Orlando , Florida
Known as one of the world's premier travel and leisure destinations, Orlando is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States with an estimated population of 15 million. Its temperate climate, tourism industry and cultural diversity make it a popular destination. Over 35 million people visit Orlando each year as they enjoy area attractions and theme parks such as Walt Disney World and Sea World, world-class beaches, shopping and dining, lakes, golf courses, jogging trails, and nature preserves.

University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida is among the nation’s largest universities, with an enrollment of nearly 49,000 students. As a major metropolitan research university, UCF plays a large role in Central Florida’s fast-paced growth through its community and corporate partnerships, research programs, regional campuses and its nearly 4,800 employees. UCF is one of 11 member institutions of the State University System and offers 86 baccalaureate programs, 68 master’s degree programs, 3 specialist programs, and 24 doctoral programs. UCF main campus is located 13 miles east of the city of Orlando, 45 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and Cape Kennedy, and 100 miles from Tampa and the Gulf of Mexico.

Counseling Center Mission Statement
The Counseling Center at the University of Central Florida is a department in the Division of Student Development and enrollment Services (SDES). Our mission is to serve as an essential resource for UCF students with developmental and psychological concerns. We provide short-term and culturally sensitive counseling, consultation, internship training and other collaborative and programmatic services.

Counseling Center Services and Location
The Counseling Center provides counseling and psychological services to enrolled students at the University of Central Florida. Students come to the Counseling Center with an array of developmental and mental health concerns ranging from minor adjustment issues to various kinds of severe psychological disturbance. Among the services offered by the Counseling Center are psychological assessment, brief individual and couples counseling, assessment services and referral, consultation, group therapy and workshops, career assessment and counseling, crisis intervention, consultation services, and developmental programming and presentations.

The UCF Counseling Center is located in the Student Resource Center, Building 7G Room 213. Please visit our web site (http://www.counseling.sdes.ucf.edu/) for more detailed information about our Center hours and location, services, staff, and programs.

DIRECT SERVICE ACTIVITIES

Interns gain experience with a variety of direct service activities throughout the year which are described below. The degree of involvement in each activity may be negotiable and determined by the interest and experience of the intern and needs of the Center.

Initial Assessment
Every UCF student who requests services at the Counseling Center is entitled to an assessment. The purpose of an initial assessment is to gather information about the student’s background and presenting concerns, gain a comprehensive understanding of their needs, and determine appropriate treatment planning and recommendations including services offered at the Counseling Center. When it becomes clear that a students needs are beyond those services provided by the Counseling Center, we refer to other campus and community resources.

Interns receive didactic and experiential training in intake assessment and may also have opportunities to observe senior staff in conducting intakes with clients. Interns are required to conduct a minimum of 2 initial assessments each week which are supervised throughout the year in individual supervision and also reviewed in the context of weekly case disposition meetings.

Brief Individual and Couples Counseling
Brief individual and couples counseling serves to assist students in resolving issues which cause emotional distress and interfere with personal goals and academic success. Interns spend approximately 12-15 hours per week providing individual and couples counseling to UCF-enrolled students within a brief therapy framework. Interns have the opportunity to broaden their clinical experience through exposure to culturally diverse clients and a variety of client issues ranging from developmental concerns such as adjustment to college and relationship difficulties to more psychologically challenging clinical issues such as eating disorders, mood disorders, trauma concerns and substance abuse.

Although our Center maintains a brief therapy model, interns have the opportunity to work longer with 1-2 clients during the internship year. Long-term therapy cases must be discussed between intern and their individual supervisor with ultimate approval being determined by a Center Utilization Review Committee.

Crisis Intervention
Interns gain a majority of crisis intervention experience through timely access/walk-in coverage throughout the year. Interns assume greater levels of responsibility for crisis intervention after receiving didactic training along with opportunities to shadow and observe senior staff in responding to clinically urgent and complex client situations (e.g., suicidal or homicidal risk, psychotic episodes, or overwhelming trauma).

In addition to serving individuals in crisis, the Counseling Center also responds to the psychological and emotional needs of the larger campus community in the aftermath of a traumatic event (e.g., suicide, homicide, hurricane, etc.) to assist those affected in coping with the tragedy. Interns may have opportunities to assist senior staff in planning and implementation of these interventions depending on the nature of the crisis and training interest of interns.

Timely Access/Walk-In Service
The Counseling Center provides same day walk-in services to students requiring assessment, consultation, emergency service and referral resources. The walk-in procedure ensures timely assessment of students, provides service and referral options, and helps determine the urgency level and subsequent scheduling for students needing ongoing services. Interns typically spend 3 hours per week in this activity (including occasional center crisis coverage during the lunch hour).

Group Therapy
Our group therapy program has grown considerably in recent years to include process-oriented psychotherapy groups, support groups, and structured workshops on a variety of focused themes In the fall semester, interns without prior group therapy experience will process-observe a psychotherapy group which is co-facilitated by senior staff members. In this role, interns have opportunities to meet with the facilitators following each session to examine issues of group process and co-facilitation. Interns with prior group therapy or process-observing experience will co-facilitate a minimum of one (1) psychotherapy group with a senior staff member each semester. Interns are encouraged to initiate the formation of one (1) structured workshop during the year that reflects an area of interest and compliments the clinical needs of the Center. Group therapy assignments and co-facilitation pairings for interns are made in consultation with the Group Therapy Coordinator and Training Director along with the preferences of interns. Each intern will receive supervision from the senior staff co-facilitator for each therapy group being conducted or process-observed. Current group therapy and workshop offerings

Consultation
Consultation refers to contacts where a Center staff member is providing psychological expertise to parents, administrators, faculty, staff, and friends or family members who are concerned about the welfare of a particular student. Consultations may occur in-person or by telephone contact and be geared toward helping others make a referral or exploring options about intervening or responding to a challenging student dilemma. In addition, interns will establish formal and ongoing consultation relationships with other departments on campus.

Consultation may also involve helping UCF campus organizations enhance the effectiveness of their programs or services and/or serving on university committees where our psychological expertise may serve broader campus initiatives. Interns will receive didactic training in the area of consultation, and have opportunities to observe or discuss consultation situations with supervisors and other senior staff.

Psychiatric Consultation
Clients seen at the Counseling Center may also benefit from receiving psychotropic medications. Interns, in consultation with their supervisor, provide client referral to the psychiatrist or other general practitioners located in the Student Health Services.

Developmental Programming and Presentations
Developmental programming and presentations are offered throughout the year by the Counseling Center to enhance personal development and psychological well-being of UCF students and to promote a healthy campus environment. A range of developmental presentations are conducted routinely by Center staff and interns through outreach programming that is both psychoeducational and preventive in nature. Many of these presentations are infused into existing Counseling Center programs or offered in settings such as residence halls, classrooms, and parent-orientation sessions. Interns are expected to organize and present a minimum of six (6) outreach presentations during the year.

Personality and Career Assessment
Formal psychological testing and/or career assessment is not necessarily a routine aspect of any counselor or intern’s work. When psychological testing or career assessment is deemed necessary, it is ordinarily integrated into the therapy process itself. Inventories which are typically utilized at the Counseling Center include the Strong Interest Inventory, Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Clinical, Eating Disorder Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory. The decision about whether to administer a psychological or career assessment inventory to a client, and review of results and interpretation with a client, should be discussed among the intern and her/his supervisor. Interns may gain experience with various psychological and career assessment inventories based on their interest and availability of staff members with expertise in these areas.

Accreditation
The Counseling Center is accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS), Inc.

PLEASE NOTE : 2006-2007 marks the inaugural year for the UCF pre-doctoral internship in professional psychology. As such, our program is not APA-accredited. This should not impede your ability to get licensed in most states. The UCF Counseling Center became APPIC member in 2007 and are now part of the national match system.

Counseling Center Staff
The UCF Counseling Center staff is diverse in a number of ways including background, educational training, theoretical orientation, supervision styles, and areas of special interest and expertise. This diversity provides a breadth of perspective and richness that is essential in the service delivery of students, mentoring and supervision of interns, and professional dialogue between staff members and our constituents for whom we serve.

The administrative staff at the Counseling Center is comprised of the Director, Associate Directors, and professional counseling staff members who are responsible for different areas of Center coordination. The Center also employs part-time licensed adjunct/affiliate staff members. Pre-doctoral Interns will also be a cohort with pre-master’s level graduate trainees from local programs (Counselor Education, Social Work, Mental Health Counseling) who will be a part of the training experience as well. Our Center support staff includes an Administrative Assistant, Secretarial Staff, and a Computer Specialist. Our staff is committed to providing high quality training and supervision, and we consider interns and trainees to be an integral part of our staff.

COUNSELING CENTER STAFF

Director
Stacey Pearson, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist

Associate Director, Clinical Services
Vivian Yamada, Psy.D., Licensed Psychologist

Associate Director, Training
Karen Hofmann, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist

Associate Director, Prevention
Teresa Chemlir, Ph.D., Licensed MHC

Professional Staff
Andrew Blair, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Shari-Ann James, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Andrew Luchner, Psy.D., Licensed Psychologist
Larry Marks, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Tim Fortney, Ph.D., Psychological Resident
Dina Glaser,Ph.D., Psychological Resident
Cindy Blecha, LMHC, NCC, Specialist, Student Counseling
Cristina Lorenz, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Shellene Mazany, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Shalini Roy, M.A., Registered Intern, Specialist, Student Counseling
Valeska Wilson, LMHC, NCC, Specialist, Student Counseling

Part-Time OPS Staff
Kelly Burton, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
Kristy Forare, Psy.D., Licensed Psychologist
Olivia Pitkethly M.A.,Licensed MHC
Melissa Nadler M.A. Licensed MHC
Clymene Wilkins, M.A., Registered Intern
Zhaleh Mostofi, M.A. Registered Intern
Jessica Regan, M.A. Registered Intern

Computer Specialist
TBA

Support Staff
Barbara Sherwood
Shelly Hall
Kavita Sawh

PreDoctoral Interns

2008-2009
Lisa Peluso -Argosy University, Atlanta, GA
David Tredinnick- Argosy University, Schaumberg, Ill.

2007-2008
Farhad Siopoush - University of Florida
Susan Swank - Colorodo School of Professional Psychology

2006-2007
Wade Arnold - University of Florida
Cathy Connolly - Florida State University

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Adrienne Schneck