Deputy Clerks who assist the clinical staff by scheduling appointments, finalizing reports and distributing them to the appropriate court staff, and helping our clients feel welcome and comfortable. The Clinic s clients are children and adolescents, typically ranging from age 10 to age 18. Youth are referred to the Clinic due to involvement in the criminal juvenile system. Most clients are African-American and Latino/a American and from low socioeconomic status families. Many have difficulties in school, family conflicts, and histories of trauma exposure. There is a predominance of charges associated with substance use or possession, unauthorized use of a vehicle, school truancy, runaway behavior, robbery, theft, and assaults.
REQUIREMENTS: Students in placement at the Clinic are required to be advanced doctoral students enrolled in an American Psychological Association (APA) accredited (accreditation eligible or provisional accreditation) doctoral program in clinical or counseling psychology. It is expected that students will remain in this placement for one year, and no less than eight months. The training year runs from August 1 st through June 30 th, though there is flexibility regarding the end date and the exact time frame may be negotiated with the Chief Psychologist or Director of Training. GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSMENT EXTERNSHIP This placement is an opportunity for students to sharpen their clinical assessment skills and gain experience in a forensic setting. Therefore, students are expected to possess thorough working knowledge and skills in diagnostic interviewing of clients and relevant collateral informants. Students should be proficient in psychological testing, scoring, interpretation of test data, and report writing, which includes recommendations. Standard psychological tests include: WISC-V, WAIS-IV, WIAT-III, WJ-IV, PAI-A, MACI, MMPI-2, MMPI-A, and the Rorschach (Exner scoring system). Students will also have the opportunity to learn and utilize a broader array of assessment measures. RESPONSIBILITIES: Students are expected to spend no less than 16 hours weekly attending to their duties regarding the Clinic. However, the exact number of hours spent on site can vary according to the criteria of the students school and scheduling. Most of the 16 hours are spent at home writing the evaluation report, and some students only need to be on site one day per week. A minimum of one completed evaluation per week is the expected baseline, though the specific number of evaluations per week will be determined by the student and his or her supervisor. SUPERVISION: Students will be assigned a supervisor who is a licensed psychologist. The supervisor will direct the work and provide appropriate feedback on a weekly basis. The supervisor will complete periodic written evaluations of the student, using either forms sent by the student s school program or the Clinic s own standard form. In some cases, both forms may be requested by the school. A copy of the Clinic s form will be kept on record for future reference. The Clinic and the Court reserve the right to remove any student for substandard performance. PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: All students are expected to maintain ethical and professional conduct in accordance with APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2017). In addition, trainees will adhere to the guidelines set forth by the Court. You will receive information about these standards upon
your orientation to the Court. Additionally, all clinical materials will remain the property of the Clinic and the DC Superior Court. APPLICATION PROCEDURE: To apply for an assessment placement, please send a current Curriculum Vitae (CV), a letter of introduction stating your interest, two letters of recommendation from persons responsible for your training to date, and a redacted evaluation report (full battery; preferably of a juvenile) via email to: Dr. Jennifer Christman, Director of Training Child Guidance Clinic Superior Court of the District of Columbia 510 4th Street NW; Suite 330 Washington, D.C. 20001 Telephone: (202)-508-1896 or 1781; Email: Jennifer.Christman.Training@dcsc.gov DEADLINES: Applications are due at the Clinic by close of business on the third Friday in February. Decisions made about interviews shortly follow. After review of your application, a decision will be made whether or not to offer a personal on-site interview, with the ultimate decision regarding an externship offer made by the Clinic. A two-day orientation to the Clinic s policies, guidelines, and standards will take place on the first Monday and Tuesday at the end of July or early August of each year; you must be present for this orientation. Your first assessment will be scheduled the fourth week of August. Please plan your schedule accordingly. If you accept an externship position, you will then be sent a DC Court Application to complete. This application will include a criminal records check. The Court application should be returned immediately to our Deputy Clerk and it will be forwarded to the Human Resources Division. We are pleased that you are considering the DC Superior Court as a placement for a portion of your training. We have every confidence that you will gain valuable knowledge and experience in this forensic setting. Best wishes! NOTE: The Red line of the Metrorail system is the most convenient method for travel to this location. Please use the Judiciary Square stop and exit toward the Nat l Bldg Museum/F Street. You will enter the secure building on 4 th Street NW.
GUIDELINES FOR PSYCHOTHERAPY EXTERNSHIP This placement is an opportunity for students to hone their clinical skills through the provision of counseling and psychotherapy treatment to court-involved youth. Students are expected to have successfully taken basic courses in psychotherapy and acquired curricula should include materials on ethics and multicultural considerations. Experience in maintaining progress and/or process notes and other relevant documentation will be necessary. Students will receive supervised experience in: (a) establishing and maintaining professional therapeutic relationships with clients, (b) developing knowledge and skill in therapy tools, theories, and techniques, (c) adapting professional behavior and competence to meet different therapy needs (intake interviewing, crisis intervention, etc), (d) developing insights into one s own clinical identity and the impact of one s behavior upon clients and (e) expanding knowledge of current literature regarding effective therapy skills and theories. RESPONSIBILITIES: Students are expected to spend a maximum of 16 hours weekly (depending on the experience level of student and the number of clients) attending to their duties in the provision of services at their assigned site. This timeframe will include direct service, progress note documentation, clinical administrative meetings, case conferences, and supervision. A minimum of six (6) individual cases must be maintained throughout the training tenure. There will be a maximum individual caseload of twelve (12) clients, though there may be flexibility in this area considering student needs, interests, experience, and client availability. Students will also co-facilitate at least one juvenile therapy group each week. Because our clients are juveniles, treatment sessions typically begin after school Monday through Thursday starting at approximately 4:00 to approximately 7:30 pm (latest time to start a session). SUPERVISION: Students have the opportunity to receive both individual and group therapy supervision. Each student will be assigned a licensed clinical psychologist supervisor for direct therapy service provision. There will be a minimum of one hour of individual supervision each week. The supervisor will provide practical and theoretical frameworks for psychotherapeutic intervention. Students will be expected to provide detailed notes and observations of their clients for supervision meetings. Other methods of oversight (e.g., audio taping) may be required at the discretion of the clinical supervisor. The clinical supervisor will provide a written evaluation using the forms sent by the attending university or program or the Clinic s own standard form. In some cases, both forms may be requested by the sending institution. A copy of the Clinic s form will be kept on record for future reference. There will be regular communication with the sending institution regarding the progress and professional working relationships of the student.
Licensed staff psychologists from the Clinic will provide up to three hours of therapy supervision in a group format every Thursday afternoon. Two hours of the group supervision will focus on student case presentations of individual therapy clients and feature guest speakers from the community providing seminars on relevant topics (e.g., multicultural considerations, suicide prevention for adolescents, gang structure). One hour of group supervision will focus on group therapy progress and dynamics. On a rotating basis, students will present an individual therapy case for exploration and discussion and receive feedback from staff and colleagues. Students will be expected to choose one case to follow throughout the training/supervision tenure. This will allow the student and staff to closely and consistently follow and monitor ongoing dynamics and longitudinal progress of a client. Students will also be assigned a site supervisor, in addition to their clinical supervisor. The site supervisor is an official member of the Court Social Services Division and will provide administrative assistance, logistical guidance, and mentorship at the assigned site. Treatment services are conducted on Court-designated premises, which may include the Clinic or one of the Court s satellite offices offering after-school juvenile programs. Site supervisors will be responsible for ensuring that service delivery is in compliance with Court rules and regulations. PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: All students are expected to maintain ethical and professional conduct in accordance with APA Ethical Principles of Psychologist and Code of Conduct (2017). In addition, trainees will adhere to guidelines set forth by the Division and the Court. All clinical materials will remain the property of the Clinic and the DC Superior Court. The Clinic and the Court reserve the right to remove any student for substandard performance. APPLICATION PROCEDURE: To apply for a psychotherapy placement, please send a current Curriculum Vitae (CV), a letter of introduction stating your interest, two letters of recommendation from persons responsible for your training to date, and a case conceptualization via email to: Dr. Jennifer Christman, Director of Training Child Guidance Clinic Superior Court of the District of Columbia 510 4th Street NW; Suite 330 Washington, D.C. 20001 Telephone: (202)-508-1896 or 1781; Email: Jennifer.Christman.Training@dcsc.gov DEADLINES: Applications are due at the Clinic by close of business on the third Friday in February. Decisions made about interviews shortly follow. After review of your application, a decision will be made
whether or not to offer a personal on-site interview, with the ultimate decision regarding an externship offer made by the Clinic. A two-day orientation to the Clinic s policies, guidelines, and standards will take place on the first Monday and Tuesday at the end of July or early August of each year; you must be present for this orientation. Actual therapy practice will begin the first Thursday after Labor Day of each year. Please plan your schedule accordingly. If you accept an externship position, you will then be sent a DC Court Application to complete. This application will include a criminal records check. The Court application should be returned immediately to our Deputy Clerk and it will be forwarded to the Human Resources Division. We are pleased that you are considering the DC Superior Court as a placement for a portion of your training. We have every confidence that you will gain valuable knowledge and experience in this forensic setting. Best wishes! NOTE: The Red line of the Metrorail system is the most convenient method for travel to this location. Please use the Judiciary Square stop and exit toward the Nat l Bldg Museum/F Street. You will enter the secure building on 4 th Street NW. Kind regards, Malcolm Woodland, Ph.D. Acting Chief Psychologist, Child Guidance Clinic Deputy Director of Court Social Services malcolm.woodland@dcsc.gov Jennifer Christman, Psy.D. Director of Clinical Training, Child Guidance Clinic Jennifer.christman@dcsc.gov Ms. Terri Odom Court Social Services Director