Procedures for Conflicts Between Intern and Others at the Counseling Center

Interns who have a conflict with others at the Counseling Center (another intern, support staff, senior staff, training coordinator or director) should attempt to resolve the issues as indicated in the Internship Training Manual.

If further escalation is required, interns are to initiate formal grievance procedures through the university as outlined in the Human Resources Employee Handbook.

Due Process Procedures

Due process ensures that decisions made by programs about interns are not arbitrary or personally based but requires that programs identify specific evaluative procedures which are applied to all trainees with appropriate appeal procedures available to the intern, so they may challenge the program’s action. General due process guidelines include:

• Presenting interns, in writing, with the program’s expectations related to professional functioning.
• Stipulating the procedures for evaluation, including when and how evaluations relate to professional functioning.
• Articulating the various procedures and actions involved in making decisions regarding impairment.
• Communicating early and often with graduate programs about any suspected difficulties with interns and seeking input from these academic programs on how to address such difficulties.
• Instituting, with the input and knowledge of the graduate program, a remediation plan for identified inadequacies, including a time frame for expected remediation and consequences of not rectifying the inadequacies.
• Providing a written procedure to the intern which describes how the intern may appeal the program’s action. These procedures are included in the Internship Manual and are made available to the intern at the beginning of the internship.
• Ensuring that interns have sufficient time to respond to any action taken by the program.
• Using input from multiple professional sources when making decisions or recommendations regarding the intern’s performance.
• Documenting, in writing and to all relevant parties, the action taken by the program and its rationale.