Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student Association

Counseling Psychology DSA

The Doctoral Student Association (DSA) represents all the Ph.D. students in the Division of Counseling Psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Our primary goal is to facilitate communication among students and between students and faculty. This is accomplished through student representation at faculty meetings, DSA meetings, our listserv, and this website.

This website contains information about aspects of our program that we think are important to new and continuing students. It contains a list of student resources at UAlbany, descriptions of assistantship and practicum placements, information about housing, parking and transportation, applying for residency and links to sites in our local area. You’ll also find information about logging clinical hours, so you will be ready when the time comes to apply for internship.

Welcome to Albany and our division! We look forward to getting to know you!

Student Resources

We hope that this list of university resources will be helpful to you during your years at UAlbany, especially first year.

 

NY State Residency Information
If you don't already live in New York, you will need to apply for residency after you have been in the program for a year (state residency is essential for students on teaching or research assistantships, since after the first year of doctoral work, your tuition will be paid at the in-state rate). As soon as you arrive in Albany for your first year, you should change your permanent address in MyUAlbany to your local address. You should also obtain a NY state driver’s license (and car registration, if you own a car). To become a permanent resident, you must pay NY state taxes on your earnings in New York. This page provides you with information about the process. You will need to live in New York for one full year before you can be considered a resident.

Transportation
If you have a car, be sure to take a look at the University's Parking page to find out how much it will cost to park and get your parking decal. The decal can be requested online. There's a slightly different procedure for paying if you're a GSEU (grad student union) member (which many of us will be during first and second years). Learn more on this page. If you will be using mass transit, which can be done easily in Albany, take a look at this page about the University's shuttle buses, and Albany and regional mass transit options. All city buses are free for UAlbany students with your SUNY identification card.

Campus Maps
Even though most of our classes are on the uptown campus, these maps for the uptown and downtown campus may be helpful as you try to find your way around our huge campus.
 

Graduate Student Association (GSA)
UAlbany's GSA provides students with opportunities for leadership and networking. The Counseling Psychology division has a GSA rep and perhaps you can be that person! Our GSA funds provide us with several benefits, including funding for travel and conferences and also free printing at the GSO office in the Campus Center. Visit the GSA website to learn more.

University Libraries
Learn about library resources for graduate students by looking at UA Libraries excellent online guides for graduate students. The UA Libraries has most of the resources you will need to complete your research. What they don't have you can request through Interlibrary Loan, which has pretty quick turnaround times. They also scan and e-mail articles and book chapters that are only available in print/microfilm in their collections. Their new eDiscover service allows you to search for books, articles and websites at the same time. Try it on the library's homepage (notice the eDiscover tab in the default search box).

University Health Center
Research and teaching assistants receive health insurance through the university, but low cost health care is also available through the University's Health Center. More information is available here. The Health Center also accepts the insurance plan from our assistantships.

Graduate Student Employee Union
As a research or teaching assistant during your first and second years you can choose to join the GSEU. Visit the GSEU web site for more information. Joining the union does not happen automatically. You will need to fill out a membership application to become a full member.

MyUAlbany
MyUAlbany is our student portal, where you will be able to check e-mail, add and drop classes, check your student account, request transcripts, obtain your grades, change your residency status, apply for graduation, log into Blackboard and online courses and more.

Schedule of Classes
We add and drop courses through the MyUAlbany portal, but schedules are also available online.

Division Listservs
Our program is housed within the Division of Counseling Psychology, one of four Divisions within the Educational and Counseling Psychology Department. The division Division has two listservs: CPY-L for faculty, staff and master's and doctoral students and DSA1-L, just for doctoral students. You will be automatically subscribed to the CPY-L list and will be given information on how to subscribe to the DSA list during orientation.

Division Facebook Page
The Division's Facebook page features photos of faculty, students and the campus. It is also used to highlight faculty and student presentations, publications and other activities. "Like" us today!

Practicum Sites

Advanced Practicum Opportunities

For 3rd Year + Doctoral Students)

Note:  2nd year doctoral students complete a year-long practicum under faculty supervision at the Psychological Services Center, our fee-for-service community clinic in downtown Albany.  Visit this page for more information about PSC.

Capital District Psychiatric Center (State Psychiatric Center)Albany
Primary Responsibilities: Member of multi-disciplinary treatment team.  Individual therapy, groups, and psychological assessments.
Population:  Severely ill outpatient adults.   
Days per Week/Duration: 1.5 to 2 days.  Academic year or year-round, but not summer only. 
Prerequisites:  Sufficient therapy skills to function independently, prefers a student with some assessment experience, but would consider a student who has only taken assessment courses. 

College of St. Rose Counseling CenterAlbany
Primary Responsibilities:  Individual and (potentially) group therapy, workshops and consultation Population:  College students
Days per Week/Duration:  Strong preference for 3 days/week; primarily daytime (8:30AM to 4:30PM), occasional evening work required; required to attend staff meetings every other Tues morning. Due to office space, schedules must be coordinated with master's level students.  Two semesters; academic year only.

Union College Counseling CenterSchenectady
Primary Responsibilities: Individual counseling, possibility of group work, outreach.
Population: College/undergraduate students
Days per Week/Duration: 12-15 hrs per week, M-F 8:30-5, and 2-3 evening outreach workshops (1 hr. each) over the year (can be during the day if necessary, but evenings are preferable). 

NeuroPsychological Rehabilitation Services, Albany
Primary Responsibilities:  Member of a treatment team providing individual and small group cognitive remediation and adjustment counseling to individuals with acquired brain injury. This experience provides the student with an in-depth exposure to the cognitive process that underlie thinking and reasoning including attention and concentration, memory processes, and higher level intellectual functioning.  It also provides a thorough exposure to a systematic approach to address bereavement, personal loss, role changes and changes in potential that are part of the human experience.  Limited opportunities for neurological assessment are also available. The focus of treatment includes:

  • Educating participants about the effects of their brain injury on their ability to function in a manner consistent with their abilities prior to the injury
  • Teaching compensation strategies to ameliorate the effect of deficits;
  • Providing a therapeutic community within which the individual can build self-esteem, accept the changes that the injury has caused, be at peace with and draw satisfaction from the present and feel that life, as is, is a worthwhile experience.

Population:  Adults and adolescents with acquired brain injuries
Days per Week/Duration:  2 days, two semesters to one year, may start in summer. Must be available at least 2 of 3 days (Tues, Wed, or Thurs), 9 am – 2pm.
Pre-requisites:  Intelligence testing course desirable, minimum one year at PSC or prior counseling experience.
Additional Information: Extensive supervision, narrow focus on brain pathology

Greene County Community Mental Health Center, Greene County
Primary Responsibilities: Individual therapy with adults (short- and long-term), crisis management, consultation with external collaterals (e.g., legal system, substance abuse providers, case managers), and collaboration with prescribers. Additional training may be available in psychological testing, DBT groups, and custody evaluations. Other training opportunities available in various clinical meetings and groups.
Population: Mostly rural, ethnically homogeneous, otherwise diverse (age, SES, gender, family structure, disabilities), wide range of diagnoses and issues, including trauma, substance abuse, chronic pain, domestic violence, unemployment, legal involvement.
Days per Week/Duration: 2 days; some evening hours possible on T and Th. Require full year or at least 11-month commitment. Individual and group supervision, including case presentations.
Additional information: Support/validation to work independently in a multidisciplinary setting. Staff highly supportive and diverse in terms of training and perspective.

Stratton Veterans Administration Medical Center, Albany
Primary Responsibilities:  Varies by rotation.
Population: Veterans. 
Multiple Placements:

Behavioral Health Recovery Program
The Behavioral Health Recovery Program provides a range of treatment interventions to veterans with serious mental illness. The majority of treatment is provided in a recovery and rehabilitation oriented setting, with individual, group and milieu therapies comprising the primary treatment modalities.  Practicum students are provided with the opportunity to work in a variety of clinical roles.  Available clinical activities include: 1) working as a co-facilitator of psychotherapy or psychoeducational groups; 2) conducting psychological assessments; 3) conducting intake evaluations; 4) coordinating certain aspects of milieu treatment (e.g. lunch program, incentive therapy program); 5) participating in clinical treatment planning meetings; and, if available for two semesters, 6) providing individual therapy/case management. 

Chemical Dependency Rehabilitation Program
The Stratton VAMC provides a broad array of substance abuse services as part of the Upstate Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) along with, Syracuse VAMC, Buffalo VAMC, Canandaigua VAMC, and Bath VAMC.  A full continuum of care is available for veterans with substance abuse problems, who meet the eligibility requirements.  At this facility 3 programs are offered.

  1. Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP): This program provides temporary housing while patients are enrolled in the Track I program.  Patients for whom housing is unstable, live too far away, or are homeless are eligible.
  2. Track I: This program is a half day, 5 days a week, for approximately 6-8 weeks depending on the veterans' needs.  It involves both individual and group counseling, educational classes, skill building and adventure based learning.  This program is for patients assessed as needing an intensive program but for whom residential or inpatient is not necessary at time of referral.
  3. Track II & III: This program consists of individual and group sessions with the major emphasis however, being placed on weekly group treatment.  The educational phase (Track II) can consist of a ten week evening program (2 times a week) or a weekly daytime program for twenty weeks.  Upon completion of the educational program, the veteran is enrolled in a weekly support group (Track III). The program can go up until 2 years if deemed necessary.  The outpatient program provides a level of care for the patient whose drug or alcohol problem is not as severe at the present time as those who would enter Track I or Residential Care.  Practicum students are involved in the total program but in the past have focused on team treatment planning, group therapy, initial screenings and formal assessments. 

Behavioral Health Clinic
The BHC is an outpatient psychiatric clinic serving veterans and their families.  Students function as members of a large multidisciplinary team carrying a caseload of 3 - 5 patients. Practicum students attend the weekly clinic case conference series and make one presentation to the clinic during their rotation. Supervision takes place both individually and through a weekly group supervision that also includes pre-doctoral psychology interns and uses audio taping of therapy sessions.  Additional supervision for postdoctoral residents may also be available. The population served by the BHC is relatively severe in terms of psychopathology for an outpatient setting and predominant diagnoses include PTSD, depressive spectrum, and schizophrenic spectrum disorders. 

Sub-Acute Rehab, Inpatient Hospice, and Extended Care Medical Units
Practicum may include providing individual and group psychotherapy, family interventions, psychological and cognitive assessment, behavioral interventions, education to staff on inpatient medical units. Students interface with medical providers, physical and recreation therapists, nursing staff, administration, behavioral health providers and all members of the multidisciplinary team. An array of behavioral tools and theoretical perspectives are applied to the medical setting including most especially behavioral, existential and systemic interventions. 

Albany Medical Center, Albany
Multiple Placements


Outpatient Clinic (on Hackett Blvd)
Primary Responsibilities: Intakes, individual therapy, psychological assessments, perhaps group work. Sit in on selected internship seminars and teaching days/workshops.
Population:  Adults in an outpatient setting.
Days per Week/Duration: 1.5 to 2 days, academic-year or year-round, but not summer only.

E-2 Inpatient Psychiatry Clinic (Main hospital, New Scotland Ave.)
Primary Responsibilities:  Member of multidisciplinary team; evaluate patients daily (behavioral planning within the team); short-term supportive, goal-directed individual therapy oriented toward re-integration into the community, assist with documentation, intakes; assessment batteries and integrative psychodiagnostic reports; opportunity to co-facilitate groups -- mindfulness, DBT, perhaps Yalom-type interpersonal; perhaps mentalization (attachment-oriented). 

Days per Week/Duration:  1.5 to 2 days, academic year, at least one morning.  Desirable to attend Grand Rounds on Wednesdays from 11am-12 pm.
Population:  Patients (all adults) have acute psychiatric needs, average stay 12-13 days.
Additional Information:  Patients are seen every morning by the entire team.  Completion of ECPY 740 or equivalent IQ course essential.  Testing includes MMPI-2, WAIS, projectives, neuropsych, potentially dementia (taught to the practicum students by the supervisor).  Individuand group supervision (with graduate students from other programs). 

Assistantship Sites

Research Assistantship
All first-year doctoral students will receive 20-hour per week research assistantships with their mentors.

Teaching Assistantships
All second-year doctoral students will receive a teaching assistantship. 3+ year doctoral students have the ability to apply to a teaching assistantship depending on availability of positions. The following courses may be taught (all under faculty supervision):

ECPY 204: Principles of Career and Life Planning
Responsibilities: Full responsibility for 1 or 2 sections per semester

ECPY 360: Cultural Diversity and Social Justice
Responsibilities: Full responsibility for 1 or 2 sections per semester

ECPY 421: Introduction to Counseling Psychology
Responsibilities: Full responsibility for 1 or 2 sections per semester

ECPY 602/612: Pre-practicum/Master’s practicum
Responsibilities: Responsible for 2 lab sections per semester

ECPY 740: Intelligence Testing
Responsibilities: Responsible for assisting faculty with test reports in the Spring semester

Other Graduate Assistantships (in the department)

CAREER SERVICES, UALBANY
Responsibilities: Involves career counseling and assistance in the operations and services of the Center. Must have had previous counseling experience.

MIDDLE EARTH PEER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Responsibilities: Serve as Hotline Coordinator (training and supervising undergrad workers on peer hotline). (Middle Earth is part of the University Counseling Center and is housed one mile off campus at 400 Patroon Creek Blvd. There is a shuttle bus from campus during daytime hours.)

ST. PETER’S ADDICTION RECOVERY CENTER (SPARC)
Responsibilities: Involves primarily group work and/or intake assessments with clients who abuse substances (most are court mandated), late adolescents and adults. Case management seminars with a multi-disciplinary team. Because SPARC has various sites throughout the Capital District, a car is necessary. Supervision is provided by non-psychologists. Prior group experience is preferable.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES CENTER
Responsibilities: Includes regular graduate assistant position and a career services coordinator. All assistants carry a caseload (including testing) and have some administrative responsibilities. A required seminar series on testing and psychotherapy process is held every Wednesday morning as part of group supervision. There is also one senior assistant, whose responsibilities include a caseload and various administrative assignments.

COLLEGE OF ST. ROSE COUNSELING CENTER
Responsibilities: Graduate assistantship for an advanced student who will serve as the Assistant Director. (Those who will be 4th year students are preferred, but St. Rose may consider 3rd year students who have had substantial counseling experience at the master’s level). Individual and group psychotherapy with college students; outreach workshops; consultation.

Clinical Hours Log

Logging Clinical Hours

 

The Counseling Psychology program at University at Albany requires all doctoral students to log their practicum hours online through the website Time2Track. Because our program is APA-accredited, this website is FREE to use for our students. Please contact Dr. Friedlander for the code that allows you to sign up for free and to start tracking your hours now!

Students are encouraged to keep a hard copy in addition to logging their hours online; please click here for Excel document. Note: This document has multiple tabs/sheets for writing up a daily log, your timesheet, the total number of clients seen, the number of diverse clients seen, and the number of assessments you have performed. If you choose to use this Excel file you MUST still log your hours through Time2Track.

Download the Excel Spreadsheet.

Living in Albany

The following is a list of resources that provide information about living on Albany's campus, in the surrounding city, or the greater Capital Region.

 

University at Albany
UAlbany's Off-Campus Housing Registry - UA has a registry where landlords can advertise properties to students and students can seek roommates
UAlbany On-Campus Housing - (Note: Only Freedom Apartments, and Liberty Terrace are available to graduate students)

PadMapper
PadMapper Helpful site that aggregates listings from all over the internet and displays them on Google Maps

Craigslist

Find others looking for subleasers, find a room for rent, or find apartments/housing for rent on Craigslist.

Other Listings

Albany Area

City Calendars and Events

Movie Theaters

Arts and Culture

Nearby Festivals

Banks

Shopping

Grocery Stores

News

Professional Resources

The information on this page will help you become a better student, researcher, clinician and professional once you graduate.

 

Joining professional organizations is a great way to learn more about the profession by serving on committees or task forces, networking and making new friends. All of the associations listed below have special rates for students, so take advantage of these while you're in the program.

Associations

American Psychological Association
http://www.apa.org/

American Psychological Association for Graduate Students (APAGS)
http://www.apa.org/apags/index.aspx

Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17 of APA)
http://www.div17.org/

Student Affiliates of Seventeen (SAS, Division 17's student group). Our program pays the first year’s membership fee ($17) for doctoral students.
http://www.div17.org/SAS/

New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA)
http://www.nyspa.org/

Psychological Association of Northeastern New York (PANNY)
http://www.pannyforum.org/

Internship, Licensure and Credentialing

Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)
http://www.appic.org/

National Matching Service
https://www.natmatch.com/psychint/

Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards
http://www.asppb.net/

American Board of Professional Psychology
www.abpp.org/

National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology
http://www.nationalregister.org/

Job Resources

Psychology Jobs Wiki
http://psychjobsearch.wikidot.com/

Positions in Counseling Centers
http://www.universitycounselingjobs.com/

Chronicle of Higher Education
https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new

APA PsycCareers
http://www.psyccareers.com/jobs/

HigherEd Jobs
http://www.higheredjobs.com/

Counseling Centers

Counseling Center Village

SCP/Division 17 Section on University and College Counseling Centers

Diversity Conference

The Division of Counseling Psychology's Annual Diversity Conference is entirely student run and organized. Students decide on the theme, brainstorm speakers and breakout sessions, secure funding and donations for speaker honorariums, meals and supplies and present speakers and breakout sessions.

Find information about the latest Diversity Conference here.