Internship Requirements

The CMHC internship must conform to the following minimum criteria: 

1. 600 onsite agency hours over at least four consecutive quarters.  At no time may CMHC students complete an internship in less than four quarters. 

2. 300 direct client contact hours. 

3. 50 hours of individual supervision with at least 12 hours of this supervision including direct observation (one-way mirror, co-therapy, videotape, or audiotape) of the student’s clinical work. The 12 hours of direct observation must be documented on the Supervision Observation Form (available on the MA Clinical Training project site on Sakai, and signed by the Onsite Supervisor). 

4. Students are required to follow the “Management of Electronic Client Records” if using video or audiotapes in class. These requirements should be discussed in Case Consultation within two weeks of the onset of each quarter. Videotaping of client sessions for class use is highly encouraged when allowed by the site. Videotaping at agencies for supervisory use is also acceptable. Audiotaping is acceptable for both classroom and agency use.  As of Summer Quarter 2019, AUS adopted Supervision Assist, a HIPAA and FERPA secure environment where students are able to record clinical work to share for consultation with their site and campus supervisors and consultation groups. Previous to Summer Quarter 2019 if a student chose to use a videotape for classroom learning purposes, the video was required to be on an encrypted camera or flash drive. During the Global Pandemic (2020 to present) many interns completed direct service hours with clients via telemental health platforms. The Supervision Assist tool has the capacity for students to record telehealth sessions within the tool or to upload video from other platforms for both in class consultation and close clinical supervision within the internship setting.

5. Site Supervisors must be credentialed with a master’s degree in the behavioral sciences, and be licensed as a Mental Health Counselor LMHC or equivalent (LMFT, LCSW, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, etc.). An internship setting should provide training in a range of assessment and treatment activities that will expand students’ current skills and knowledge. In other words, internships should provide students with new learning rather than be an opportunity for students to practice what they already know. A list of agencies with descriptions and contact information are available to students in the Supervision Sites Directory in Supervision Assist.  This information is also available on a website accessible via the Antioch Clinical Training Hub in Sakai. Where possible, each agency/site’s procedures for handling internship applications is included in these site directories. The Director of Clinical Training is readily available via email if students have questions. When preparing to apply for internships students should be prepared to send a letter of introduction and a resume outlining skills and experience, in anticipation of being invited for an interview. (This information is provided in more detail in COUN 5980: Internship Preparation, which students should plan to take 3-4 quarters before their anticipated quarter for beginning internship).

Finding an internship is similar to finding employment; students will want to know what the agency has to offer them, and what they have to offer the agency.  Additional suggestions are as follows:

Attend an Internship Fair. During the Internship Fairs (usually held during early in Fall and Winter quarters), students are given the opportunity to network with internship sites. Onsite supervisors and other agency staff sit at tables or staff Zoom rooms and CMHC students are encouraged to introduce themselves and inquire about that site.

Take Internship Prep three to four quarters before internship. Students are required to take COUN 5980 Internship Prep 3-4 quarters before internship. This learning activity provides students with an orientation to the requirements and to protocols for securing and completing the CMHC internship requirement. 

Schedule an advisor meeting (for internship attainment advice). Students should meet with their advisor three quarters prior to the quarter the student wants to begin an internship. Here the student should review their plan of study with their advisor to ensure they have completed all prerequisites or have a plan in place to do so.  The Academic Advisor will have  information about the process of securing an internship site and also be able to discuss readiness with the student. Students are also welcome to contact the Director of Clinical Training or Internship Coordinator to receive guidance at any point in their program. 

Students secure their own internship. CMHC students are responsible for identifying their own internship sites; that is, students must submit their resumes and/or applications, and compete for internship positions in these agencies. As noted, a list of sites can be found in Supervision Assist and on Sakai and students will receive guidance from their advisor, and from the Director of Clinical Training.

Determine internship sites to contact. The MA programs maintain a detailed database of approved agencies throughout the region that serve as internship sites for clinical students. This database is maintained by the Director of Clinical Training, MA and is updated as new information becomes available. At any one time, there are an average of 40-50 CMHC students in internship at agencies throughout the Pacific Northwest. 

Contact sites. Students should call to determine each agency's procedure for handling internship applications. Additionally, students should be prepared to send a letter of introduction, a resume outlining skills and experience, and if possible, arrange an interview. 

Interview at internship sites. It is important to treat each internship inquiry like a professional job interview. During the initial interview, students should take a copy of their resume with them, and be prepared to discuss the agency's philosophy, services provided, client populations served, previous work experiences, current level of skills, learning and supervision needs, expectations, professional interests, and future occupational goals. Some agencies will also want to know about a prospective intern’s understanding of theory or theoretical orientation. 

After Getting an Offer 

Check to see if we have an affiliation agreement. The Director of Clinical Training approves all internship sites and requires that the agencies sign an affiliation agreement that specifies the minimum conditions under which a CMHC intern can work in an agency. The agreement establishes the basic rights and responsibilities of the agency and the university. Students are not responsible for securing affiliation agreements. Students are, however, responsible for checking with the Director of Clinical Training to verify whether agreements are in place. If the site appears in Supervision Assist, it is highly likely there is a current affiliation agreement.

Make sure the onsite supervisor can provide adequate supervision. The student must verify that the supervisor is able and willing to provide adequate supervision. Onsite supervision should be obtained at a rate of no less than one hour a week and can include individual and/or two students to one supervisor triadic supervision. The Onsite Supervisor will also be required to directly observe the student’s clinical work (in-person or audio/video recording). For a list of approved supervisors refer to supervisors listed in Supervision Assist. If a supervisor does not appear in the Supervision Assist, the Director of Clinical Training will need to verify the proposed supervisor meets criteria for approval.

Complete the Internship Learning Contract. After a student secures an internship position, the student must negotiate an internship learning contract. In this contract, each party agrees to the terms of the internship including such conditions as specific work hours, designation of the parameters of internship tasks, and supervision. All contracts must be signed by the Onsite Supervisor, and the student’s advisor. Beginning in FAll 2022 this contract will be available as a fillable form in Supervision Assist where student and site will have access to complete and sign the form.

Schedule an advisor meeting (for internship approval). Prior to being able to register for internship the student must schedule a meeting with the student’s advisor to go over the student’s credit report and ensure that all requirements have been met. At this meeting the following should occur: 

• Advisor confirms the form for 20-hour Personal Therapy Requirement  is in the student’s file).

• Advisor signs the Pre-Internship Advisor Meeting Form if the student’s status is appropriate to move on to internship and places this in the student’s digital file..

Keep copies of documents. Students should keep a copy of all required documentation for their records and in case the originals are lost. 

Students cannot see clients until week 1 of “Internship & Case Consultation.” Although students can attend trainings, meetings, and other non-client-related activities, students cannot treat clients or count clinical hours until week one of  of their first quarter of “Internship & Case Consultation.”

Internship Components

The Director of Clinical Training serves as a liaison between the student, the internship site, and Antioch University. The Director of Clinical Training offers information for academic advisors and students regarding internships in psychology and counseling. While placement is subject to approval by both the Faculty Advisor and Director of Clinical Training, it remains the responsibility of the student to locate an agency site. All students in clinical training are required to have liability coverage, which they have as part of their student membership in the American Counseling Association.

Affiliation Agreement 

The MA Clinical Training Office secures an affiliation agreement with any agency that provides internship experiences to AUS degree program students. The agreement delineates basic rights and responsibilities of the agency and the university. Students are not responsible for securing affiliation agreements, however, students are responsible for checking with the Director of Clinical Training to verify whether agreements are in place and up-to-date. If there is no current agreement, one must be secured by AUS prior to internship contract signing. 

Internship Contract 

The student completes the Internship Learning Contract consistent with the terms and conditions agreed upon in discussions with the internship agency. The student then signs the contract and obtains the signature of the Onsite Supervisor. If the Onsite Supervisor is not included on the list of supervisors in Supervision Assist, the student attaches a copy of the Onsite Supervisor’s resume/vitae and current license, and presents these materials to the Director of Clinical Training for approval. Once approved by the Director of Clinical Training, the student retains a copy for their personal files, provides a copy to the Onsite Supervisor, and submits the signed original, together with a copy of the vitae and current license, to the MA Clinical Training Office. Students are responsible for maintaining their own copies of all contracts and hours logs. It is strongly recommended that students are vigilant in this regard, as this data may be requested of you from a licensing board, depending upon which state you apply for licensure. 

As discussed previously, AUS uses a supportive software platform called Supervision Assist to aid students and Antioch in safely securing all documentation of clinical experiences to include activity logs, learning contracts, HIPAA and FERPA secure audio/video recordings, and site supervisor evaluations. All students admitted Summer 2019 or later will be required to subscribe to this platform for a one-time subscription fee upon taking “Communications and Counseling Skills,” and to retain this membership for their use for the entirety of their program and after completion of their degree. Students will have access to this information after graduation as they proceed towards licensure.

There is an information folder for Supervision Assist, located in the Sakai Clinical Training Hub in Resources, that includes a more in-depth description of the tool and how students will use it throughout their program. As an Antioch student, upon admission you should automatically have access to the Clinical Training Hub. (It should appear in your list of sites on Sakai as: AUS MA Clinical Training Hub.)

Internship Syllabus 

At the beginning of the internship, the student should present the Onsite Supervisor with a Case Consultation and Internship Syllabus. New supervisors will also need to be oriented to Supervision Assist, including how to approve hours and complete the CMHC Onsite Supervisors Quarterly Assessment,and Direct Observation Form, reflecting the learning goals and activities for the internship placement. During their first supervisory meeting, the Onsite Supervisor and the student should review these forms, along with the syllabus for “Internship & Case Consultation” to confirm the various skill areas that will be evaluated and the specific requirements related to the use of client feedback. Students should also familiarize themselves with the appropriate and coordinating Quarterly Case Presentation at the beginning of each quarter and discuss this assignment in detail with their supervisor.

Case Consultation, Supervision, and Feedback 

While engaging in clinical work at their internship site(2) students are required to enroll in COUN-6003: Case Consultation and Internship. This course is designed to provide students with professional supervisory mentorship, peer consultation, and academic support as they carry out clinical work at their internship site. The course also serves as the last evaluative “gateway” through which students must pass before graduation. This course requires a commitment of 2.5 classroom hours per week. 

The Instructors for Case Consultation and Internship are the faculty of record and are responsible for granting credit for the course and should confirm the accuracy and documentation of internship hours (logged, tallied and stored in the student’s Supervision Assist account). The instructor and Onsite Supervisor openly share information about the student’s progress and clinical work. They confer throughout the quarter to monitor and evaluate the quality of student clinical work, as needed. Finally, all students, Onsite Supervisors and instructors hold a triadic meeting in the second half of the quarter to check in on student progress, review student goals, and evaluate the student’s clinical work. These meetings are to be scheduled by the student and may either take place in-person, via Zoom, or over the phone, depending on schedules/availability. The Director of Clinical Training may also be directly involved in assessing student internship experiences.

COUN 6003 students will receive a summative evaluation of their academic and counseling performance and ability to apply knowledge via the end of the quarter narrative evaluation, completed by the instructor, who has been facilitating clinical supervision in the Case Consultation and Internship course. This evaluation is the point where students will receive credit (or not). The evaluation will note the student’s level of acquired competency (Below/Required/Intermediate/Advanced) for the course and assess the student’s five areas of Professional Core Competencies (PCC), with subsidiary Skill or Knowledge Domains (SKD), to be demonstrated in each course and throughout their graduate counseling or therapy experience with peers, faculty, clients, and colleagues. The instructors will use the Site Supervisor Evaluation to compile and support this summative feedback. Internship is a developmental process and students in internship quarter one are not eligible for an advanced competency. This is reserved for students in internship sections, 2, 3, 4 & 5. 

In COUN 6003: Case Consultation and Internship, students will receive formative evaluations both verbally and in writing regarding their counseling performance and ability to apply knowledge from their instructor.

In COUN 6003: Case Consultation and Internship, the faculty member provides group supervision, (averaging 2.5 hours per week, with no more than a 6 student to 1 faculty member ratio) discussing counseling practice and issues that may arise in the students’ clinical internship sites, where the students are engaged in providing counseling services to individuals, families, couples, and co-leading a counseling or psychoeducational groups (CACREP Section 3E: In addition to the development of individual counseling skills, during either the practicum or internship, students must lead or co-lead a counseling or psychoeducational group). In COUN 6003: Case Consultation and Internship,  the instructors give formative verbal feedback in the group supervision setting, and individually as needed. 

Written formative and summative feedback will be given on the required course assignments to include a quarterly formal in-class case presentation and accompanying case summary and analysis, a quarterly site report, and, in the fourth quarter, a final reflection. The students can receive written formative feedback from the faculty and peers via rubrics and peer feedback forms compiled during their case presentation and made available to them after the presentation.

On site, the internship Onsite Supervisor provides clinical supervision to the student (averaging 1 hour per week, with ratios ranging from 1:1 [individual] to 1:2 [triadic]), specific to the students’ cases and where observation of their work occurs. Students are given formative feedback, both verbally and in writing, informed by student self-report and the direct observation of their counseling work with the clients they are providing service to in their internship sites.

Students receive formative feedback verbally during clinical supervision meetings with their site supervisor. The Onsite Supervisor provides summative feedback via an end of quarter assessment reported to the COUN 6003 Case Consultation and Internship instructor, who integrates these evaluations into the student’s end of the quarter narrative evaluation. 

The Internship & Case Consultations Instructors will meet the CACREP requirements as follows:

The instructor is a counselor education program faculty member or a student supervisor who is under the supervision of a counselor education program faculty member.  Counselor education program faculty members serving as individual/triadic or group practicum/internship supervisors for students in entry-level programs have (1) relevant experience, (2) professional credentials, and (3) counseling supervision training and experience.

Doctoral students serving as individual/triadic or group practicum/internship supervisors for students in entry-level programs must (1) have completed CACREP entry-level counseling degree requirements, (2) have completed or are receiving preparation in counseling supervision, and (3) be under supervision from counselor education program faculty.

The internship Site Supervisors will meet the CACREP requirements as follows:

Site supervisors have (1) a minimum of a master’s degree, preferably in counseling, or a related profession; (2) relevant certifications and/or licenses; (3) a minimum of two years of pertinent professional experience in the specialty area in which the student is enrolled; (4) knowledge of the program’s expectations, requirements, and evaluation procedures for students; and (5) relevant training in counseling supervision.

Antioch University Director of Clinical Training, and the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, will provide:

1. Orientation, consultation, and professional development opportunities conducted by counselor education program faculty to site supervisors. 

2. Written supervision agreements which define the roles and responsibilities of the faculty supervisor, site supervisor, and student during practicum and internship. When individual/triadic practicum supervision is conducted by a site supervisor in consultation with counselor education program faculty, the supervision agreement must detail the format and frequency of consultation to monitor student learning.

Supervision and Documentation

Supervision

Students must engage in weekly supervision with Onsite Supervisors and weekly consultation with a COUN 6003 Case Consultation and Internship instructor during class, during which students present clinical cases for discussion and feedback. Over the course of the internship, students will receive no less than 50 hours of individual supervision from Onsite Supervisors, and no less than 90 hours of consultation from their “Internship and Case Consultation” class. 

Videotaped Observation 

CMHC students are encouraged to obtain as much direct observation of their clinical work as possible. Students are required to conduct face-to-face (to include telehealth platforms) client sessions. In order for both the site supervisor and the Case Consultation and Internship Instructor to provide supervision, it is preferable and sometimes required that the student make video or audio available for evaluation and consultation. These client session video or audiotape are also used in quarterly formal case presentations, in COUN 6003 Case Consultation and Internship. Permission to video or audio tape must be secured in writing from the client. Prior to the adoption of Supervision Assist, students were required to use an encrypted camera or encrypted flash drive for transport to class if using video. Supervision Assist will store video on a secure server. If a student’s agency does not have a form for clients to sign giving permission to record, one may be found on the MA Clinical Training Hub. Due to confidentiality laws, students might not receive permission to video or digitally tape a client session, or might not have access to a secure means of transporting the recording to the university. In these cases, audiotaping is acceptable with the following conditions: 

1. The student must identify between 15-20 minutes of the session and transcribe this. 

2. Transcriptions must be shared in the COUN 6003 Case Consultation and Internship session in order to successfully complete the assignment as outlined in the syllabus. 

Note: as of summer 2019, AUS has adopted Supervision Assist as a tool for video and audiotaping clinical work in a HIPAA and FERPA secure environment for consultation with site and campus supervisors and consultation classes. The above permissions and client privacy safeguards (including using encrypted devices only) will still apply.

Required Documentation

CMHC Logs on Supervision Assist 

To document client contact and supervision hours, the CMHC student must log client contact, supervision, and other activities in their Supervision Assist account and submit the CMHC Log Form to the Onsite Supervisor for approval signatures on a regular basis. Access to this log provides the Case Consultation instructor, the student’s academic advisor, and the Director of Clinical Training with a quarterly current review of the intern’s experience and progress. A total of 600 documented internship hours (300 direct client contact) is required for matriculation from the CMHC program. Direct client contact hours include

• Counseling sessions

• Intakes

• Wrap around meetings with the client present

• Group counseling

• Phone calls involving the clinical treatment (or crisis intervention) of the client

• Co-counseling

At the end of each quarter, the student and the COUN 6003 Case Consultation and Internship instructor can verify the student’s total hours and progress by viewing the student’s Supervision Assist account, including confirming that the site supervisor has approved all hours and activities taking place at the internship site.

Internship Hours Summary Form 

The Case Consultation instructor reviews this record quarterly to document internship hours in the assessment of student work submitted to the Registrar through Self Service. It is required that students save all original documents should they be needed in the future. SAPCFT neither stores nor takes responsibility for such documentation. Students will have access to their logs in Supervision Assist post-graduation. There is also the option to print/download a summary report of all activities to save separately for their records. (Prior to the adoption of Supervision Assist the following was required: The Onsite Supervisor’s signature on this form serves as verification of the student’s cumulative internship and supervision hours.)

A total of 50 supervision hours are required during the internship. The expectation is that students are receiving an average of 1 hour of clinical supervision per week; 1:1 or 1:2. This includes all on-site supervision as well as group supervision experience during case consult class when students are making formal case presentations.

(Prior to the adoption of Supervision Assist, the following was required: At the end of each quarter, a signed CMHC Log Form, Internship Hours Summary Form and Onsite Supervisors Quarterly Assessment are to be submitted to the Case Consultation Instructor. Each of these forms and Guidelines for Using the CMHC Internship Hours Summary and CMHC Log Form is available to the CMHC student online in the MA Clinical Training Hub on Sakai. These forms will continue to be available for use as needed.)

Supervision Observation Form 

To monitor student progress, Onsite Supervisors are required to conduct 3 to 4 sessions of supervision per month that are based on direct observation of a student’s clinical work. Direct observation is defined as face-to-face supervision involving audiotape, videotape, or live observation (co-therapy, one-way mirror, or review of video submitted via Supervision Assist) of a session.  

Examples are as follows:

• If a fully licensed clinician other than the student’s assigned supervisor directly observes the student’s work, this can be documented using the Direct Observation Form, which is available in Supervision Assist. This form must be submitted to the student’s Onsite Supervisor and discussed with the supervisee in order for the observation to be counted in the direct observation hours. The following steps must be taken: 

• A fully licensed clinician observes the intern’s clinical work in-person (e.g., co- therapy session, group therapy, via recording filed in Supervision Assist);

• Given enough clinical observation data, that clinician completes the Clinical Observation Form;

• The form is given to the assigned onsite supervisor;

• The onsite supervisor determines that the form is sufficient for direct observation supervision (i.e., the data is sufficiently descriptive, etc.);

• During supervision, the onsite supervisor reviews the data on the form and provides supervisory feedback;

• That supervision meeting can be counted as one hour of “Onsite Supervision Based on Direct Observation.”

Because direct observation is a required part of the supervision process in the CMHC program, all audio and video should be HIPAA compliant and conform to the policies of the particular internship site. Minimally, this requires encryption and password protection of all electronic data and computer systems. Supervision Assist is a HIPAA and FERPA secure environment.

Portable electronic devices such as laptops, PDAs, smart phones, or flash drives cannot be used for storing or transporting confidential information about internship clients unless that information is encrypted. Students should check with their internship onsite supervisor about obtaining the appropriate devices (e.g., encrypted flash drives) for the recording and transporting of clinical data for case consultation in the CMHC Program. Any recordings made via Supervision Assist will not be stored on the device, but saved to the student’s secure Supervision Assist account.

HIPAA violation penalties for noncompliance are based on the level of negligence and can range from $100 to $50,000 per violation and can also involve criminal charges and jail time. Many Patient Health Information (PHI) data breaches are the result of theft. Therefore, encryption of PHI is critical to avoid data breaches and the resulting fines. For example, the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services was fined $1,700,000 for a stolen unencrypted USB hard drive. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates were fined $1,500,000 for a stolen unencrypted laptop with PHI. 

Onsite Supervisors Quarterly Assessment 

Evaluation of the learning that occurs in a student’s internship is an integral part of the learning process. In lieu of grades for evaluating student performance, AUS uses quarterly competency assessments. As part of this competency assessment, Onsite Supervisors complete the Onsite Supervisors Quarterly Assessment via Supervision Assist.  

The Onsite Supervisor is encouraged to write supplemental comments in the spaces provided after each category of student performance specified on the form to augment the ratings in each area. A Required Competency rating indicates satisfactory performance at the intern’s appropriate training level. This form is used throughout the quarter to periodically gauge the progress of student work in the various clinical areas. A combination of both structured ratings and narrative commentary provide the instructor with the necessary evaluative data to assess a student’s clinical training experience, progress, and professional development. 

(Prior to summer 2019: At the beginning of each quarter, the student provides the Onsite Supervisor with the Onsite Supervisors Quarterly Assessment, which is used to evaluate the student’s work for each quarter of internship. The hard copy version of this form will continue to be available as needed in the Clinical Training Hub on Sakai.)

Onsite Supervisors complete the assessment and submit it via Supervision Assist by or during the ninth week of the quarter. The Case Consultation and Internship instructor will be able to read the evaluation once it is submitted. Students should have also completed logging all of their hours accrued at internship by the end of week 10 of the quarter, so that their site supervisor can also approve those hours for the Case Consultation Instructor to review.

Students are granted or denied credit based upon an amalgamation of the Onsite Supervisor’s and the instructor’s evaluation of performance at the internship site. The “Internship” portion of the “Internship & Case Consultation” narrative evaluation is largely based on the Site Supervisor’s evaluation of the student and includes verbatim feedback from the Site Supervisor. The “Case Consultation” section of the “Internship & Case Consultation” narrative evaluation is wholly based on the student’s classroom conduct, academic performance and participation as a student in the on-campus portion of the course. 

(Prior to summer 2019: Onsite Supervisors complete the assessment during the ninth week of the quarter, and students submit it week ten, along with the required signed CMHC Internship Hours Summary, and CMHC Log Form. In accordance with SAPCFT guidelines stated on the forms, documents are to be sealed in an agency envelope, the seal is signed, and the envelope is given to the student intern for submittal. http://www.antiochseattle.edu/currentstudents/classes/fall/policies.pdf )

Student evaluation of Site and Onsite Supervisors (semi-Quarterly)

Via their Supervision Assist account, students will be asked to log an evaluation of their internship site and their onsite supervisor at least twice during their internship year. This activity will be prompted as a required assignment in the student’s Case Consultation and Internship course. These evaluations are not viewable by the site or the site supervisor, providing the student a private opportunity to communicate evaluative information to their Case Consult Instructor and Director of Clinical Training. 

Trouble Getting Hours 

When interns receive less than average client hours in their first quarter, interns naturally worry about not being able to complete their internship within 4 quarters. This anxiety often prompts the intern to consider quitting their current internship and looking for another internship. If a student is experiencing this anxiety, it is recommended the student consult with their Case Consultation and Internship instructor, their academic advisor, and/or Director of Clinical Training. Often, interns will receive very fewer hours in the first quarter, and then build up to a robust caseload. Switching to a different site is usually unnecessary.  

However, in rare cases, some interns continue to not receive enough client hours after the first quarter. There are various reasons why interns do not get the hours they deserve: 

• The supervisor does not trust the intern with clients.

• The supervisor thinks the intern is overloaded and will harm clients if given more clients. 

• The supervisor does not notice the intern. 

• The supervisor is not advocating for the intern. 

• There are too many interns. 

• There are not enough clients. 

• Someone within the intake process is a barrier for some reason.

 If an intern is not receiving enough client hours, the intern can attempt the following options in sequence: 

1. The student should adopt an attitude that the student deserves client hours. The student is providing time and energy for free (usually), and the internship site is expected to honor their commitment to taking interns by providing client hours. 

2. Students should talk with their supervisors. Students might need to talk about it each week at supervision. This step should work, since supervisors should be advocates for the student. Students should remember to cultivate a working relationship with their supervisor, so the supervisor is more likely to advocate for the student. The student can also talk with the intake personnel, such as the front desk worker or the intake clinician. If they know the student needs clients, the student is more likely to get new clients. 

Additional suggestions are:

Get an advocate. Students can ask their advisor or Case Consultation Instructor and/or Director of Clinical Training to call or email the onsite supervisor and advocate for the student. This often works. This might require more than one communication. 

Consider 5 quarters. Students can consider a 5-quarter internship. Sometimes life circumstances are such that the accrual of hours is taking longer. If students are considering this option, they should check in with their Case Consult Instructor and the Director of Clinical training and their academic advisor. 

Consider a secondary internship. Often interns prematurely consider this step before putting effort into the previous steps. But if a student has exhausted all previous options, then the student could consider getting a secondary internship. Secondary internships are discouraged because they add much more work and stress for the student: with two internships, students have two commutes, two staff meetings, two supervision meetings, two sets of paperwork, etc. 

Start over. If that doesn’t work, students can consider quitting their internship and starting over. Obviously, this is a last resort. This step is almost never required since the above steps are effective in the vast majority of cases. Students concerned they are going to terminate their internship, should contact the Director of Clinical Training immediately. Leaving an internship without consultation could result in academic jeopardy. 

Problems or Concerns 

Faculty advisors have access to intern quarterly assessments, and may become involved in problem solving if issues arise with fit or performance. A student’s first level of contact for problem resolution is always the Onsite Supervisor, and issues should be addressed sooner rather than later. The Case Consultation and Internship instructor and the Director of Clinical Training are each valuable resources to the student, and will be the first level of contact for the Supervisor (beyond the student) to address concerns regarding performance. If academic concerns arise, the advisor will notify the student; however, it is suggested that if the student is concerned about academic progress, the student will also seek out the assistance and guidance of both the instructor and their advisor. If continued problems arise and/or a problematic pattern is observed, the intern will take responsibility in creating a Professional Development Plan in consultation with the faculty advisor, and Program Chair, as directed. 

In the event of a withdrawal from an internship site, whether initiated by the student, the internship site, or the CMHC program, the student may be administratively withdrawn from COUN 6003: ase Consultation and Internship until the student secures another internship placement. If a student is dismissed from an internship, they may receive No Credit (NC) for the class for that quarter. Furthermore, if the student is withdrawn due to the concerns of either the program or the internship site, the student may be required to re-enroll in the first quarter of the course. In such cases, accumulated hours to the point of withdrawal may be forfeited. Various disciplinary actions appropriate to the situation may be taken, including but not limited to academic probation, loss of credit, loss of client-contact hours, required leave of absence, and termination. If a student is not able to successfully complete their internship year, they will be administratively withdrawn from the program. 

Keep Instructors Informed

COUN 6003 Case Consultation and Internship instructors serve as the CMHC Program's direct liaisons with the internship sites, the students’ onsite supervisors, and faculty advisors. As such, it is vital that the instructors be kept informed about relevant issues and concerns pertaining to the clinical work at the students’ internship sites. In some cases, instructors might suggest that students take up their concerns directly with their onsite supervisors, and will be available for follow-up or additional contact with onsite supervisors as needed. In other cases, instructors might initiate a contact with students’ onsite supervisors or other agency personnel on their behalf, or may refer the matter to the Director of Clinical Training or to students’ faculty advisors for consultation and/or problem solving. In any case, it is essential that students keep their instructors fully informed during their internship experience. As a result, students’ concerns can be better addressed in a timely fashion and difficulties can be resolved so that their internship experience contributes positively to their professional growth.

In-Home Counseling 

Students who are looking to attend a site with in-home services must contact the Clinical Team (Clinical Director(s) and Practicum and Internship Coordinator) for approval. Students and their potential supervisor will schedule a meeting with the clinical team to review documentation such as a safety plan and communication tree as well as reviewing additional training that the student will receive.  

Students and their site supervisor must complete this pre-approval meeting and will then hear from the clinical team if the site is approved or not. 

If students are conducting in-home counseling without approval from the clinical team, they will be at risk for being removed from Practicum or Internship.