University of Southern Maine School of Social Work

University of Southern Maine School of Social Work

Agency Profile for Undergraduate/Graduate Student Placements

Date: 12/7/11

Name of Agency: Bridgetree Counseling: Employee Assistance Program at L.L. Bean

Agency Address: Employee Health, L.L. Bean, Casco Street, Freeport, ME 04033

Agency Telephone Number: 207-552-7282

In arranging for field placements, whom should the student contact?

Geoffry B. Smith, LCSW

Name of Field Instructor: Geoffry B. Smith

Field Instructor Contact Information

Telephone number: 207-552-7282

Email Address:

Agency director and/or key administrative personnel:

Name:Geoffry B. Smith, LCSW

Position: President; Bridgetree counseling & Counseling Inc.

Student’s agency is able to handle:BSW _____MSW /Foundation year _____ (1st year)

MSW/Concentration year __X__ (2nd year)

How many students can your agency accommodate? 2

Briefly describe the basic services/programs of the agency, client population served, and the size of your staff.

Clinical services include psychosocial assessment, brief and intermediate-term treatment/casework, referral, follow-up, and case management.

Interns have the opportunity to conduct psycho-educational workshops for the employee population. In some instances, they are able to set up and lead time-limited groups.

Client population is mixed adult with ages ranging from 18 into the 70s. Clients may present with anxiety and mood disorders, substance abuse, trauma histories, domestic abuse, issues relating to family and relationships, e.g. marital and partner problems, aging parents, etc. We work closely with the LL Bean onsite health clinics, and quite often share cases with them, which provides interns with the opportunity for interdisciplinary team work.

Interns are almost always surprised by the range and depth of client problems and experiences. On average, an intern will see between 25 and 35 clients in the course of a two semester placement. Some of these will be brief counseling (1-5 sessions) and some will be for the full duration of the placement.

Staff include myself, several per diem counselors and social workers (all of whom are former interns), and 1 to 4 interns.

When are agency staff and other important meetings held?

Variable. We try to be sensitive to intern’s schedules

What characteristics or qualities would be helpful for a student to have to best utilize the placement as a learning opportunity?

Operating within a corporate environment is fascinating, but it also requires thoughtfulness around boundaries, roles, client relationships, and unlike most other settings, customer (internal) relationships.

The placement requires a considerable degree of maturity and autonomy. However, interns are not on their own, and the feedback over the years has consistently indicated that the interns receive excellent supervisory support.

Life experience is a plus, given that the employee average age is 49 or 50.

Would a student who needs a highly structured learning environment do well in this placement?

Yes ____ No _X___ Comments:

List the learning opportunities available for the student in your setting:

Learning opportunities center on the work itself, and good, consistent supervision. I make sure that interns get a full two hours of time every week, as well as “curb-side” consultations, when needed.

My clinical framework involves an integration of psychodynamic theory, especially object relations and Self psychology, family systems therapy, CBT, and mindfulness approaches. I have also had a lot of training in hypnotherapy, but rarely use it in a direct way at LL Bean. My approach with clients emphasizes attunement, careful thinking, flexibility and pragmatism. My therapy style is conversational.

In supervision with staff and interns I focus on respecting individual styles and approaches, as long as they are clinically supported. I believe that it is important that developing clinicians have a safe place to sort things out, and to grapple with the difficulties of this demanding but wonderful profession.

We periodically do webinars. They vary in length from 1 hour to a full day. Most recently, we have had full day seminars by Bessel van der Kolk and Donald Meichenbaum, each speaking about developments in the treatment of trauma. We have also had webinars on sleep disorders, psychopharmacology, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, as well as an eight week seminar on mindfulness and neuroscience by Dan Seigal, M.D.

Is there adequate physical space for the student(s)? Yes. And you get your own business cards!

Does the student need a car? Yes _X_No ___ Is mileage reimbursable? Yes __ No _X_

Can your agency provide an opportunity for students to fulfill part of their required placement hours on evenings or weekends?

No, the onsite health clinics, out of which we operate, are a Monday – Friday operation, during so-called “normal” working hours.

Does your agency require any formal training for interns? Yes ____ No ____

If yes, how many training hours are required?

When is the training offered?

Can the training be completed online?Yes ___No ___

Is the agency handicapped accessible?Yes _X__No ___

Agency Requirements:

Background check (SBI)Yes _X__No __

Physical examYes ___No _X_

ImmunizationsYes ___No _X_

If yes, what immunizations are required?

Other pertinent information:

It is extremely interesting doing social work in a corporate environment, especially at a company as good as LL Bean.

The documentation and record-keeping are not burdensome.