1. What would you say to a trainee or intern interested in training at CCG?
This is not just a traineeship, it is a training program, and it will give a very good foundation for therapy work, and a real method for approaching therapy. The program is very rigorous, not only with time commitments, but also regarding commitment to personal growth through continuous internal processing. For me the experience was very formative and so valuable and worth the investment.
2. How would you describe your overall experience at CCG?
Very positive. I feel good about the clinical skills that I gained which I feel are the foundation of my future work as a therapist.
3. What would you say you gained as a clinician from your training at CCG?
I am able to speak on the phone with potential clients and feel comfortable asking questions.
I feel comfortable meeting new clients and asking about issues and establishing goals.I gained a variety of tools to do experiential therapy and use expressive arts. I can assess suicidality and implement a suicide contract. I can do an intervention with a client and have a good sense of when one is necessary.I can receive supervision and feel confident implementing guidance. To summarize, I feel confident in my skills as a beginning therapist, and have the direction and understanding of when to seek supervision with my work. (I can add a lot more to this list, these are some of the main skills that stand out when I reflect on what I gained as a clinician.)
4. What do you feel you gained personally from your training at CCG?
I had the privilege of witnessing the work of master therapists, and also was able to consult with them as my supervisors. Through witnessing their work I internalized an outlook on therapy that is very valuable. One example of what I gained is learning how to take care of myself and avoid “burnout”. Another is the importance of working through my personal material that comes up through doing deep work with others. I have also experienced the benefits of doing personal deep work for my personal life and also for my work with clients. I also gained a strong commitment for this work, and to continue to grow personally at the same time.
Through personal processing and work with clients I have seen personal positive changes in my life, and attribute them to the support and guidance I have at CCG.
5. Which aspects of the Training Program did you find most helpful for meeting your training goals?
The opportunity to learn from a variety of supervisors was very helpful. I appreciated the direct voicemail communication with Linda which was so timely and helpful. I found the training in addiction work especially valuable – I appreciate having a framework to view clients’ presenting issues, and to work with them in a very concrete, accessible way. The direct audio supervision was very helpful, I like having someone hear my work and comment on each piece with such specificity. Also, the opportunity to process personal issues that came up through the training program was extremely helpful. I really enjoyed watching Jason work in the group setting. That was such excellent training for me to get to see him working with clients.
I also liked the process group where my cohort had time together. I learned a lot from being part of a process group and also witnessing the work of my peers.
6. How would you describe your relationships at CCG – both with your supervisors/audio trainers (individually or collectively) and with your cohort members?
I feel a lot of support from everyone at CCG, I have a familial feeling towards all of the staff and love the warm atmosphere. I feel supportive and loving towards my cohort members and feel close to them. With my supervisors and audio trainers I feel a trust that allows me to be vulnerable in showing my work, because I feel held with such kindness and lack of judgment. One of the aspects of CCG that drew me towards it was the warmth and care that is shown by the supervisors and it has been so wonderful to be a recipient of it.
7. Please comment on the component of communication as you experienced it at the Center – particularly communication between you and the Clinical Supervisory Team. You are welcome to write about the Team as a collective, or refer to individual members.
I experienced the component of communication at the center as an open invitation to express whatever process I was going through, and that it would be and was accepted with love.
The voicemail system provides an open opportunity at any time of day or night to communicate questions, comments, or concerns to anyone on the staff, and I feel that this is part of why I felt that I had a space to share what I needed to, which felt very good. I especially appreciated the prompt responses from all of the supervisory team to all of my voicemail messages, and appreciated Linda’s clinical guidance through voicemail in so many details of my work.
8. What difficulties did you experience during your training? Did you communicate about these difficulties to any of your supervisors? Was the difficulty resolved?
It was difficult for me that the schedule that I was told before I started training changed several times during the year. I had carefully planned my family and school schedule around what I had thought to be my CCG schedule, so it was difficult when I had to adjust the different pieces as changes came up. I did communicate this to my supervisors at a point when there was one change that caused great personal difficulty for me in scheduling and the difficulty was resolved through coming to an agreement. As part of this, I didn’t have individual supervision and I feel a bit of loss around this aspect of training, even though I am very happy that it helped my personal schedule.
9. Which aspects of the Training Program did you find the most difficult?
As I mentioned before, the schedule changes. It was also difficult for me to check voicemail and do phone intake shifts because of my family life, and it was a challenge for me to make space for that work outside of the center. I don’t see this as an issue with the Training Program, just my personal difficulty navigating it.
10. If you could change something(s) at the Center, what would it be?
I would have appreciated doing a bit less phone intake hours. I do appreciate the experience as it teaches me a huge amount, but it would be nice to have 6 hours a week instead of 9.
11. Any other comments you’d like to make?
I really appreciated having the training manual, and would have loved to be able to take that with me! It was so helpful to have a reference that was so clear when I needed to consult it. I can feel the intention of the writers’ in the words, and gain so much from this.
I also appreciate the time and care that was put into my training and also in the writing of my evaluations for school. Also, the personal care that was shown to me throughout my training and especially the past few months during my pregnancy is so touching and really moves me. I appreciate how new clients were not assigned to me, and Linda’s constant check-ins. Thank you from my heart.