The school offers relatively little instruction using only the straight lecture mode. Instead, considerable emphasis is placed upon learning by doing. Even in the first year of training, students observe clinical and applied demonstrations, try out newly developing skills through role-playing, participate in classroom exercises, sit in with experienced practitioners, and receive careful supervision in their preliminary attempts at the application of professional techniques. Thus, applied issues and concerns are immediate and meaningful to the student. The student's level of involvement becomes progressively more intense throughout the course of training. During the later years, most courses include a seminar component oriented to case discussions or substantive theoretical issues of clinical and applied import, a practicum component during which students see clients in the intervention mode or problem area under study, and a supervision component in which the student receives guidance from an experienced instructor. All three components are coordinated around a central conceptual issue, such as a mode of intervention or a client problem.
