Colorado University Athletics

Training Opportunities

Schedule An Appointment

Scheduling with PHP

The PHP Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00am - 5:00pm in Dal Ward Suite 250.

Call Us: 303-735-7182

Buffs HelpLine: 303-735-7182 Press 9.

Psychological Health and Performance (PHP) and CU Boulder Athletics recognize the need for appropriately trained clinicians working with student-athletes to facilitate their personal growth, overall health and well-being, and performance. The importance of providing support to this population and specifically in the environment of athletics is gaining momentum. However, there is a lack of opportunity to receive pre-licensure training with such a specific focus in the world of collegiate athletics and sport psychology. Our training program allows our department to both meet the needs within our athletics department and create for more training opportunities for clinicians in this specialty. We are passionate about training and supervision, and we look forward to working with the next generation of clinical providers in the field!

PHP is committed to creating a diverse and supportive environment to those we serve: both the student athletes we work with and the trainees that we mentor. All qualified training applicants will receive consideration for placement in the program without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, physical ability level, age, veteran status, or SES.

Training Program Philosophy

 

The primary focus of the PHP training program at CU Boulder is to train ethical, multiculturally-competent, well-rounded clinicians who are exceptional in the provision of clinical psychological services within an athletic department to student athletes, while fostering increasing confidence in their identity as early career professionals. For those who have obtained specialized training in sport and performance enhancement, the training program serves as an additional training opportunity to strengthen those specific skillsets in tandem with clinical practice.

We strive for trainees to develop excellence in providing psychological, programmatic, and prevention-based services to the students and the department. To accomplish this, the program operates within the parameters of a practitioner-scholar model and emphasizes intense practice through service provision. Emphasis in training will be placed on practical “real-life” experience engaging in a wide array of service activities that licensed staff participate in. The beginning of the training year will provide more support and monitoring through supervision, review of video tapes of clinical appointments, and co-leading team workshops. As the year progresses, trainees will continue to feel more confident in their clinical practice.

No matter the level of trainee, emphasis on professional development and personal growth will be a highlight through the program. We believe a key facet to professional development is personal growth, and as such encourage introspection, self-reflection, and appropriate risk-taking within supervision and other collegial activities. At the completion of this training year, a trainee will have a greater understanding for how to effectively provide services within an athletic department and interdisciplinary care team. 

Training Program Goals


The training program at PHP holds the following goals for trainees:

  • Development of clinicians who are competent in the clinical practice of psychotherapy
    • Objectives:
      • Further solidifying competence with assessing, diagnosing, and case disposition
      • Further solidifying competence in provision of clinical services such as individual and group psychotherapy
  • Development of clinicians who are competent in the specialty of sport psychology
    • Objectives:
      • Further solidifying competence with provision of clinical services to student-athletes
      • Further solidifying competence in provision of team workshops around skill development, strategy, team cohesion, and other sport psychology specific interventions
  • Development of ethical clinicians
    • Objectives:
      • Further reinforcing ethical theory and practice
      • How to effectively navigate potential ethical dilemmas or conflicts at the general level and within an athletic department
  • Development of culturally sensitive and multiculturally informed clinicians
    • Objectives
      • Increasing understanding and conversations around professional concerns related to issues of diversity and inclusion
      • Furthering a personal awareness around values, attitudes, beliefs, and biases the trainee may hold and how that could influence clinical work
      • Integration and application of this knowledge about diversity/inclusivity issues and own personal reflection into clinical and professional work

 

Please click on one of the following tabs for specific information pertaining to the training program of interest and how to apply. Please note that the listed opportunities are the only ones we are providing at this time:

Practicum opportunities 
 

Practicum opportunities may be available for the academic year (August to May) to qualified applicants for 16-20 hours per week with supervision being provided by a combination of licensed psychologists, licensed professional counselors, and/or doctoral fellows under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. Practicum students are requested to be available for the weekly case consultation meeting and didactics as part of their training experience. The primary focus of the practicum opportunity will focus on the provision of clinical services, specifically initial consultations, individual ongoing appointments, and group therapy. 

Eligibility Criteria

  • Enrolled in a graduate program in an advanced counseling degree
  • Must be able to attend the fall orientation in August even if the start date is agreed to be later due to completing another training program contract
  • Have already completed a practicum setting experience
     

Ideal Applicants

  • Applicants who can work in a fast-paced environment and have exceptional clinical and counseling skills from a wide range of training settings
  • Applicants who are open to feedback and eager to grow in their professional development
  • Experience (educationally, professionally, or personally) within athletics settings/athletes

The Center for Psychological Health and Performance (PHP) is excited to offer a new partnership for training opportunities with CU Boulder CAPS and their APA Accredited doctoral internship. PHP is now a focus rotation opportunity for the entire doctoral internship year offering participation in up to a 4-6 hour block within the center, which includes clinical provision and a clinical supervision hour from a licensed mental health clinician with expertise in sport, exercise and performance psychology.

The PHP team operates as a counseling center embedded within athletics and provides individual and group clinical services to student athletes.  Additional services include: team workshops for sport performance enhancement; consultation with staff and coaches; integrated care plans between athletic trainers, team physicians, and coaches when needed and with appropriate releases of information; educational trainings to athletic department staff.

Primary clinical services for student athletes involves challenges with anxiety, depression, grief/loss (end of career, injury), ADHD, stress management, eating concerns, and substance misuse to name a few. Clinical service provision is viewed as brief and intermittent with a focus on providing coping skills, problem solving, normalization of mental health within a stigmatized population and culture of athletics, and conflict resolution strategies.

CAPS Interns accepted to the PHP focus rotation will gain valuable experience working within a college athletics system, particularly if there is interest in specializing in sport, exercise, and performance-based work in the future. Interns will learn how to navigate boundaries and confidentiality within an embedded model in a fast-paced environment and with a unique client population of high-performing student athletes. Interns will learn to build rapport with student athletes, who are among the most diverse individuals on campus regarding race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.


Eligibility Criteria

  • Accepted into the CU Boulder CAPS APA Accredited doctoral internship program
  • Interest in working with athletes and an integrated care team


Ideal Applicants

  • Applicants who can work in a fast-paced environment and have exceptional clinical and counseling skills from a wide range of training settings
  • Applicants who are open to feedback and eager to grow in their professional development
  • Experience (educationally, professionally, or personally) within athletics settings/athletes


To Learn More
The PHP focus rotation is intended to offer exposure (10-15% of time) to sport, exercise, and performance psychology skills for those interns already accepted to the CU Boulder CAPS APA Accredited doctoral internship program. For more information about the training program at CAPS, please visit https://www.colorado.edu/counseling/training-opportunities/apa-accredited-doctoral-internship or contact the CAPS Training Director.

During the CAPS doctoral internship August orientation period, all focus rotation options will be reviewed and selections of interest will be made by the interns (subject to approval from the training director for which placement is granted). For additional questions pertaining to PHP and the training program, please contact Psychological Health and Performance at  Janine.danniballe@colorado.edu.