Pre-Clinical Shadowing Sets Up Counseling Students for Success
April 29, 2019
Students in the MS in Counseling program at PCOM participate and engage with residents
of Self-Help Movement, Inc., an addiction recovery center near Philadelphia.
First-year students in the MS in Counseling program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) have been getting a unique pre-clinical educational experience with Lisa Corbin, assistant professor, counseling, at a residential facility in Greater Northeast
Philadelphia that works with adult men seeking treatment for substance use disorders
and co-occurring difficulties.
Once a week, students shadow Ms. Corbin as she runs a mindful meditation group for
residents of Self-Help Movement, Incorporated. The 90-minute sessions start with introductions
and a brief description of mindfulness. Dr. Corbin then leads the men—who range in
age, length of sobriety, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ethnicity and cultural
identity—in a series of mindful meditation sessions and grounding exercises, which
are activities that can help center a person when confronted with intense feelings.
The group then works together to process their feelings after these activities.
Counseling students are able to engage and interact with the men in the group. Samantha
Zajdel (MS/MHC ’20) said she had never had any experience with an in-patient setting
and found the observational experience fascinating.
"Our first few semesters, we spend so much time in the classroom, learning the basics
of counseling,” she said. “It was helpful to have the opportunity to see Professor
Corbin in action, implementing the activities and interventions we learned about in
her class in real-time.”
Ms. Corbin noted that other students have found that interacting with the group—particularly
one this diverse—has helped dispel some of their own preconceived notions about addiction
and recovery.
“The goal of this experience is to change the mindset about what therapy really is,”
said Ms. Corbin. “Up until this point, most of the students have only learned what
to do from books. Our hope is that these experiences will help alleviate some of the
anxieties that many students face when they begin their clinical work.”
Ms. Zajdel, who currently works with children, adolescents and teenaged clients providing
social and behavioral therapy, said, "I don’t know if I would have been exposed to
this environment or population of clients if I hadn’t done this. It gave me another
perspective on what I can do in such a broad field.”
The shadowing experience with Ms. Corbin is the latest initiative the Department of
Counseling has undertaken to help get students more hands-on training before their
second year, when they begin their clinical rotations.
Other projects include a phone-based support system for patients of PCOM’s community-based Healthcare Centers, which aims to help them meet their healthy lifestyle goals; and Standardized Training
and Evaluation for Psychologists and Psychotherapists (STEPPS) exercises, through
which students conduct intake evaluation sessions with standardized mental health patients, or SPs.
Elizabeth Gosch, PhD, professor, psychology and chair of the Department of Counseling, noted that in exit
interviews, students routinely list STEPPS as “the best part of the program,” and
“extremely helpful.”
“We are always looking for ways to increase our students’ clinical experience in their
first year, so that they are as prepared as possible for when they begin their clinical
work so that ultimately, they can deliver the best possible care to their clients,”
said Dr. Gosch.
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About Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Founded in 1899, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands
of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists
who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms.
PCOM operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic
medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy and school psychology, and graduate degrees in
applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic
medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, non profit leadership
and population health management, organizational development and leadership, physician
assistant studies, school psychology, and public health management and administration.
PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service
to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care
to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
For more information, contact:
Daniel McCunney
Associate Director, News and Media Relations
Email: danielmc1@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6304 | Cell:
267-449-1360