Become a Site Supervisor

Any immediate questions can be directed to:

Kim Douglas, Practicum & Internship Coordinator -- hattigk@pdx.edu or 503-725-4694.

The Portland State University Counselor Education Department appreciates your interest in potentially becoming an internship site for our program interns. Our interns specialize in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling, and Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling. We are continually looking for additional partnerships in the community.

This page is to acquaint potential internship site hosts with the Portland State University Counselor Education Department’s policies and procedures for the internship sequence. The specified guidelines describe the responsibilities of students, site supervisors, internship coordinator, and faculty liaisons. The establishment and maintenance of communication among these parties are seen as essential components of producing a quality clinical experience for all students in the Counselor Education Department. The internship experience allows the student to integrate the academic (theoretical knowledge) and clinical skills (practical applications) previously gained in their program. As the three term sequence progresses, the student is expected to demonstrate increased counseling skills and program expertise.

Internship Overview

Internship is the field based component of the Counselor Education Department’s clinical counseling experience. CACREP accreditation standards require that interns log a minimum of 600 hours during the full length of the student’s internship experience. The breakdown is as follows:

Total internship hours: 600 minimum (approximately 20 hours per week)

Direct client contact hours: 240 minimum

Individual supervision: one hour per week

Group supervision provided at PSU for internship students

Students will receive 90 minutes of group supervision at PSU each week. Supervisors will be asked to complete a quarterly formal evaluation, which is available through Tk20. Internship sites should provide a variety of experiences similar to the roles and responsibilities expected of a staff counselor at the site. There should be an emphasis on direct client service.

While enrolled in internship, the intern must maintain a primary commitment and responsibility to the staff and clients at the internship site. The intern is expected to be at the placement site during the weeks it is open, regardless of the PSU academic calendar. Any absences or time off must be mutually agreed up on between the intern and the site supervisor.

Students may already be employed by a school or agency and wish to do their internship at that site. Students may do so as long as all regular commitments of an internship site can be met. Internship experience should expand and enhance the intern’s current job responsibilities, not merely duplicate them. In addition, if an intern intends to establish an internship at his/her regular place of employment, and counseling responsibilities are not a usual part of the position, the intern must arrange specific, significant time blocks for internship specific work experience. 

Why host Portland State Counseling Interns?

PSU Counseling interns have completed two quarters of practicum counseling experience at the PSU Community Counseling Clinic. These interns have seen clients from the community and have been directly supervised during this experience. Supervisors observe the counseling sessions and all counseling sessions are recorded for review. Students receive feedback at the end of each practicum meeting. We believe this supervised practicum experience prepares our students well for internship and gives our interns a unique experiential advantage when they begin their internship.