PsyD Advanced Practicum

Live Oak offers a PsyD Advanced practicum experience for individuals studying Clinical Psychology. Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort are now closed. Applicants will be informed of interviews by March 1st, 2024. Pre-notification day is March 15th, 2024. Final notification day is March 18th, 2024.

Program Highlights

  • Full-year of clinical training (July through June)
    • 500 hours of Clinical Service Experience (individual, couples/relational, family, and group psychotherapy)
    • 25 hours per week
  • 11 core competency trainings, resulting in approximately 33 hours of clinical training)
  • Weekly individual supervision from a clinically licensed therapist (Licensed Clinical Psychologist), resulting in approximately 48-50 clinical supervision hours.
  • Weekly group supervision with Live Oak trainees (fellows and graduate-level interns) facilitated by Live Oak’s Clinical Development Manager, resulting in approximately 70-75 clinical supervision hours.
  • Testing Capstone presentations: 1-hour testing case conceptualization related to the testing work completed with an individual client throughout the training year. Ideally, a client that has also engaged in ongoing therapy.

General Overview of the Program

Live Oak PsyD Advanced Practicum students are on-site for a full year of training, beginning in July (Practicum students will be oriented to the program in the last week of June) of the year in which the student is accepted, and running through June 3oth of the following calendar year. With the direct support and supervision of clinical supervisors, PsyD Advanced Practicum students will provide 500 hours of direct clinical services (individual, couples/relational, family, and at least 8 testing batteries). This model emphasizes high-quality, intensive clinical training and ensures continuity of care for the clients we serve. Unfortunately, Live Oak will not accept any applicants who cannot fulfill this commitment, and partial year internships will not be provided, regardless of the specific requirements or academic calendar of the graduate program.

Live Oak offers a unique internship experience, unlike any other in the Chicagoland area. In addition to weekly individual supervision and group supervision, graduate interns will have access to a broad range of clinical experience and training. Training include but are not limited to monthly, 3-hour trainings on Live Oak’s core competency areas (trauma-informed care, LGBTQ affirmative practice, and intersectional practice); access to over 25 full-time staff with a variety of backgrounds and experiences; and opportunities to co-facilitate group therapy with a full-time staff member.

Core competency trainings include the following themes:

  • Introduction to Trauma-Informed Practice
  • Understanding Systemic Privilege & Power: Personal Identity
  • Understanding Systemic Privilege & Power: Clinical Practice
  • Introduction to LGBTQ Affirmative Practice
  • Introduction to TGNC Affirmative Practice
  • Introduction to Attachment Theory & Clinical Practice
  • Introduction to Non-Monogamy & Relational Diversity
  • Sex Diversity, Sex Positivity, & Kink-Aware Practice
  • QTPOC Cultural Competency
  • Vicarious Trauma & Compassion Fatigue
  • Ethical Rebellion

PsyD Advanced Practicum students spend 25 hours per week, on-site (some hours may be remote, but testing hours must be on site), and engaged in Live Oak activities such as community meetings, informal peer-to-peer consultations, monthly consultation groups, and summer and winter parties. Interns are also able to access monthly public trainings offered on-site at no-cost, pending space and availability.

Trainees will primarily provide clinical services to an adult population in addition to completing testing batteries focused on exploring neurodiversity and understanding the nuances of complex trauma, with a largely queer clientele.

The internship concludes with a capstone presentation for a panel of Live Oak staff members in which interns will facilitate a 1-hour case conceptualization related to the clinical or testing work they have done with an individual client, throughout the course of the training year.

Qualifications

  • Completion of all academic requirements necessary to engage in clinical field placement (specific to student’s graduate program)
  • Flexible schedule, with an ability to be on-site Wednesday mornings (for meetings), to be on-site on testing days, the first Friday of the month (for trainings) and some evenings (for clients). While we have many interns who have completed the program while working part or even full-time, we expect your commitment to Live Oak to be prioritized
  • Commitment to the underlying philosophical values of Live Oak
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Ability to be in placement for a full year
  • Maturity and self-direction
  • Willingness to engage in self-reflection
  • Previous clinical experience, or other involvement in areas related to our values, a plus

To Apply

Applications for the 2024-2025 cohort are now closed.

Applicants will be informed of interviews by March 1st, 2024
Prenotification day is March 15th, 2024
Final notification day is March 18th, 2024