Counselor Training Experiences
The Counselor Education Program requires students to complete a counseling practicum and internship of 750 hours. The counseling practicum experience is to provide growing exposure and orientation to relevant professional settings where 150 hours is required (40 in direct service and 110 in indirect service). Field placements may include elementary or secondary schools, mental health centers, special community agencies such as women's centers, prisons or work-release centers, residential treatment centers, employment centers, and health care settings. Counseling supervision is shared between the university and on-site supervisor where the expectation of on-site practicum supervisors is to provide ongoing supervision, guidance and orientation (minimum of one hour a week) to graduated relevant site experiences while practicum students receive intense university supervision (one a week of individual university supervision and three hours a week of group supervision). Requiring relevant graduated clinical experiences prior to an internship placement serves to increase the depth of the practicum student's upcoming internship experience by linking counseling knowledge to relevant counseling experiences.
The counseling internship consists of 600 clock hours where 240 hours are in direct service. With a minimum of three on-site consultations with the trainee, university and on-site supervisor as well as a minimum of one hour per week of individual on-site supervision and the equivalent of one and half hours of university group supervision, the intern will continue to receive corrective feedback consistent with their professional development goals. With formal and summative evaluations, the reality of the internship setting provides the necessary bridge between training and professional competence for trainees. Applying theory and counseling skills under competent supervision enables students to make the necessary transition from graduate school to the actual work setting.
In addition to preparing students for transition into the world of work, the 750 hour practicum/internship training is beneficial to the involved agency or educational setting. Students are expected to bring to the staff an enthusiasm and willingness to learn as well as integrated counseling knowledge and skills. It is expected that Master's students in counseling will have supervised responsibilities similar to regular staff members, thereby contributing substantially to the functioning of the particular counseling setting.
Finally, the basic assumption underlying all training site arrangements is that the primary focus of each setting is the welfare of its clients. We assume that all intern activities are to be conducted within the context of responsibility for client welfare and the ACA Ethical guidelines for professional counseling practice.
Either as a CE Counselor trainee or supervisor, please use the links on the left and right to download relevent forms. If you have any questions or suggestons, please contact the CE department at 1-800-342-5978.