Psychology > Graduate > MA Experience
On Campus Opportunities
Queens College Psychological Center
The Queens College Psychological Center (QCPC) is a “safety net” clinic dedicated to providing low- and no-cost mental health care to children, adolescents and adults. The clinic offers psychological evaluations, individual, group, family and couples psychotherapy, counseling services, and a variety of group-based interventions including social skills training for children. Each Semester, QCPC selects a few energetic, creative, and mature undergraduate students interested in mental health and public psychology to volunteer at the clinic.
Responsibilities include: Creating psychoeducational programs and enrichment activities for children, developing and implementing promotional activities, participating in community awareness efforts, helping patients fill out forms and measures, creating patient educational handouts, assisting with identifying resources for patients, reading to and playing with children awaiting appointments, engaging children in artistic activities in the waiting room, assisting doctoral students and faculty as needed, and helping with other daily tasks (xeroxing, answering phones, filing) at the clinic.
Opportunities: As QCPC Clinic Volunteers, students may have the opportunity to observe clinic meetings (e.g. case conferences), engage in mental health/psychology activities and as appropriate shadow psychologists and doctoral students in their everyday clinical work. This is an excellent opportunity for students who are interested in psychology/mental health professions to experience a behavioral health environment and gain a greater understanding of clinical work.
The most rewarding reasons to volunteer cannot be measured. Volunteers get to help other people and see the impact it has on them. Volunteering can help you gain valuable experience, get out of your comfort zone, learn new skills, and meet others who share the same values and interests. Other benefits include building leadership skills, learning about your potential, exploring new interests, and developing contacts in the mental health field.
Qualifications: Students’ qualifications for acceptance as a volunteer are based on the criteria below:
- Students are required to be a Psychology major with at least 12 credits completed in psychology. Due to the limited number of positions, preference will be given to grad students, undergraduate juniors and seniors. Freshmen and sophomores are welcome to apply and may be awarded a position if available.
- Students are required to have an overall GPA of 3.0.
- Students would have to be able to commit to at least 4 hour per week (during the hours of 8 to 6 weekdays).
- Students are required to meet with the director for an interview to discuss their interest in volunteering.
QCPC Website: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/academics/psychology/qcpc_about/
The Queens College Counseling Center
Website: https://www.qc.cuny.edu/cs/
Description: Front Desk Assistant to the office manager. This individual greets/calls individuals who reach out to the counseling center, screens for immediate needs. While not a deeply clinical position, this assistant does have meaningful contact with students in need and plays a valuable role in the center.
Days/Hours: 2 days per week. Hours TBD
Orientation/Training: Nancy Leighton will provide relevant training and oversight.
Queens College-Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Evidence Based Services (QC-ACES)
At QC ACES we provide effective behavior analytic supports to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Our faculty are committed to serving the Queens and local communities through evidence-based assessment and intervention, training experiences for our students, and cutting-edge research.
Please see below for more information about our programs.
SIBS Club
Description: SIBS Club is a treatment program for families of children with autism and is directed by ABA program faculty. The program specifically targets social interactions between children with autism and their typically developing siblings through a variety of activities. The program includes individualized instruction for children with autism, training for siblings, direct training of sibling interactions, and an inclusive recreation component. The structure of SIBS Club provides students with practical experience to suit entry and more advanced level skills.
Hours: The program is held on Saturday mornings in the fall and Sunday mornings in the Spring (9-noon). Fellows attend from 8 am until 1 pm allowing them to prepare and wrap up for each session. An additional 5 hours are needed for program development and supervision for a total of 10 hours per week.
Compensation: Supervised experience.
Horizons
Description: Horizons serves the local diverse community of Queens by creating collaborative partnerships with families and fostering culturally sensitive mindsets in our students to improve outcomes for children with developmental disabilities. We provide culturally sensitive early behavior analytic intervention to children with developmental disabilities and their families. Horizons is directed by ABA program faculty. The program specifically targets skills across areas of development working with your children and their caregivers. The program includes individualized instruction for children with developmental disabilities and training for caregivers as well as training for undergraduate students. The structure of Horizons provides students with practical experience to suit entry and more advanced level skills.
Child Behavioral Health Clinic
Description: Children who exhibit problem behavior such as aggression, disruption, and self-injury are admitted to the Child Behavioral Health Clinic. We provide services such as a practical functional assessment of the children’s problem behavior and a skill-based treatment that teaches them how to tolerate when their wants and needs are not immediately available. Students will gain direct experience in (a) conducting a functional analysis, (b) implementing functional communication training, and (c) implementing contingency-based delays.
Hours: The clinic is open Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm. Caregivers bring their child two to three times a week for an hour session. The expected weekly commitment of fellows is 6 to 10 hours per week depending on the number of clients we are serving at that time.
Compensation: Supervised experience.
QC Project Reach (QCPR)
Description: In Partnership with Project Reach, QCPR will provide Psychology Master’s students the opportunity to gain supervised experience by providing mentorship to an autistic CUNY student. Supervision will be provided by full time or adjunct faculty. This is a unique and rare opportunity to learn about neurodiversity, and how to ethically provide peer mentorship and support to autistic adults.
Questions and applications should be directed to Dr. Izquierdo sally.izquierdo@qc.cuny.edu