Graduate Student Fieldwork Program

Recipient of Service:
Graduate students and staff counselors working towards their Masters degrees.


Schedule:
Graduate students provide Casa with 15-20 hours of on-site service on at least 3 separate days per week. Each student agrees to work 2 evenings per week until at least 9 p.m. Each student agrees to attend 2 group supervisions and an individual supervision each week. Each graduate student makes a 1-year commitment to Casa.


Provider:
Graduate students are recruited from California State University at Fullerton, Long Beach, and Dominguez Hills; Pepperdine University; and National University. Students must be enrolled in an approved Masters program and must be taking a Fieldwork Practicum class. There are exacting requirements for clinical supervisors within the State of California. Clinical supervisors must be licensed at least 2 years and have specialized training in the supervision of trainees and interns.


Facilitator:
Dennis Brotman – Clinical Supervisor, Dennis received his Bachelors and Masters from USC and has been a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 1980. He has been supervising graduate students and MFT Interns for over twenty years. He has also been affiliated with the Hollywood Sunset Free Clinic since 1976. Since 1986 he has been a Certification Review Hearing Officer in Orange County with responsibility of reviewing the appropriateness of psychiatric holds being written in our county.  In addition he has been a licensing examiner with the State of California, Board of Behavioral Sciences and he is a Clinical Member and an Approved Supervisor with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT).

Description:
In their volunteer capacity, graduate students provide thousands of hours of services each year, allowing Casa's residents to receive counseling services at a greatly reduced rate. Many clients pay little or nothing for these services.

Working in an environment that is structured and "client-driven," student therapists provide opportunities for clients to make changes in their daily lives.

Working in an environment that is "student-driven," the Clinical Director provides opportunities in a structured environment for graduate students to learn and grow in their clinical skills.


Goals of this Service:
The Graduate Student Fieldwork Program is designed to provide the highest level of experience to tomorrow's counseling professionals. This training program prepares students for the rigors of MFT internship and later licensure. Upon completion of this program, students will be thoroughly familiar in the application of systems theory from the modalities of individual, family, and group counseling; crisis intervention; and educational classes.