From the moment you enter the program, you will be immersed in clinical work. Our training model exposes you to clinical practice while providing complementary academic coursework.
The Standard Curriculum is a two-year intensive program for students entering the Counseling field with academic and experiential background in psychology or human services and prior clinical experiences. Standard students complete a Practicum and Internship.
The Two-Plus Curriculum is designed for qualified students entering the Counseling field following a career in another discipline and/or with minimal academic and experiential background in psychology or human services. Two-Plus students participate in a summer intensive that prepares them to enter the field and engage successfully in the rigorous clinical training experiences that the program offers.
Practicum
Practicum students are required to accrue a minimum of 50 hours of face-to-face contact with clients and a minimum of another 150 hours of clinically related activities including but not limited to: supervision, workshops and trainings, record keeping, personal growth activities, etc., for a minimum of 200 total practicum hours.
The Practicum course, COUN 481-1 / 481-2 / 481-3 Supervised Practicum in Counseling, is designed to teach practicum trainees how to provide direct clinical service to clients and to apply a basic repertoire of clinical skills. All Practicum students train at one of three clinics at The Family Institute. Students obtain a general introduction to supervision and the supervisory relationship. Students meet weekly with an assigned clinical supervisor.
Students participate in Practicum experiences for approximately nine hours per week.
| Description of Experience | Minimum Total Hours Required |
|---|---|
| Face-to-Face Client Hours |
50 hours minimum required, with the following guidelines:
|
| Triadic Supervision | Triadic supervision is when the supervisor and two students participate in supervision together |
| Reflective Practice Supervision | Reflective Practice Supervision (RPS) is a group supervision experience designed to assist trainees in understanding the use of the self as a therapist |
| Record Keeping | Record keeping hours include those activities that pertain to paper or computer-based clinical behavioral health records as well as review of digitally recorded sessions |
| Personal Growth |
Personal growth hours include participation in professional organizations, seminars, Grand Rounds at The Family Institute, workshops or other activities that contribute to personal growth These hours also include attendance at conferences and giving presentations |
Students participate in Internship experiences for approximately 17 hours per week.
| Description of Experience | Minimum Total Hours Required |
|---|---|
| Face-to-Face Client Contact |
240 hours required, with the following guidelines:
Targets for accrual of hours:
|
| Individual Supervision |
Individual supervision is when the supervisor and the student participate in supervision together or when the supervisor and two students participate in supervision together (triadic supervision). Students meet weekly with their supervisors for the duration of the internship. |
| Group Supervision and/or Case Consultation |
The Case Consultation experience includes exploring of challenging or difficult cases, learning how to assess their therapeutic effectiveness and learning to articulate areas of concern that can be addressed in consultation in order to increase efficacy. Trainees may also participate in additional group supervision on-site while on internship. |
| Record Keeping |
Record Keeping hours include but are not limited to: record keeping; learning, scoring and interpreting assessment instruments; information and referral; in-service; staff meetings; research; reviewing recordings of counseling sessions; case-related consultation and case-related peer consultation. |
| Personal Growth |
Personal Growth hours include but are not limited to: participation in professional organizations, seminars, workshops or other activities that contribute to personal growth These hours also include attendance at conferences and giving presentations. |
| 600 total hours which includes a minimum of 240 direct client contact hours |