(Updated 2020)
Students are required to submit monthly assignments during the clinical internship. These assignments include case studies, and other written papers, as described below.

• Due dates for all assigned papers are the 15th of the month with the exception of the Assessment of Learning paper and the Evaluation of your PFA (both due April 26th) and the Case Summary for course SOCW 843 (May 3rd).
• All Case Study papers should be written using a current client in your practicum learning internship.
• All written papers should be prepared and formatted according to APA guidelines (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition).
• Written assignments in the first year focus on the application of psychodynamic theory to clinical practice using examples from casework and on preparing fellows for the oral and written clinical examinations at the end of the first year.
• Case studies should be prepared following the Case Study Guidelines (see Appendix B).
• Students must submit all practicum learning assignments via Sonia.

September: 1st yr Learning Goals & Reading Plan
Given your first summer, what do you now want to learn? Consider your strengths and weaknesses as a therapist and the gaps in your understanding of the theoretical perspectives presented in SOCW 810/SOCW 811. How will your reading address your learning goals?

October: Drive/Structural case study (use a current client from your practicum learning internship)
Choose a case and conceptualize it from four of the metapsychological perspectives (i.e., genetic, dynamic, topographic, economic). Discuss the major social problem the client faces and consider concepts you learned in your Metaperspectives course. Which concepts or social theory best help to understand the problem? Prepare your paper according to the Case Study Guidelines. Include a Case Study Face Sheet and 2-4 pages of process recording. Do not choose the case that you plan to present for the qualifying exam.

November: Ego Psychology case study (use a current client from your practicum learning internship)
Take the October case and now discuss adaptive and structural issues. Consider defenses, ego functions, mastery, competence, and conflict-free ego spheres. Discuss the major social problem the client faces and consider concepts you learned in your Metaperspectives course. Which concepts or social theory best help to understand the problem? Prepare your paper according to the Case Study Guidelines. Include a Case Study Face Sheet and 2-4 pages of process recording. Do not choose the case that you plan to present for the qualifying exam.

December: Narrative Report on your 1st year Clinical Internship
Describe your clinical placement, addressing learning issues as well as supervisory issues.

January: Object Relations case study (use a current client from your practicum learning internship)
Take the same case you summarized in October and November, and reconceptualize it from an object relations perspective. Discuss the major social problem the client faces and consider concepts you learned in your Metaperspectives course. Which concepts or social theory best help to understand the problem? Prepare your paper according to the Case Study Guidelines. Include a Case Study Face Sheet and 2-4 pages of process recording. Do not choose the case that you plan to present for the qualifying exam.

February: Self Psychology case study (use a current client from your practicum learning internship)
Take the January case and reconceptualize it from a self-psychology perspective. Discuss the major social problem the client faces and consider concepts you learned in your Metaperspectives course. Which concepts or social theory best help to understand the problem? Prepare your paper according to the Case Study Guidelines. Include a Case Study Face Sheet and 2-4 pages of process recording. Do not choose the case that you plan to present for the qualifying exam.

March: Oral Exam case study (use a current client from your practicum learning internship)
Prepare a case for the oral qualifying exam. Do not use the case(s) that you chose for previous case studies submitted during this session. Prepare your paper according to the Case Study Guidelines. Include a Case Study Face Sheet and 2-4 pages of process recording. Note that you will be taking the written component of the qualifying exam during the early part of this month.

April: (2 reports are due)

1. Assessment of Learning narrative: Review and assess your learning over the course of the year, considering the changes both in your approach to practice and in your theoretical orientation. To what degree have you achieved the learning goals that you articulated in your September report? In what ways have your goals changed? Comment on your clinical internship and on the mentoring relationships, including the one with your PFA, that have enhanced your learning. What aspects of theory and practice do you feel you need to focus on during the upcoming summer academic session, and how are you planning to do so?
2. Evaluation of your PFA (Optional): The evaluation form will be available through Sonia.

May: Case summary for ‘Relational Theory in Practice: Applying the theory and considering its Clinical Implications in Social and Cultural Context
Use the case study you have already presented in the Oral Exam or one of the four case studies conceptualized through drive theory, ego psychology, object relations and trauma theories and self-psychology written during the first year clinical internship. Begin with a summary of the identifying information, the presenting problem(s), relevant current context, social, cultural and historical information, ‘troubles in living’ and diagnose(s), length of treatment, frequency of sessions and your current treatment plan. Here, the focus is on: 

1. the evolution of the therapeutic alliance, including ruptures that may have occurred;
2. the relational dynamics that you identify as patterns in this person’s life experience or troubles;
3. the aspects of these relational dynamics that may have emerged between you and the client;
4. and the ways you and your client have explored feelings or experiences with each other in your work together.

Discuss these topics, or the ones that you feel ready to discuss, and provide 2 or 3 process recordings that include verbatim interactions between you and your client. Highlight moments in the process that you identify as important, when you and your client have said or done things in each session that feel important. We will discuss your experience together in these moments and reflect on what you think is happening. Case summaries should be approximately 10-12 pages of text with two to three pages of process recordings.