Our residency continued during COVID-19, informed by public health recommendations, and rulings of various Psychology Education and Regulatory Bodies for flexibility while maintaining competencies in training. Current information about COVID-19 at the University of Manitoba can be found at the university's COVID-19 information page. Regarding COVID-19, we will continue to follow recommendations of APPIC and the CCPPP for any alterations in the January 2024 selection and interview process. Please direct any questions to Dr. Tim Osachuk. Thank you.

The Pre-Doctoral Residency Program in Professional Psychology has been accredited since 1991 and is one of only four post-secondary counselling services in Canada to be accredited. Following our last site visit by CPA June 12-13, 2019, we were re-accredited by the CPA for a 7-year term to the 2025-2026 training year. Our residency invites applications from qualified candidates in APA or CPA accredited Counselling Psychology and Clinical Psychology programs.

Please Note: Our Residency Program was also previously accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) from the 1991-1992 Training year until August 31, 2015. APA withdrew from accrediting programs in Canada on September 1, 2015. This was due to a change in their policy and not specific to our program.

Prospective Applicants From APA Accredited Programs Please Note: Regarding Accreditation, Effective September 1, 2015, the APA no longer accredits Canadian Residencies/Internships. In 2012, APA and CPA signed the First Street Accord an agreement recognizing their accreditation standards are "substantially equivalent". We encourage you to review the First Street Accord agreement as part of your education in choosing a residency program that best fits your training needs.

Questions related to our program's CPA accredited status should be directed to the Office of Accreditation: 

Office of Accreditation, Canadian Psychological Association
141 Laurier Avenue W., Suite 702
Ottawa, ON
K1P 5J3

Toll-Free: 1-888-472-0657
613-237-2144
613-237-1674

SCC Staff

The Student Counselling Centre is an active, service-oriented unit that offers a training program fostering the development of excellence and diversity in clinical capabilities and approaches. Residents receive supervised experience in individual and group approaches, psychological assessment, career counselling, working with diverse clientele, consultation, crisis intervention, and supervision. Opportunities for research involvement are also available.

The unit provides a full range of services and programs to the 29,000+ students at the University of Manitoba Fort Garry campus. Staff includes professionals representing Clinical and Counselling Psychology, Social Work, and Family Therapy, along with a consulting psychiatrist. Practicum and field placements are offered in addition to the residency positions.

Stipend

A $40,175.65 stipend is provided for this full-time residency, which runs from September 1 to August 31. Two positions are available.

Qualifications

Candidates must have completed required coursework, comprehensive examinations and the dissertation proposal for the doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology by our November 15 application deadline. Those candidates meeting these criteria can proceed to making application to our residency programme.

Application review, selection and notification

All applications must be submitted to us via the APPIC "AAPI Online" service. All application materials must be uploaded via the applicant portal on the APPIC website.

Our application deadline is 4:30 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, November 15, 2023. To be considered for the 2024-2025 residency training year, ALL application materials must be uploaded on to the AAPI Online by 4:30 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, November 15, 2023. LATE OR INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED OR REVIEWED.

A complete application to our residency program via the APPIC "AAPI Online" service includes the following materials (please note that all of these materials should automatically be included with the application that you submit via the Applicant Portal of the AAPI Online service):

  • A cover letter [In your cover letter (at least 300 words) please ensure you explain why you would be a good fit with our residency program, be specific about your goals and training needs, and in particular, how our residency program will meet your goals and training needs]
  • A complete, up-to-date curriculum vitae
  • The actual AAPI application (including essays and verification of readiness from you Director of Clinical Training of your graduate program)
  • Copies of all graduate school transcripts
  • Three letters of reference. At least two must be from clinical supervisors (preferably licensed/registered psychologists) who are familiar with your clinical work. References should reflect your most recent clinical work if possible. You may choose to include a fourth letter if it provides a unique perspective, but we only require three. Applicants' referees are required to use APPIC's new Standardized Reference Form for Letters of Recommendation.

Review, Selection and Notification

We review applications completed by our November 15th deadline that meet our qualifications described and are a good fit with our program. This year applicants will be notified whether or not they will be considered for interview by December 1st, 2023.  Applicants who have met our criteria for interview by December 1st, 2023 will be contacted and invited to arrange an interview via video conferencing software or telephone.  Applicants can contact us to schedule interviews Monday, December 4th, 2023. This year interviews will be offered between January 8th through 19th, 2024. In general, the individual interviews range from one to one and a half hours and are conducted by two or three interviewers. Resident applicants have opportunity to talk with the Director of Residency Training and current residents and their requests to contact specific departmental staff are welcome. Resident applicants' discussions with current residents are confidential and current residents are not involved in the ranking of applicants for the match. All information: qualifications, application materials and interview performance are reviewed and considered to develop a final rank-order list of candidates for the APPIC match. The final rank-order list of candidates applying to our residency program is submitted to APPIC/National Matching Services for the APPIC Match. Our residency program awaits news of the APPIC Match on Match Day. As per APPIC Policy, our Director of Training contacts matched candidates to congratulate matched candidates and verify offer of residency positions.

In the event that positions remain unfilled via Phase I of the match, as per APPIC policy (10b), they will be offered in Phase II. The application and selection process for Phase II will generally follow our procedures 1 – 10 described in Phase I, in accordance with the dates/timelines established by APPIC for Phase II.

For questions or clarifications regarding our residency program or application procedures, contact:

Timothy A. G. Osachuk, Ph.D., C.Psych.
Clinical Psychologist Associate Professor
Director of Residency Training
Pre-Doctoral Residency Programme In Professional Psychology
Student Counselling Centre
University of Manitoba
Ph.: 1-204-474-8592
Receptionist 1-204-474-8614
Direct Line FAX: 1-204-474-7558
E-mail: Tim.Osachuk@UManitoba.ca

APPIC and CCPPP

This residency site is a member of APPIC (APPIC Member #1810), participates in the APPIC Internship Matching Program and abides by the APPIC Match Policies. Our residency site also agrees to abide by the APPIC Match Policy (7c) "This internship site agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant."

This residency is also a member of CCPPP (Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs) and is listed in the CCPPP Directory of Canadian Internship Programs.

Mission statement and training model

The SCC actively facilitates student success by listening and responding to the diverse mental health and developmental needs of students as well as other campus and community constituencies. By creating and providing innovative preventive and responsive services, programs, training and partnerships we foster enhanced mental health and wellness through the promotion of personal growth, academic development and success.     

Implicit in our mission statement is a belief that a wide range of programs and activities will be necessary to provide an environment conducive to student growth and development. As a consequence, the Student Counselling Centre has a high profile and widespread involvement around the campus, offering a variety of clinical, educational and developmental services to various constituent groups in our community.

The developmental emphasis that informs our work with students and the university at large also constitutes the core philosophy of our residency training program. We see our training program as the capstone to a doctoral psychology student’s professional training, building on the foundation of knowledge gathered from diverse experiences in practica and other applied settings, graduate coursework and research. As a capstone program, a primary value is placed on the integration of knowledge and skills as a means to facilitate the development and consolidation of the resident's identity as a professional psychologist.

To enhance the professional development of our residents, our training program is structured around an integrative developmental model grounded in a scientist-practitioner framework. This means that attention is paid both to the individual developmental needs of our residents as well as to the need for evidence-based psychological practice. Thus, a structured, sequential training approach, tailored to the individual needs of our residents, is employed throughout the training year. Exposure to didactic seminars, departmental research, program evaluation, and training in empirically-supported therapies combine with this to underscore the reciprocal interplay between science and practice in Psychology.

Program structure

The Student Counselling Centre is the primary resource for psychological services and consultation for the University of Manitoba, which constitutes this province’s third largest community. The range of experiences and opportunities this setting provides is ideally suited to candidates looking to develop strong generalist skills with an adult population.  

The Psychology residency program is one of three professional training programs in the department. In addition to the residency, we also offer an advanced practicum in Counselling and a field placement for undergraduate and graduate students in Social Work. As a result of this multidisciplinary emphasis, a rich training environment is fostered in which residents can realize their potential as members of a diverse service delivery team.

To guide residents along this developmental path, activities are paced according to the resident's background preparation and readiness to assume various roles and responsibilities. From our initial orientation phase, where the literature on developmental stages of trainees is reviewed and discussed, through the observation of supervisors conducting intake interviews or groups, and guided practice that characterize the early stages of our training program, the developmental level and needs of our residents are explicitly valued and addressed. Throughout the course of the training year, at a pace guided by stage of development and training needs, residents are gradually exposed to more complex and demanding training experiences (e.g., developing a group program; supervising a practicum student) and assume more responsibility for their work and contributions to the department (e.g., increased case load; facilitating or co-facilitating a group; developing an outreach initiative). By the end of the training year, residents will have a clear sense of what it is like to function as a professional psychologist in a fast-paced and diverse service delivery environment.

The developmental structure of our residency is greatly facilitated by its eschewal of the traditional “rotation” model of residency training. Our program believes that a resident's professional identity can be most effectively developed through exposure to an environment that closely approximates the actual settings in which professional psychologists practice. For this reason, concurrent experiences are the hallmark of our program. With this structure, residents are able to experience the same range of activities and responsibilities as staff psychologists, see clients based on clinical need rather than rotation length, and develop more substantial relationships with supervisors.

Service activities

To provide the range of experiences necessary to attain the goals and objectives of the residency program, residents are involved in an average of 13 hours of direct service contact per week. These contacts may involve a variety of services, such as:

Intake and Crisis Intervention: Residents receive exposure to intake and crisis intervention.

Individual Counselling: Individual counselling involves providing short-term and long-term therapy for clients with a variety of presenting issues. 

Psychological Assessment: Residents receive referrals for assessments from the Student Accessibility Services office, University Health Service or the community. Psychoeducational assessments predominate, although psycho-diagnostic assessments are also available.

Career Counselling and Assessment: Residents will engage in a variety of career counselling activities. Residents gain experience working with career and student development theories, a variety of career counselling interventions (including the use of career assessment tools) and career information resources. Residents are expected to co-facilitate and later facilitate interpretation sessions for the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory and the Strong Interest Inventory. It is expected a portion of residents' caseload will be career cases/career related.

Groups and Workshops: Residents are expected to co-facilitate and/or facilitate groups during the year. The topics of the groups vary from year to year and may include issues related to self-esteem, depression, anxiety and relationships.

Practicum Supervision: Residents will be primary supervisor for a practicum student and will receive supervision of their supervision.

Outreach and Consultation: Residents will have opportunities to provide developmental and preventive programming to various segments of the university community. Residents will be able to develop new programs in an area of special interest or to offer some of the general programs, such as stress management, dealing with exam anxiety, or academic success skills.

Supervision and training activities

Supervision: Because of the diverse service offerings, residents participate in a variety of individual and group supervisory experiences. Over the course of the year, a minimum of four hours per week is provided by Doctoral Level Registered Psychologists (3 hours individual supervision; 1 hour group supervision) with overall supervision frequently surpassing 4 hours per week.

Individual supervision

  • Individual supervision is provided by doctoral-level registered psychologists (minimum of three hours per week).
  • Assessment supervision is provided by doctoral-level registered psychologists (amount of supervision varies based on student need to become proficient in administration, and writing of six integrated assessment reports).
  • Specialty supervision (e.g., on groups) is provided by Doctoral Level Registered Psychologists and at times by other agency professional staff. Wherever possible, supervision by a doctoral-level registered psychologist is sought (variable supervision time based on experience).
  • In addition, consultation on selected cases is available from professional staff members. 

Group supervision

  • Assessment supervision is provided by doctoral-level registered psychologists
  • Supervision training provided by a doctoral-level registered psychologist, includes reviewing literature and supervision of supervision (one and a half hours bi-weekly).
  • Director of Training supervision is provided by the director of residency training – doctoral level registered psychologist (two days during initial orientation, one and a half hours weekly for the first month of residency; one and a half hours monthly during the remainder of residency).
  • Career supervision is provided by a professional staff member which includes an initial training orientation followed by regular supervision meetings (initially one and one half hours per week, and faded to one and one half hours every other week).

Diversity Training is facilitated by Student Counselling Centre (SCC) staff.

Resident Professional Development Seminars are provided by Student Counselling Centre (SCC) staff and external presenters (weekly for the first four weeks and bi-weekly thereafter) 

Staff Case Conference Meetings: Presentations by SCC staff and trainees that provide educational information and training in a variety of clinical areas and professional issues.

Client Consultations: Residents participate in weekly Consultation and Professional Practice meetings with the other professional staff, to review requests of clients presenting for service and consult on client related concerns.

Psychiatric Consultation: Residents are able to refer clients to a consulting psychiatrist for second opinions regarding clients’ issues.

Professional development

Professional Development: Our residency provides residents with four hours per week of professional development time, which residents may use for dissertation or other research, professional reading and/or writing, attendance at conferences or workshops, or specialized service activities.

Administration and Staff Development:  Residents are encouraged to participate actively in all aspects of departmental life, including membership on various committees. Residents also present at Staff Case Conference meetings and may also provide other staff development programming.

Training goals and objectives

We believe that our training model and program structure offer the combination of diversity, flexibility, and quality experiences necessary to help us attain our primary training goal, which is to prepare residents for the independent practice of professional psychology in diverse settings, including counselling services and other academic, clinical, and community settings. To operationalize this goal, a number of education and training objectives have been identified and are included in the evaluation forms. A summary of the main objectives for each of the areas is provided below:

1)  Intervention Competency

  1. Ability to integrate historical, developmental, contextual, and diagnostic information into a case conceptualization that guides ongoing work
  2. Ability to adapt conceptualizations over time as new information emerges
  3. Ability to link conceptualization to relevant theory
  4. Ability to productively engage clients in intake and counselling
  5. Ability to maintain rapport over time
  6. Ability to identify the links among theory, research, and practice (e.g., interventions have a grounding in theory and support through the literature)
  7. Ability to identify and implement different intervention strategies as appropriate to different presenting problems or contexts
  8. Ability to demonstrate proficiency with a wide range of intervention modalities representing different theoretical traditions (e.g., behaviour therapy; client-centered therapy; systemic approaches)
  9. Ability to identify and utilize empirically-validated treatments where appropriate (e.g., cognitive-behavioural therapy for panic disorder)
  10. Ability to effectively identify and utilize process or interpersonal variables during intervention
  11. Ability to work effectively with both short-term and long-term cases
  12. Ability to terminate therapy with clients successfully
  13. Ability to identify and respond effectively to crises or behavioural emergencies
  14. Ability to effectively lead or co-lead psycho-educational or therapy groups

2)  Career Counselling Competency

  1. Career Counselling skills include ability to conceptualize the career planning difficulties of students using a variety of theoretical perspectives, ability to engage in productive career counseling and the ability to consult with other career service providers as needed
  2. Career Counselling Knowledge includes demonstrating an understanding of career development theory, the complexity of career issues for university students, and available career inventories and services 
  3. General Counselling Skills include demonstrating an understanding of developmental theories and issues, and an ability to integrate general counselling skills in interventions with career clients
  4. Group Leadership Skills include abilities to communicate information clearly and to facilitate group dynamics

3)  Assessment Competency

  1. Ability to effectively collect and utilize interview, collateral, and historical data in assessment process
  2. Ability to effectively formulate differential diagnoses from interview or test data
  3. Ability to select a battery of test instruments that effectively address the referral question(s)
  4. Ability to competently administer, score, and interpret results of testing
  5. Ability to produce integrative written reports addressing the referral question(s), make useful  recommendations, and provide timely and useful feedback to clients and referral sources

4)  Diversity Competency

  1. Ability to demonstrate awareness of ethnicity, culture, and other issues of diversity as significant parameters in understanding psychological processes
  2. Ability to educate clients about North American psychological intervention processes
  3. Ability to demonstrate respect for social structures, values, and beliefs within the client’s culture or context
  4. Ability to consider the impact of adverse social and environmental factors in assessing problems and designing interventions
  5. Ability to identify and work to eliminate biases, prejudices, and discriminatory practices in self
  6. Ability to demonstrate skills in adapting interventions to diverse group

5)  Consultation Competency

  1. Ability to identify programming needs in the community and design and deliver outreach programmes to effectively address these needs
  2. Ability to solicit feedback from clients about the effectiveness of the consultation process and address concerns if the results are not satisfactory

6)  Professional Conduct Competency

  1. Ability to demonstrate respect toward clients, peers, colleagues, supervisors, and other members of the university community or public with whom the intern interacts
  2. Ability to demonstrate a working knowledge and effective application of the ethical code of the Canadian Psychological Association
  3. Ability to demonstrate knowledge of relevant university policies and provincial guidelines/laws as they pertain to practice issues (e.g., confidentiality; informed consent; duty to warn; duty to protect; child abuse reporting)
  4. Ability to demonstrate openness to learning and to access supervision and consultations appropriately
  5. Ability to maintain relevant standards with respect to documentation of professional services         
  6. Ability to demonstrate sound professional practice by acknowledging own limits of competence    
  7. Ability to demonstrate awareness of transfer-of-skill issues and how to apply skills across service setting and populations
  8. Ability to recognize psychology as an empirical discipline and appropriately access literature and collect data

7)  Supervision of Practicum Students

  1. Demonstration of knowledge of supervision models
  2. Ability to form an effective supervisory alliance
  3. Ability to adjust supervision to supervisee needs and developmental level
  4. Demonstration of a balance between supervisee development and client care in supervision
  5. Provision of ongoing feedback to supervisee
  6. Ability to articulate a model of own supervisory style

Benefits

Based on their appointment, residents are eligible for the comprehensive benefits of full-time staff at the University of Manitoba, including full group insurance benefits as described bullet points below:

  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Optional Life Insurance 
  • Dependent Life Insurance 
  • Basic Accidental Death & Dismemberment 
  • Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment 
  • Long Term Disability 
  • Supplementary Health 
  • Dentalcare 
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) 

The appointment also includes up to 180 sick leave days

Physical facilities and equipment

Counselling facilities

The Student Counselling Centre facilities include a reception/waiting area (renovated in 2000), offices, a group room equipped with a computer and large monitor, two large classrooms equipped with computers and LCD data projectors and a library.

Computer facilities

The Student Counselling Centre has complete computer resources, including a local area network and internet access. We also have access to computerized scoring for a variety of psychological and vocational tests. Our administrative and support staff use the Titanium scheduling program to manage client data and counsellor daily activity schedules. Residents have networked computers in their offices (new computers in 2020) and full access to computer resources, internet, E-Mail (local and web-based Outlook). Residents have webcams for video recording of client sessions for clinical supervision. Residents also have access to several LCD/data projectors and a 3-M digital Media Systems smartboard for assistance with a variety of presentations.

Library

In addition to the university library resources available on campus (traditional and electronic access), the Student Counselling Centre maintains its own small library of professional journals, textbooks and professional reports and policy papers.

Career Services area

This area (physically located within the Student Counselling Centre) is the source of several highly utilized resources provided by Career Services. Scores of students utilize Career Services on a daily basis, and its website has garnered international recognition and awards. Residents may refer students to these services as a part of the career counselling process.

Student Counselling Centre site image gallery

Counselling and supervisory staff

For questions or clarifications regarding our residency program or application procedures, contact:

Timothy A. G. Osachuk, Ph.D., C.Psych.
Clinical Psychologist
Associate Professor
Director of Residency Training
Pre-Doctoral Residency Programme In Professional Psychology
Student Counselling Centre
University of Manitoba
umanitoba.ca/student-supports/counselling-resources-students/training-programs/pre-doctoral-residency

Ph.: 1-204-474-8592
Receptionist: 1-204-474-8614 Direct Line
FAX: 1-204-474-7558
E-mail: tim.osachuk@umanitoba.ca

Meet the Student Counselling Centre staff