Practicum and Internship Requirements

Required Practicum and Internship

All students complete a supervised practicum and internship that meet the requirements of the licensing board of the state in which they intend to practice professionally.

In order to ensure that all Counseling Psychology students maintain professional liability insurance throughout their entire graduate program, Prescott College provides a policy for all students. The fee associated with this insurance policy is paid each semester when the student enrolls.

Supervised Counseling Practicum

The three-credit counseling practicum is designed to facilitate refinement of counseling and interviewing skills and the development of new skills.  Through closely supervised one-to-one and group counseling experiences the student can expand his/her repertoire of counseling techniques and interpersonal relationship skills with opportunities to experience direct and specific feedback from a clinical supervisor.

The clinical training experience requires at least 300 hours at a suitable clinical agency, for a total of 3 semester credits. Clinical training must extend over at least 10 weeks of course time; clinical training hours cannot be accumulated at less than 6 hours per week, or more than 40 hours per week.  In addition to onsite training and clinical supervision experiences, all students are required concurrently to participate in at least 15 hours of group supervision with the Associate Faculty for Practicum and Internship or Designee.  The onsite clinical supervisor must hold a current license as a mental health practitioner and have 3 years of experience providing in the field of counseling.

Learning will be achieved through various means including: Moodle activities and assignments, experience, case discussion, reading and writing. Additional individual meetings between the practicum instructor and each individual student may also be arranged during the semester as needed. Furthermore, each student is expected to meet one hour per week with his/her on-site supervisor.

Supervised Counseling Internship

The Counseling Internship experience is the final and most comprehensive professional experience in a student’s counseling program.  It is an opportunity to synthesize and apply knowledge with supervised training at a site congruent with the student’s career goals while counseling clients’ representative of the ethnic, lifestyle, and demographic diversity in the community.  Through the sharing of experiences in both group and individual supervision, students refine previously learned skills in an increasingly autonomous role with clients.

This clinical training experience requires at least 600 hours at a suitable clinical agency, and is covered by six credits of this concurrent course.  The Internship can only begin after the successful completion of a Practicum, and is intended to reflect the comprehensive experience of a Mental Health Counselor. Each 300 hour block of clinical training must extend over at least 10 weeks of course time; clinical training hours cannot be accumulated at less than 6 hours per week, or more than 40 hours per week.

In addition to onsite training and clinical supervision experiences, all students are required concurrently to participate in at least 15 hours of group supervision with a Prescott College qualified faculty supervisor.  The onsite clinical supervisor must hold a current license as a mental health practitioner and have three years of experience the field.