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professional liability insurance coverage is needed for the practicum site, a copy can be
obtained from the Internship Coordinator. Students must have ALL documentation
completed and presented to the Internship Coordinator for approval prior to beginning any
training or clinical work at the practicum site. A site supervisor must be a licensed mental
health professional who meets the supervisory requirements based on COAMFTE
standards.
Students must register for a minimum of two terms of External Practicum as part of their
program requirements. Students will need to register for additional External Practicums if
needed to meet the clinical and supervision hour requirements. The DFT faculty teaching
the course will supervise the student in one-hour weekly face to face meetings or more as
needed. Faculty supervisors are AAMFT Approved Supervisors. Students also are required
to have regularly scheduled supervision with their site supervisor at their clinical site(s).
There are four important documents of information that students must provide the
Internship Coordinator
prior
to beginning their internship:
1.
The original signed copy of the internship contract.
2.
A resume of the on-site supervisor to demonstrate that he or she has a master’s
degree and is a licensed mental health professional or meets the equivalent criteria
and a copy of the AAMFT Supervisor Certificate, if applicable.
3.
A brochure or written information about the internship site.
4.
A written description from the on-site supervisor clearly identifying internship
duties and responsibilities.
Students should plan on acquiring a
minimum
of 15-20 client contact hours per week at
their site to ensure completion of the 500 required client-contact hours and supervision
hours within two required terms of External Practicum. Students may also take a third
external practicum to complete the required hours and to enhance their skills. Students
must adhere to their site contract requirements (i.e., school systems provide therapeutic
services throughout the school year and require student interns to sign a contract to
provide continuous services). In addition to the weekly client contact hours, students are
required to schedule additional time at the internship sites to complete paperwork, allow
for missed appointments, and become a valued member of their site. Thus, 20 hours a
week committed to the internship site is realistic. This time may include weekdays,
evenings, and/or weekends, depending on the site requirements. If students are unable to
commit the needed amount of time to a site, they will need to register and take additional
practicum(s) to accrue the required 500 clinical hours. Students must be supervised
throughout the practicums.
If students want more diverse experiences, or are not accumulating hours rapidly enough
at one internship site, they may develop an additional site. A contract for each site must
be completed prior to beginning at that site. The internship contract should be clearly
understood by all parties. No more than two internship sites are recommended and must
have their faculty supervisor’s, Internship Coordinator’s, and Program Director’s approval.
Practicums are evaluated by both the site supervisor and faculty supervisor each term,
utilizing the program's practicum evaluation forms. Students are invited to assess their
own performance as well. These forms, designed by faculty, closely assess clinical skills
and can be obtained online at the SHSS website at
under the M.S. in Family Therapy program.
