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School Counseling and Clinical

RequirementsTUTORIAL

Rev. August 2012

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School Counseling and Clinical Requirements

You must satisfactorily COMPLETE two supervised counseling experiencesPracticum

School Counseling – 100 hours experience within a schoolClinical Mental Health Counseling – 100 hours experience within a counseling setting/Concordia Counseling Clinic

InternshipPass Type 73 Exam (School Counselors) prior to entering internship600 hours in your specialization area

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First we will start with the Practicum

CED 6930 Practicum in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

CED 6920 Practicum in School Counseling

You must complete the practicum for the program you are enrolled in.

These experiences will allow you to practice the skills and techniques you’ve learned in practical, professional and supervised settings.

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Please see the tutorial labeled “Applying for School Counseling Practicum” for your specific program of study.

1. Log-in to Concordia Connect

2. Click on the “Resources” tab

3. On the search bar, type:

“School Counseling Practicum Forms”

OR

“Clinical Mental Health Counseling Forms”

As a reminder, you must apply at least one full semester in advance for practicum. Approval to register for practicum comes from your advisor. All your course work (with the exception of your elective or Research course) must be completed before you begin practicum.

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Before you Begin at your Site

You must obtain professional liability insurance and forward proof to the Director of Clinical Training (DCT).

The professional organization you belong to will often offer low cost insurance.

For more information, contact your advisor or the DCT.

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Once at your Site

Remember, this is a professional position, whether you are paid or not.You must dress and act as a professional.

No profanityNo discrimination in action or wordKeep your supervisor aware of what you are doingUnderstand the procedures at your specific site

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Can You get “Fired”?

Your site can “fire” you for unacceptable behavior.If you are terminated from your site, you will need to apply for practicum or internship for the next semester. You will not be able to change sites mid-semester.The Counseling Faculty may recommend you undergo some corrective action (counseling/education) before you are allowed to reapply.

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Clinical Training Students Do Have Rights

Each site has a grievance procedure, if you are concerned about actions/activities being conducted at the site:

Notify your Concordia Supervisor

Follow the agency/school grievance process

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Practicum Objectives

To develop a better understanding of the roles and functions of the school/agency counselorBe able to identify various professionals and roles they play as part of a team effort for school/agency counselingTo apply knowledge and skills learned to working individually and in groups with clients

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Practicum Objectives (continued)

Actively participate in the development and implementation of developmental and preventative programs

To become familiar with current methods, programs, and trends in school/agency counseling

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Site Supervisor RequirementsYour site supervisor must be approved by the

DCT, the Site Supervisor Qualification form can be located on CUC Connect.

At a minimum, your supervisor must:Possess a minimum of a Masters Degree in your program emphasis or closely related disciple.Possess State of Illinois Licensure (LCPC) or appropriate certification (Type 73)Have at least two years professional experienceProvide you with sufficient experiencesProvide written evaluation of your progressProvide a minimum of one hour per week of supervisionUnderstand the CUC program, expectations and requirements

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Practicum Supervision Requirements

You must attend group seminar/supervision by a university supervisor weekly for at least one and a half hours.Individual or Triadic supervision by university supervisor at least one hour a week.Participate in at least one hour of supervision by your site supervisor weekly.

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Practicum Required Documentation

Weekly reflection log

Hours log, initialed by your site supervisor and university supervisor on a weekly basis

A minimum of 7 Audio/video tapes of counseling sessions

to be reviewed with your faculty/triadic supervisor

About the Tapes

As noted, you will need a minimum of 7 “good” audio or visual tapes of you providing person centered counseling.

Review your skills text, you are rated on the basic skills such as paraphrasing, non-verbal, encouragers, reflecting…

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About the TapesYou will be meeting with your university supervisor to listen and review the tapes weekly.

In Supervision you will only be listening to excerpts from one tape per session, do not collect lots of tapes and expect to listen to them all at once. You will get feedback after the session to implement at the next counseling session.

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TapingBe sure a release is signed by the parent before you get any tapes.

Releases can be found in CUC Connect under the “Resources” tab:

Once again type:“School Counseling Practicum” forms

“Clinical Mental Health Counseling” formsNOTE: Forms are available in English, Polish & Spanish.

Talk to the parent in person before having them sign the release, don’t just send it home with the child.

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Practicum Completion Requirements

At least 100 hours of service:40 must be direct with at least 10 hours group counseling

Direct services means: direct interaction with a student/family in a counselor role.

– counseling; interventions; presentations on prevention; I.E.P.’s; family work etc…

Hours thinking about students or preparing a presentation or driving do not count!Hours spent in non-school counseling duties, teaching duties do not count.

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Practicum Completion Requirements

Consistent attendance at all practicum activities

Successful completion of all requirements (quality counseling tapes/reflection logs/hours logs, etc)

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Practicum Length

One full semester

A maximum of 10 hours per week count toward practicum

Minimum of 100 hours, 40 hours direct

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Completion of Practicum100 hours of service, 40 direct – your university supervisor will review your hours log to verify you have met the requirements.

4 Evaluations

University supervisor reviews all documents.

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In order to complete practicum:

The DCT must receive: Completed hours log

Your self evaluation

1 summary tape evaluation

Candidate Evaluation of Site Experience form

Evaluation and disposition form from your site supervisor

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Now, on to InternshipRegister in the appropriate course:

CED 6935 Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

ORCED 6925 Internship in School Counseling

If applicable, apply to the DCT for Internship. The application can be found at CUC Connect, under “Resources” tab.

Type: School Counseling Internship FormsOr

Clinical Mental Health Counseling Internship Forms

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Selection of an Internship Site

The selection of the Internship Site is done in collaboration between the student and the DCT.

Students often use the same site as they used for Practicum.The process to obtain an internship site is similar to the process for finding a practicum site (please see the respective tutorial).

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Internship Hours

You will be required to complete a minimum of 600 hours of service, of which at least 240 must be direct service with clients/students.

You can count all the required supervision toward your non-direct hours weekly.

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Internship Activities

Use the Internship Hours Log and have your supervisors initial it weekly.

You must have current professional liability insurance in effect at all times.

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Internship Objectives

Develop a sense of confidence in your ability to work as a counselor

Establish a professional identity as a counselor

Apply knowledge and skills to working individually and in groups with clients

Actively participate in the development and implementation of developmental and preventive counseling programs

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Finishing Internship

Not everybody finishes during the semester.Keep in contact with your university supervisor regularly if you need to extend your internship.You will not be able to graduate until your university supervisor indicates you successfully completed your internship.

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Evaluation and Grading

Evaluation of the practicum and internship experience rests with your university supervisor.

Your university supervisor will explain how you will be evaluated and graded, additionally it should be identified in the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.