Every year, The Chicago School students provide support to community organizations through more than 3,000 training partnerships across the country and around the globe. The university’s Office of Placement and Training coordinates these impactful training opportunities for students, providing valuable support every step of the way.
According to Dina Glaser, Psy.D., senior director of The Chicago School’s Office of Placement and Training, “We live out our university mission through what we do in the field. Through training opportunities, we help students put their classroom learning into action and help them make an impact in their community before they even graduate.”
Across more than 3,000 training sites, students from The Chicago School develop key skills related to the nuances of culturally competent, integrated care.
For example, students in the Washington, D.C., area work with Continuum Autism Spectrum Alliance, which provides behavioral services to early and school-aged clients with autism, intellectual disabilities, and behavior support needs. The focus on social skills development for clients between the ages of 11 and 22 allows students from The Chicago School to gain valuable experience providing services in a clinical setting to individuals of this age group.
In addition, Dallas-based students work with Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas, collaborating with diverse populations to address a variety of clinical concerns across the lifespan. Students provide individual and family counseling, initial intake assessment, and psychological evaluations.
“We’re really grateful for the work that Dr. Glaser and her team do to support our students’ growth in their selected fields,” says Bill Brown, Psy.D., The Chicago School’s provost. “Through the Office of Placement and Training’s mentorship, students really flourish as future professionals and change-makers.”
“As a team, our goal is to walk the journey alongside our students so that they feel supported at every milestone,” Dr. Glaser says. “We start working with students a year in advance to prepare them for professional work, stay connected while they’re at their training site, and celebrate their accomplishments for years into the future. In my mind, this approach is a great encapsulation of our university’s commitment to student success and community impact.”