PRACTICUM AND
INTERNSHIP MANUAL
for
Ed.S. STUDENTS
in
Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling (MCFC)
COUNSELOR EDUCATION PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
(803) 7773053
Revised April 2014
CONTENTS
1.Handbook Text: Policies and Procedures
2. Summary of Procedures and Steps
3.Form A: MCFC Site Placement Form
4.Form B: Application to Serve as Site Supervisor
5.Course Expectations: EDCE 802 Practicum
6.Course Expectations: EDCE 805 Internship
7.Form C: Student Schedule
8.Form D: Evaluation of Practicum Counselor Behaviors
9.Form E: Weekly Log of Field Experience Activities
10.Form F: Field Experience Summary
11.Form G: Site Supervision Evaluation
12.Form H: Practicum University Supervision Feedback
13.Form I: Evaluation of Internship Competencies
14.Form J: Consent for Counseling of a Minor Child
15.Form K: Consent for Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling
16.Form L: Insurance Responsibility
17.Form M: Supervision Log
Practicum and Internship Manual
for the Educational Specialist Program
inMarriage, Couples, and Family Counseling (MCFC)
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the Handbook
This handbook is designed to introduce students to program expectations and requirements for satisfactory completion of EDCE 802F (Practicum) and 805F (Counseling Internship). This handbook provides information about required paperwork, suggests ways to ensure communication between student and supervisors, and shares background data relative to professional standards and ethics. The intent of this handbook is to concentrate on the mechanics, thereby freeing the student to focus on and maximize the learning that the clinical experiences are intended to provide.
PREREQUISITES
Practicum
The following prerequisites must be completed with a grade of B or higher before taking the Practicum.
CORE COURSES:
EDCE 510, 600, 700, 702, 705, 710, 720, 722
SPECIALIZATION COURSES:
EDCE 503, 711 (or equivalent), 716 (x 2)
PSYCHO-DIAGNOSTICS:
NPSY 757 and NPSY 758
NON-EDCE PREREQUISITES:
EDRM 700 and EDPY 705
Internship
Because Internship is viewed as an integrative experience, participation is allowed only after prerequisite course work has been completed. Completion of the Practicum is the prerequisite for Internship.
APPLICATIONS
Deadlines
There are two deadlines for submitting Practicum and Internships:
FALL January 15
SPRING September 1
Procedures
Secure and complete a MCFC Practicum/Internship Application and return it to the Counselor Education Office in Wardlaw 266. Upon the receipt of a letter verifying that you are approved to take the Practicum or Internship, take the letter along with a site placement form to Dr. Gold. In the event that your preferred site or site supervisor is not an approved one, contact the Coordinator of Counselor Education Program, Wardlaw 266, and secure a Site Supervisor Application Form (see Form B).
IMPORTANT REMINDER: All students are required to have professional student malpractice insurance when enrolled in Practicum and/or Internship courses. Insurance is available from your professional organization. We have found that ACA insurance is the only insurance that adequately meets our program requirements. Brochures for the "Professional Liability Insurance Program Student Coverage” can be found on the shelves outside of Wardlaw 266 or obtained from ACA by calling 18003476647. There is also a link to this organization on our Resources web page. For students who desire a field placement outside of the Columbia metropolitan area, you are required to meet with your faculty advisor regarding your plans for field experience. Although students are allowed to arrange and participate in field experiences outside of the Columbia metropolitan area, students are required to attend supervision on the USC campus. In addition, all placements require approval by the appropriate placement committees.
Purposes of the Clinical Experience
The Practicum (EDCE 802F) stresses counseling skills. Marriage, couples, and family counseling supported by individual counseling via systemic approaches should be the focus of the major part of the time the student spends on site. Other activities may be included in the student's experience but the majority of the time should be directed toward marriage, couples,and family counseling.
The Internship (EDCE 805F) continues the focus on the development of clinical skills in marriage, couples,and family counseling and in individual counseling from a systemic perspective, and is intended to provide counseling interns with practical experience in clinical settings. This experience is designed to have interns relate academic and theoretical learning to field experience. The Internship experience also provides interns with evaluative feedback on their knowledge, attitudes, and skills with specific client populations. Since interns already have received training in counseling, the staff and the clientele at the placement site should benefit from the services.
Interns are expected to assume a broad spectrum of counseling roles and functions. The intern is asked to participate in as many activities as feasible in the settings, which are similar to the responsibilities of an employed counselor. The purpose of an Internship is to provide realistic, relevant, and meaningful experiences related to the practice of marriage, couples, and family counseling.
The Practicum and Internship are designed to satisfy requirements for professional training as stipulated by the council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accreditation standards.
Selecting a Site
Each student is responsible for selecting an appropriate site with the approval of the MCFC faculty. Selecting the most appropriate site depends on a number of criteria, and the student is advised to consider carefully the following guidelines:
Site supervisors will only be approved for settings that reflect culturally diverse populations. Typically, students will do their Practicum and Internship in a variety of settings. When selecting a site, you may wish to consider the type of clients with whom you will be working. Thus, you may be concerned with the following questions: Will I be exposed to a heterogeneous group of people? Will my clients be of varied socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds? Will I be able to work with client populations with different presenting problems? Will I be allowed to choose with whom I wish to work, or will I be assigned clients?
Facilities also play an important role in site selection. Certain minimum standards must be met. Suitably equipped office space must be available to you to ensure counseling privacy and the ability to tape each session. In addition, the office should be located within the center or the institution for easy client access. Additional facilities and equipment (such as videotape machines, observation rooms, computer availability) may also be site selection considerations.
A major portion of one's evaluation is based upon audiotapes of onsite counseling sessions. Therefore, the student is responsible for selecting a site, which ensures that onsite taping may be accomplished.
Once an appropriate site has been selected, the site and choice of site supervisor must be approved by the program faculty.
Site Supervisor Selection
Site supervisor selection must be made by MCFC faculty. Bring the Site Placement Form (see Form A) and your letter of acceptance to the Practicum or Internship to that faculty member. An approved list of site supervisors who have credentials that satisfy our accrediting agency will be available.
In order to use a site supervisor who is not currently on the approved list, the student needs to request that the potential site supervisor apply to become a site supervisor. Application forms are available in this package (see Form B). The application needs to be submitted to the office of Counselor Education for approval. If this host placement form is approved a notification of acceptance will be sent directly to the site supervisor.
The Practicum or Internship student is ultimately responsible for communicating Counselor Education expectations and requirements (application procedures, assignments, taping of sessions, etc.) to the site supervisor. The following steps are suggested as a means of assuring effective communication between the student and the site supervisor. Practicum and Internship course expectations are included in this handbook after Form A. However, the student's job is to discuss fully all departmental expectations with the site supervisor.
The student should be prepared to work on a number of objectives during the Practicum/Internship. These should be communicated to the site supervisor in writing. It is advisable to schedule an early meeting with the site supervisor to discuss these plans.
As a professional courtesy, the student is to provide the site supervisor with a schedule of the beginning and ending dates of the Practicum/Internship as well as dates (holiday and the like) when the student would not expect to be present at the site. In addition, a schedule of the student's week should be submitted to the site supervisor and updated as necessary (see Form C for sample schedule).
During the semester, the university supervisor will liaison with the site to meet with the site supervisor and student. During such communications, the university supervisor will discuss the student's progress, course expectations, and may wish to observe the student conducting one or more counseling sessions.
The student must spend a minimum of one hour per week with the site supervisor. The content of these sessions is determined jointly by the student and the site supervisor. The format of supervision will vary; some site supervisors will wish to have tape critiques (NOTE: only standardized tape recorders and tapes are permitted for students to use while taping sessions with their site supervisor and university supervisor) while others will wish simply to consult with the student counselor. In any case, the student has the responsibility of making sure that s/he receives the best possible supervision. If concerns arise, the student should first talk with the site supervisor. However, if problems persist, the intern should relate such concerns tothe university supervisor.
Evaluations of student counselors should be completed by the site supervisor near termination of the Practicum/Internship. The form for these evaluations should be given to the site supervisor in the beginning of the Internship so that the program expectations are clear (see Forms D, I, and N).
Activities and General Requirements
Practicum The Practicum experience is designed and supervised by the instructor of EDCE 802F and by the field site supervisor. Students enrolled in the Practicum are required to accumulate a minimum of 150 clock hours. Of these 150 hours, a minimum of 60 hours must be in direct service work with clients appropriate to the MCFC specialization. The Practicum student is to have one hour per week in supervision with the site supervisor, one hour of supervision per week with a program faculty member or student supervisor working under the supervision of a program faculty member, and one and onehalf hours per week in group supervision. These supervision hours count towards the total number of Practicum hours.
The student's progress in the counselor education program is reviewed by the faculty at the time of Practicum completion. If the progress is judged as satisfactory, registration in the Internship will be permitted. If it is judged as unsatisfactory, registration will not be permitted and a conference with the student will be arranged by the student's adviser.
Students are required to keep a log (see Form E) describing their field experiences, the date of the experience, the amount of time spent and the student's reactions to the experience. Students are required to attend all Practicum individual and group supervisory meetings held during the semester.
Internship The Internship is a required six semester hour supervised opportunity for the student to perform all the activities that a regularly employed marriage, couples,and family counselor would be expected to perform.
Students enrolled in the Internship are required to spend a minimum of 600 clock hours in a setting where one can perform all the activities that a regularly employed professional in the setting would be expected to perform. Of the 600 hours, 240 hours are to be spent in direct service work with clients appropriate to one's program of study. The Internship students are to have one hour per week in supervision with the site supervisor, and one and onehalf hours per week in group supervision. These supervision hours count towards the total number of hours accrued in Internship.
NOTE: Students may elect to take the Internship over two semesters. In such cases the student should register for three (3) semester hours of Internship for two consecutive semesters. Students should be able to complete 300 clock hours per semester.
Supervision
Practicum The Practicum student is to have one hour per week in supervision with the site supervisor, one hour supervision per week with a program faculty member or student supervisor working under the supervision of a program faculty member, and one and onehalf hours per week in group supervision.
The Practicum experience is designed and supervised by the instructor of EDCE 802F and by the field site supervisor. Field site supervisors are required to have a minimum of a master's degree, licensure as a & family counselor in South Carolina, (Supervisory licensure is preferred), membership in IAMFC, AAMFT, SCAMFT etc. and a minimum of two years of counseling experience at the appropriate level. The site supervisor is expected to acquaint the student with the site and its activities, meet weekly with the student to discuss progress, participate in an evaluation of the student, and consult with the university supervisor about the student's progress.
The university supervisor is expected to provide weekly individual and group supervision with other students in similar field experiences, consult with the site supervisor about the student's progress, assure that all required field experience forms are submitted, assure that all students complete all Practicum requirements, assess student counselor competencies (see Form D), and submit grades for the students to the departmental secretary at the end of the semester.
Internship The Internship students are to have one hour per week in supervision with the site supervisor, and one and onehalf hours per week in group supervision.
The Internship site supervisor is expected to assist in acquainting the student with the site and its personnel, facilitate the student's accomplishment of the course requirements, meet once a week with the student to discuss progress, participate in a midterm and final evaluation of the student (see Form I) and consult with the university supervisor about the student's progress.
The university supervisor is expected to provide individual supervision for each student, conduct group supervision with students in similar field experiences, critique audio or video counseling tapes for each student, consult with the host about the student's progress, assure that all required Internship forms are submitted, attend all university meetings of supervisors, assure that students complete all Internship requirements, assess student counselor competencies (see Form I), and submit grades for the students and the student logs documenting and chronicling their Internship experiences with the departmental secretary at the end of the semester.
Procedures and Steps (Summary)
Step 1. Submit application for Practicum or Internship to the Counselor Education office (Wardlaw 266) by the deadline.
Step 2. Submit letter of approval along with a Site Placement Form to MCFC faculty member.
Step 3. You will be assisted in selecting a site and supervisor, or in the event that there is not a designated site or supervisor in your area, you will contact the coordinator of Counselor Education and secure a Site Supervisor Application Form.
Step 4.Obtain professional malpractice insurance. Documentation must be presented in the first seminar class prior to beginning to see clients.
Step 5. You may visit your site prior to the first week of class. You may participate in staff orientation, training and other "non-direct" service activities. However, you cannot begin to see clients until the first week of class.
Step 6. Become familiar with your responsibilities and assist your site supervisor in
understanding their responsibilities, as described in this handbook.
Step 7. If, after receiving your letter of approval, you have an emergency situation, which
makes it impossible to proceed with the Practicum or Internship, notify the coordinator immediately. You must reapply (by the deadline) for the semester you choose for readmission.
FORM A
MCFC SITE PLACEMENT FORM
DIRECTIONS
1.Students must bring their letter of acceptance to the Practicum/Internship from the Counselor Education Coordinator along with this MCFC Site Placement Form to the assigned MCFC faculty.
2.Students select a host counselor/site supervisor from the approved list, pending availability. To have a new site and supervisor approved, see Form B.
3.For Practicum/Internship to be successful, the responsibilities stated in the attached document need to be implemented.
Student's Name:
Home Phone: Work Phone:
Email Address:
Mailing Address:
StreetCityStateZip
Site Name:
Site Address: Street City State Zip
Phone Number/Fax:
Email:
Site Supervisor:
Site Supervisor’s Email Address:
USC ID:
I have reviewed the Roles and Responsibilities statements attached to this form, and I agree
to accept them in my work as a student counselor for the, 20 semester.
Student Signature Date
Return To: Counselor Education Program OfficeApproved:
Wardlaw 266 Denied:
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
FORM B
APPLICATION TO SERVE AS SITE SUPERVISOR
Ed.S. Program in Counselor Education
Specialization in MCFC
Name: Date:
Clinic/Business Name:
Site Address:
StreetCityStateZip
Site Phone/Fax:
Email:
1.Formal Training
Universities AttendedDegreeDatesMajor
Completion of graduatelevel Practicum/Internship in family counseling? YESNO
2.Certification/Licensure
Indicate which of the following licenses you currently hold.
SC LMFT License #: SC LMFTS License #:
SC LPC License #: SC LPCS License #:
Other State Licenses:
3. Professional Identity