About
Founded in 1929 as the University of Kansas City, UMKC has since expanded to two campuses, housing 11 different schools and colleges. We are a great university in one of America’s “most charming cities,” according to Travel + Leisure magazine. Today, UMKC is Kansas City’s 24th-largest employer, with over 3,500 staff and faculty supporting our students.
UMKC Counseling Services
Counseling Services is a component of UMKC Counseling Services, Student Health and Wellness, and Student Disability Services (CHD). The mission of CHD is to provide high quality, comprehensive psychological, health and wellness, and disability services to support the personal and academic potential of individuals and programs in a diverse campus community. These comprehensive services work in collaboration to serve UMKC students, staff, faculty and the Kansas City community.
Counseling Services offers a broad range of therapeutic and personal development services to the students of this urban university. Counseling Services’ mission is to foster the psychological well-being, personal development, and educational potential of our diverse student and campus community. We are committed to supporting students’ development of social, emotional, academic and life-planning skills, as well as the health and well-being of the university community. Thus, while Counseling Services provides therapeutic assistance for personal and interpersonal issues and concerns, many efforts focus on enhancing personal health and effectiveness through preventive and developmental outreach and consultative activities.
Services
Counseling Services is the primary psychological service for the UMKC community. Students use Counseling Services for a variety of problems ranging from normal developmental issues to more severe concerns. Most of the counseling is with individuals, groups and relationships. Typical presenting concerns include stress, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, grief/loss, loneliness, career indecision, academic or work problems, eating concerns, self-esteem issues, identity development and trauma recovery. Crisis intervention work is common. Both brief and longer-term therapy are offered, with students receiving the option of up to eight free therapy sessions each academic year, with the possibility for additional sessions at a nominal fee of $15 per session. Mind Over Mood workshops, as well as Interpersonal Process Therapy, Managing Anxiety, Mindfulness, Grief, Personal Empowerment, and similar groups are offered throughout the year and are free and unlimited. Other psychoeducational groups are offered in accordance with client needs and staff interest.
Counseling Services has been serving students for over fifty years. Training of doctoral level psychologists and master’s-level counselors has been a central part of the Counseling Services for more than thirty-five years. UMKC’s mission is to is to promote learning through the discovery, preservation and dissemination of knowledge of public value across a broad spectrum of disciplines and fields of study. UMKC celebrates the individual and embodies diversity and inclusion by intertwining these goals with innovation to enable transformational societal impact aimed at bringing cultural, social, health and economic prosperity to the metropolitan, regional and global communities it serves. The training of psychologists in an APA-accredited internship supports the University’s dedication to the development of professionals.
We value
- the use of self in training and in therapy
- training that focuses on reciprocal learning and relationships.
- training in clinical thinking that bridges theory and science to practice and vice-versa in a “local clinical scientist” (i.e. Stricker & Trierweiler, 1995) philosophy.
- training to create treatment fitting to the uniqueness of the client by integration of research and theory, the dynamics of the specific therapy relationship, and the unique life circumstances and individual differences of the clients.
UMKC Internship Program
Counseling Services offers a substantive, high-quality training program to doctoral interns from counseling or clinical psychology programs. In addition, practicum programs in counseling and assessment are offered. The doctoral internship program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). Counseling Services is a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) and the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA).
The UMKC Counseling Services internship program utilizes the Developmental-Apprentice-Practitioner (DAP) model. It is our belief that professional development and competency for entry into the practice of psychology are derived from purposeful, developmental, challenging hands-on experiences in recognized areas of professional service, guided by skilled clinicians as mentors and supervisors, and tailored to the individual, developmental needs of the trainee.
Interns have regularly commented on the personal, collegial quality of the training experience here. They have expressed appreciation for the variety of learning opportunities and the diversity of clients’ concerns. Interns have also shared that they enjoy working with all of the staff members, each of whom are active in the training program and who represent a broad base of interest and areas of expertise. We truly value our role as trainers of future psychologists, and all members of our professional staff are active participants in the doctoral training program.
The overall goal of the internship at UMKC Counseling Services is to prepare clinically competent, multiculturally sensitive and informed, ethical, practicing psychologists with knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for successful employment in entry level professional positions in outpatient mental health settings. The evidence of our achievement of this goal is that our interns have found careers in private practice, university counseling centers, mental health agencies, organizational consultation, and academia. In a follow-up survey of our interns, they have reported that they were very well prepared for their entry-level positions.
University Information
UMKC is an equal access, equal opportunity, affirmative action employer that is fully committed to achieving a diverse faculty and staff. Equal Opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without unlawful discrimination on the basis of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. For more information, call the Vice Chancellor – Human Resources at 816-235-1621. View the UMKC Diversity at a Glance page to see our University’s current diversity statistics.
The University has an institution-wide commitment to diversity and multiculturalism and strives to create a welcoming environment where faculty and staff feel valued for their contribution. A successful candidate will have a genuine enthusiasm for students and the university, as the focus on student success is central to our mission and provides direction in our daily actions at UMKC.
Along with the over 49.9% of our alumni living in the KC area, the university also continually strives to support the surrounding community and the greater Kansas City area. Kansas City truly is a great place to call home and a wonderful location for UMKC.
For More Information
For more information about our internship program, please contact Dr. Teresa Huff-Pomstra huffpomstrat@umkc.edu.