Counseling and Mental Health Center Social Work Practicum Provides Unique Opportunity for Graduate Students

Published: March 26, 2025

Each year, four graduate students from the Steve Hicks School of Social Work are selected to join the one-year Social Work Practicum program at the Counseling and Mental Health Center.

Since 1994, the social work practicum program at CMHC has paved the way for students to forge ahead in their careers while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to connect with students, faculty and staff across campus.

Alicia Garces, associate director of the social work training program at CMHC, works with a team of colleagues and folks from the Steve Hicks School of Social Work to begin recruitment for the practicum program in early spring. Graduate students are then selected from the pool of applicants.

The practicum model involves a phased approach: practicum students undergo training in September, transition to half-time social work roles in the fall, and conclude with full-time commitments in the spring.

Garces said that the practicum students “jump right in” as they start their training and prepare to see clients for the first time.

“When they start at the beginning of September, they arrive starry-eyed and anxious,” Garces said. “The fact that they have been accepted and invited into this role is a big deal. We spend the first month helping them learn about the training side of our program and ensure they get training time with all clinicians in our specific areas so they have a good sense of our culture and are ready to start providing services to clients.”

As practicum students transition into their half-time roles, they work with clinicians at CMHC who sit in with them as supervisors during sessions, giving them a hands-on approach to their learning while feeling supported by experienced staff.

Mary Eberlein, LMSW was part of the social work program from August 2021 to May 2022. She heard about the program because, before pursuing a different career path through the social work program, she served as a faculty member in the Cockrell School of Engineering.

“I had some experience [as a staff member] with my students going to CMHC or assisting them with my recommendation to go to CMHC,” Eberlein said. “So, once I was a social work student and I started hearing about the program from my field placement supervisor, I already had previous knowledge of what CMHC was about.”

Eberlein said she was intrigued by the scope of the social work program at CMHC. “It seemed so different because there was training in the fall semester and it continued into the spring,” Eberlein said. “Many opportunities we were informed of only offered training during the spring semester.”

Eberlein said the program provided the hands-on experience she was looking for and was a great introduction to many different mental health topics.

“I learned so much so quickly,” Eberlein said. “I was so in awe of the learning environment and the support and mentoring that the staff provided us.”

Eberlein said that in her current role as a senior counselor at Therapy Austin, she is reminded of the training and formative experience she had while she was at CMHC.

Korin Schruben, LCSW was part of the social work program from fall of 2014 to spring 2015. After the one-year program came to a close, she became the first Social Work Fellow as she furthered her education and completed postgraduate clinical hours. Schruben now serves as a staff counselor on the Brief Assessment and Referral Team at CMHC.

Schruben said she was encouraged to find her niche and try new things every day when she served started her journey at CMHC, and that sentiment has continued throughout her now career.

“You grow to get such a good foundation of skills here,” Schruben said. “I really feel like it’s a place where you can build a career. Just the massive amounts of consultation that we do every day – you know you are gaining such much from this experience.”

Chrystal Lim and Courtney Taylor are currently part of the one-year practicum program and will finish up their time at CMHC in May.

“Prior to this practicum placement, I didn't have experience working with undergraduate and graduate students,” Lim said. “In fact, I was uncertain about the specifics of the clinical work I aspired to do and the population with whom I wanted to work, but after engaging with students in sessions for a couple of months, I realized that this experience would help me in whatever realm I end up in.”

Lim said this opportunity has offered extensive clinical and collaborative opportunities.

“We are receiving such specialized training in areas like interpersonal violence, eating disorders and disordered eating, and substance use and are learning to integrate our skills in those specialty areas,” Lim said. “I’ve also had the valuable opportunity to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of medical providers, dieticians, and other clinicians to provide comprehensive support for our clients.”

Taylor said the supportive environment at CMHC has helped her during this phase of preparation for her future career.

“As this cohort wraps up their time with us, it is wonderful to see that they have been working so hard and that they are witnessing their recognition of the value and rewards of their hard work,” Garces said. “More and more each year I look forward to the next cohort that will come along and fill the shoes of the ones before.”

The program is available only to students enrolled in the master's program at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at UT Austin. Students interested in learning more about the program can visit the Social Work Practicum program page for more information.