Counseling Service Committees

The Counseling Service division of the Counseling Center is composed of six clusters, or committees, which oversee the basic functions of the division. Nearly all staff belong to more than one cluster, resulting in overlapping membership. The chairs of each cluster meet monthly with the Assistant Director in charge of the Counseling Service, currently Dr. Jonathan Kandell, to discuss projects on which the clusters may be working as well as important issues to the Counseling Service as a whole.

The six clusters are:

• Career Cluster
• Consultation and Outreach Cluster
• Direct Service Cluster
• Research Committee
• Staff Development Cluster
• Training Commitee

Career Cluster

The Career Cluster, headed by Dr. Linda Gast, is the newest cluster in the Counseling Service. The purpose of this group is to coordinate the various career/vocational interventions and programs in which the Counseling Service is involved, including testing of EDCP 108N students (minority students) and EDCP 108O classes for athletes. This group also assists and helps coordinate the efforts of the Career Clarification Program group (a conjoint effort of the Counseling Center, University Career Center, Academic Advisors, and a Faculty Advisory Board) with the interventions already in place for other groups. The addition of this cluster demonstrates the importance that career counseling is gaining for students and for the campus as a whole.

Consultation and Outreach Cluster

The Consultation and Outreach Cluster is currently chaired by Dr. Christa Schmidt. This cluster administers the consultation and outreach request process (campus and off-campus requests) as well as suggesting Counseling Service policy on consultation/outreach issues. The cluster also oversees the major consultation contracts in which the Counseling Service is involved:

• Dyad Contract with the Office of Resident Life
• Expert and Organizational Consultation with the Honors Program
• Warm Line (Telephone help line for faculty, staff, and parents of college students)
• Psychological/Educational (P.E.P.) Programs
• E-mail help for parents of college students

Direct Service Cluster

This cluster, currently chaired by Dr. Jonathan Kandell, coordinates the primary activities of the Counseling Service, i.e., providing psychological and counseling services to the UMCP student body. Included in the activities this cluster manages are:

• Individual Counseling
• Group Counseling
• Couples Counseling
• Intake Procedures
• Emergency Procedures
• Minority Walk-In Hour
• Record Keeping and Quality Control
• The Waiting List

Research Committee

The Research Committee investigates counseling-related issues to inform the Counseling Service staff of better means to assess, treat, and follow-up with clients. Studies may examine the utility of various assessment instruments at Intake, the career development process, and staff ratings of client's concerns, among others. This cluster is currently headed by Dr. Margaretha Lucas.

Staff Development Cluster

The purpose of the Staff Development Cluster is to provide ongoing training for the Counseling Service staff to keep the staff up-to-date on the latest thinking and treatment options in the psychological community. This group coordinates four three-hour long presentations per year, as well as setting up two semester-long Case Conferences, a forum in which staff present cases to other staff and an outside consultant to enable a greater understanding of client issues. This cluster, co-chaired by Drs. Brenda Sigall and Akira Otani, also promotes the psychological well-being and cohesiveness of the Counseling Service staff.

Training Committee

The Training Committee has two primary missions. The first mission is the administration of the Counseling Service's APA-accredited Doctoral Internship program. Each year, four doctoral-level graduate students from a variety of academic programs are selected to gain both further psychological training as well as practical experience in the Counseling Service. The Counseling Center's Training Director, currently Dr. Sharon Kirkland-Gordon, ensures that the Interns receive appropriate training opportunities and provide the level of service required by the program. The second mission of the committee is to oversee the practicum experiences of approximately 50 trainees each year. These doctoral and masters students gain practical counseling experience through their work at the Center and receive academic credit through registration in a class. Dr. Yvonne Oslin coordinates the practica for the Counseling Sevice. In addition, the Counseling Service offers other training opportunities for graduate students in the psychology/counseling fields, including non-practicum traineeships, Creative Counseling experiences, and an Externship program.