Placement Policies for Practicum and Internship

Decisions about clinical placements will be made by the Clinical Director based on the following considerations: (a) the training needs of the counseling student, (b) the student’s availability for a clinical site, and (c) the availability and strengths of on-site supervisors. Faculty have already developed a number of collaborative relationships with schools and counseling agencies in the area, which will serve as the primary placements for students in the school and clinical mental health counseling programs. If a student requests to be placed at an agency or school with whom the Counseling Program does not have a previously established relationship, the student will be expected to demonstrate that such a site will be an appropriate training placement. The Clinical Director will evaluate whether such an agency complies with both programmatic and accreditation (CACREP) standards. The program cannot guarantee that any deviations from the approved lists of schools and agencies will be granted.

Additional policies apply to counseling students who are already employed at a school or agency. School counseling students who are employed as teachers must complete practicum and internship experiences outside the student population with whom they currently work. Such school counseling students may not provide counseling services to children they currently teach, but may be permitted to accrue direct contact hours working with children from other classrooms at their schools. Ideally, school counseling students will complete all required internship experiences outside of their home school. To accommodate this policy, such students will be permitted to complete part-time internships that span over 2-3 semesters. Likewise, students enrolled in the clinical mental health counseling program will not be allowed to accrue practicum or internship hours providing counseling services to their regular clients. We may allow such students to complete an internship at their employing agency, but it must be clear that such students are providing mental health counseling services and that such services are distinctly different and separate from their regular employment responsibilities.