SUNY Brockport’s Department of Counselor Education established the Hartwell Counseling Walk-In Clinic with the dual purpose of enhancing mental health on-campus while offering graduate students a valuable opportunity to gain real-world counseling experience.
The clinic was established with SUNY grants that provided funding for necessary equipment and supervision.
“The Department of Counselor Education has always wanted a clinic,” said Dr. Summer Reiner, Chair of the Department of Counselor Education.
The clinic consists of counselor education graduate students serving as “counselors-in-training” for SUNY Brockport students in need, exercising their skills under the supervision of licensed professionals.
“My hope is to make an impact on my community, build my clients up, and make them feel valued,” said counselor-in-training Shaye Burgado.
Sessions are recorded using VALT (Video, Audio, Learning Tool). The recording is then reviewed for educational purposes by the supervisor and counselor-in-training to better the student’s knowledge. After the review, the recording is promptly deleted.
Dr. Robert Dobmeier, Professor of Counselor Education, emphasizes the role of confidentiality within the clinic.
“When clients come for help, they are assured that what they are sharing stays with the counselor-in-training, with a few exceptions,” said Dobmeier.
Students visiting the clinic are informed that supervisors overseeing the counselors-in-training need to review their cases to enable the trainees to learn from their practicum experiences.
“We’re constantly trying to grow,” said Burgado. “We want to do our best for the students that visit us.”
Completion of clinical training at the on-campus clinic is a prerequisite for students graduating from the Department of Counselor Education. Upon graduation, students receive endorsements from supervisors that indicate their practicum experience met national CACREP standards.
“We have a lot of responsibility as a program to make sure those earning their master’s degrees are going to be set up for success beyond Brockport,” said Dobmeier.
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