Older Adult Counseling and Psychological Services Program (OAC) Training Overview

Since 2020, the Older Adult Counseling and Psychological Services Program (OAC) has provided intensive training in clinical work with older adults while offering free and sliding-scale therapy to the Bay Area community. OAC clinicians gain unique skills in adapting psychotherapy, assessment, and group facilitation for later-life developmental stages and diverse cultural contexts.

OAC meets the Wright Institute’s graduate program criteria for a practicum facility. The 12-month training year begins at the start of the Fall term and ends in the Fall term of the following year.

The time commitment for first-year clinicians is approximately 14–16 hours per week, including individual therapy, group therapy facilitation, intakes and integrated assessments, individual supervision, clinic conference, didactics, and documentation. Advanced students serving as mentors typically spend 8–10 hours per week supporting first-year trainees, screening new clients, conducting and supervising intakes, and assisting with clinic operations, while continuing their own clinical work in their primary practicum.

Clinical Training

OAC is designed to help beginning clinicians learn the fundamentals of clinical practice in a community-based mental health setting. Training emphasizes:

• Building therapeutic alliances and fostering goal/task consensus
• Using integrative frameworks (psychodynamic, CBT, ACT, and experiential dynamic)
• Adapting therapy for older adults’ strengths, challenges, and developmental needs
• Integrating cultural humility, anti-ageism, and social justice perspectives into clinical work

Students receive weekly collaborative supervision for individual therapy, as well as supervision for group therapy facilitation. In addition, the weekly clinic conference provides a small-group forum for supervision, case discussion, case formulation, and treatment planning.

Integrated Assessments

First-year clinicians receive robust training in intake interviewing and foundational assessment skills. Each intake involves a mini-battery of measures (e.g., MoCA, UCLA Loneliness Scale, GDS, GAS-10, FAQ) and a two-hour semi-structured clinical interview, culminating in an integrated intake report. Reports are reviewed in consultation with the Wright Institute’s Assessment Clinic, allowing trainees to develop core competencies in psychological assessment.

Mentorship & Leadership Opportunities

The OAC also uses a peer mentoring model. Advanced students, often those who have previously trained in the program, serve as mentors to first-year clinicians.

Mentors:

• Teach intake, assessment, and documentation skills
• Co-lead intakes with first-year clinicians
• Review clinical documentation
• Facilitate reflective conversations about clinical and professional identity development
• Provide guidance on clinic operations, workload management, and navigating challenges

Mentorship fosters a strong sense of community across training years and allows advanced students to develop supervision and leadership skills.

Community-Based Group Therapy

All trainees co-facilitate therapeutic and psychoeducational groups at Berkeley Senior Centers. These groups—such as Exploring Aging, Guided Autobiography, Expressive Arts, and Cultivating Calm—help older adults build connection, meaning, and coping strategies. Trainees learn how to design group curricula, recruit and screen participants, and facilitate groups in partnership with community organizations.

Cultural & Social Justice Focus

OAC’s didactic series and supervision integrate cultural humility, anti-ageism, and social justice into clinical work. Trainees learn how later-life challenges intersect with systemic inequities, and how to offer affirming, culturally responsive care to older adults of diverse identities and experiences.