Intern Program
Overview
Description
Our mission is to assist SF students who are experiencing problems and concerns as they progress toward their academic goals. Our mission is accomplished through short-term counseling. The Counseling and Wellness Center provides mental health counseling, career counseling, academic counseling, crisis intervention, outreach, referral and consultation. The Center is part of the Behavioral Intervention Team and the Trauma Response Team at SF. We provide needed support to students, faculty, staff and families in times of crisis. Counselors also assist students, faculty and staff to identify other services in the college and in the community that may be helpful. The Center offers a variety of psychoeducational workshops on numerous topics. Additionally, the Counseling and Wellness Center provides outreach at college-wide events such as Safe Spring Break and Safe Santa Fe Week.
It is the intent of the Santa Fe College Counseling and Wellness Center to serve as a site for internships for graduate students in the Mental Health Counseling and Marriage & Family Therapy tracks as well as a site for Advanced Practicum for Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education Ph.D. students at the University of Florida and other universities. This gives graduate interns the opportunity to develop further their counseling abilities and their evolving professional identities. This experience is designed to broaden their understanding of how the Counseling and Wellness Center promotes personal and emotional growth, academic success and career development within a college environment.
Direct Service
Trainees are expected to provide individual mental health counseling, academic counseling and career counseling to a diverse population of traditional and non-traditional aged college students seeking A.A., A.S. and A.A.S. degrees and certificates, as well as bachelor’s degrees. Many of our students are planning to transfer to B.A./B.S. degree-granting colleges and universities. An average caseload would be about 8-15 students a week, providing direct service. Interns and Advanced practicum Ph.D. students spend 20 hours per week at the Counseling and Wellness Center. In addition, there are opportunities to participate in outreach, workshop presentations and consultation.
Supervision
Trainees are supervised by Steve Vutsinas, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), licensed in the state of Florida. All individual supervision is provided on the site, for one hour every week, as well as on an informal basis as needed. Opportunities to observe and consult with other counselors in our Center are required during the initial orientation process and available during the internship.
Application Process
Please consider applying if you have an interest in working with students in higher education. We accept interns who are in Mental Health Counseling tracks, as well as Counseling Psychology Advanced Practicum Doctoral students, at the University of Florida and occasionally other universities. Preferred prerequisite course work includes Introduction to Counseling, Counseling Theories and Applications, Professional Ethics, Multicultural Counseling, Career Development, Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders, Substance Abuse Counseling, Brief Therapy and Practicum course. Preferred experience may include counseling, mentoring, advising and student-related experience. Minimum semester commitment is one semester, but preferred is two semesters. The applicant will interview in person or on Zoom with all counselors. Please contact Steve Vutsinas (steven.vutsinas@sfcollege.edu) by email with a cover letter of interest, resume and unofficial transcript.
Application Deadlines
Any interested applicant is encouraged to submit a resume and cover letter to steven.vutsinas@sfcollege.edu. Please specify in your email which two semesters (minimum) you are requesting placement for as this has implications for deadlines. Applications must be received in full by June 1st for student’s seeking a Fall placement, October 1st for a Spring placement and March 1st for a Summer placement.
Non-UF Intern Applicants
If you are affiliated with any graduate or doctoral program other than the University of Florida, please know that there will be a requisite process wherein paperwork between Santa Fe and your university will be reviewed by our college’s legal counsel and ultimately approved or rejected by the college’s Board of Trustees. The sooner you apply and interview, the sooner we can initiate the process of seeking board approval. The offer of an internship placement to non-UF students is contingent upon board approval of the agreement between the two institutions.