Graduate student members of the SMI Research Group at UNL serve in a variety of clinical practicum placements which have provided substantial opportunities for applying evidence-based treatment to a variety of clients with mental illness.

Psychological Consultation Center

The Psychological Consultation Center (PCC) is part of the Clinical Psychology Training Program and provides outpatient psychotherapy and assessment services for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Members of the SMI research group provide individual cognitive behavioral therapy and rehabilitation counseling to clients with SMI as part of their PCC caseload. As one of the clinical psychology faculty at UNL, Dr. Spaulding provides supervision to therapists seeing clients in the PCC.

All advanced doctoral level graduate students in UNL's Clinical Psychology Training Program provide services to clients through the PCC.

Community Mental Health Center of Lancaster County

The county CMHC serves a large population of people with SMI, providing a range of services from residential rehabilitation to outpatient psychotherapy.  UNL clinical psychology students occupy 5 extern positions.  The most generalized of these positions is in the CMHC outpatient department, where the extern performs a range of psychological assessment and treatment services to a heterogeneous client population.  All the CMHC externs devote part of their time to program evaluation.

Community Living Services

The CLS program was created in the 1970’s in the first wave of de-institutionalization, to provide needed services to the SMI population entering the community at that time.  Since then, the CLS has been the primary service provider to people with SMI in the Lincoln area.  Services cover a full range from case management to living skill training to individual therapy.  There are two extern positions in the CLS.  The externs mostly provide individual assessment and treatment services to people with SMI, in an outpatient clinic setting, and participate as members of interdisciplinary treatment teams.

Midtown Adult Day Center

The Midtown program is a service of the Lancaster Co. CMHC.  It serves a population of people with especially severe and disabling SMI.  Traditionally founded on a “psychosocial clubhouse” model, Midtown is currently adding a recovery-oriented psychiatric rehabilitation dimension to its services.  A UNL clinical psychology extern position has recently been established to assist with this program development, including development of an evidence-based treatment array and a computerized treatment planning, clinical data management and decision support system.

Community Transition Program at the Heather

The CTPH is a 15-bed residential psychiatric rehabilitation program, another service provided by the Lancaster Co. CMHC.  Most of the CTPH participants are people making the first steps away from protracted institutionalization, or exiting a revolving door of hospital and emergency services.  Dr. Spaulding is the supervising practitioner.  The psychology extern functions as an “extender” of the clinical role of the supervising practitioner and team psychologist, and also participates in program evaluation and development activities.