Applied Practice II-Counseling 545/523

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Dr. Shamshad Ahmed

Dr. Janet Muse-Burke

This course provides the initial practice counseling experience in a field placement situation. Sites for this experience must be approved by the instructor and must be appropriate to the career interests, skill level and program of study of the student.

Time Commitment:

• A minimum of one hundred (100) clock hours of on-site supervised experience will be required during an 8-12 week period.
• Forty (40) of these hours are to be in direct service contact (i.e.; individual, group clients, classroom guidance activities).
• Eight (8) of these direct contact hours are to come from long-term counseling relationships with two (2) clients for the purpose of on campus group and individual supervision sessions. The student is to see each client for eight (8) weekly appointments of at least 30 minutes.

Purpose

1. To develop the expertise of the counselor in-training in performing counseling, consulting and guidance experiences under supervision.

2. To provide an opportunity to perform, on a limited basis and under supervision, some of the activities that a regularly employed staff/faculty member in the setting would perform.

3. To allow the student to become familiar with a variety of professional experiences in addition to direct client contact.

Student Outcomes

This course is designed to provide the student with a closely supervised field counseling experience to facilitate further development as a professional counselor and prepare the student for a successful internship experience. In general, this course requires dedication, a willingness to risk new behaviors and experiment with new methods, assumptions of personal responsibility, and substantial amounts of emotional and physical energy.

As a result of successful completion of this course, students will:

1. Demonstrate a cogent and refined personal counseling style that is grounded in, but not limited to, basic counseling skills.
2. Appropriately apply basic principles of human growth, development and learning in counseling situations.
3. Demonstrate a clear and concise understanding of various counseling theories, techniques and procedures.
4. Explain the dynamics of individual behavior in the counseling relationship and recognize, if necessary, the need for change in attitudes and behavior.
5. Establish and maintain counseling relationships consistent with the Ethical Standards of the American Counseling Association, and the ethical standards associated with students' counseling specialty, for example, the American School Counselors Association or The National Rehabilitation Counselors Association.
6. Discern and implement the counseling mode most facilitative to the problem presented by the clients.
7. Demonstrate effective consultation strategies with respective school/agency personnel.
8. Establish and maintain a constructive, facilitative and ongoing relationship with clients and on-site staff through the use of differentiated interpersonal and professional skills.
9. Recognize personal and professional limitations and make proper referrals that will enhance the nature of the counseling relationship.
10. Demonstrate a personal lifestyle that is relatively open and experimental, but is consistent with personal values.
11. Demonstrate competence and skill in record keeping and case reporting.
12. Demonstrate sensitivity and respond appropriately to the needs and concerns of culturally different clients and individuals with disabilities.

Responsibilities

There are two aspects of this course: One is your time on site at your field placement, the other is regular meetings on campus to receive individual supervision from a faculty member and group supervision from your peers.

1. Students enrolled in Applied Practices II must accumulate a minimum of one hundred (100) clock hours at their chosen site during a period of no less than 8 weeks and no more than 12 weeks.

2. Students are expected to spend at least nine (9) hours per week at their practicum site. Of this time:

*2.25 hours should be spent in individual counseling

*2.25 hours should be spent in group counseling (and/or in the case of school counselors, classroom guidance activities.)

Video or audio tapes, case notes, and logs of direct contact must be made available to the course instructor as required. It is recommended that the student establish and maintain at least two clients for a minimum of eight (8) weekly 30 minute individual sessions each for the purpose of individual and group supervision during the semester.

3. All students are required to have:

• at least one hour (1) per week individual supervision by the site supervisor
• at least one hour (1) per week of individual supervision by the faculty supervisor*
• two hours (2) of group supervision per week.*

4. The remainder of the 100 hours on site will be spent in other activities appropriate to the setting.

*These hours of supervision are not counted towards the required 100 hours of on-site work.

What is Expected of the Student

Before

1. Obtain a practicum site* which:

1. is approved by the instructor.
2. is relevant to your career interests and program emphasis
3. employs a site supervisor who holds at least a masters degree in counseling or related field and has a minimum of two (2) years relevant professional experience.
4. has a site supervisor who agrees to provide at least one (1) hour of direct, individual supervision per week.
5. does not employ a friend, former teacher, or relative of the student in any position.

2. Complete a Site Registration Form and submit it to the course instructor prior to the beginning of work on-site. No hours accumulated at the site can be counted until the Site Registration Form is completed and accepted by the instructor.

3. Share and discuss this syllabus with your site supervisor prior to beginning your hours. It describes the role of the site supervisor and the Applied Practices II experience. Also share the Letter of Introduction and Explanation which has been drafted to assist you in obtaining a placement.

4. Secure appropriate criminal record clearances (See Sr. Eamon, in the Dept. of Education)

*To assist the student in identifying potential placements, a notebook containing site evaluations completed by previous Applied II students is available for review in the Counseling Dept. office. See the Dept. secretary for further details.

Also:

-Be aware that faculty will be calling your site supervisor before your placement begins so that they may introduce themselves as your instructor and faculty supervisor, and so they may respond to any questions that they may have.

-In some cases, students may accumulate additional hours during their placement for Applied Practices II that may be counted towards internship requirements. (For a complete description of this policy, click here.) School Counseling students may log an additional 100 hours. Mental Health students may log an additional 150 hours. In order to be approved for the logging of these additional hours, the following conditions must be met:

• The required 100 hours have already been satisfactorily completed.
• The student must have the Approval for Additional Practicum Hours signed by:
  • The site supervisor
  • The individual faculty supervisor
  • The faculty group supervisor (if different).

-Regular attendance for all group (12) and individual supervision sessions (8-10) on campus is expected until the end of the semester, regardless of when clock hours are completed. Those students missing one or more group supervision sessions risks a reduction in the final grade or failure in the course, regardless of the circumstances behind whatever absences occur.

During

1. Maintain weekly activity logs. (print/copy as needed) These must be signed by the site supervisor each week in order for the hours to be counted toward the total 100 required for the course. This is to be handed in to the instructor at each group supervision session. Logs which have not been verified by the site supervisor cannot be accepted. The accuracy of your log is your responsibility. Be careful in recording and totaling direct client hours, non-direct client hours, site supervision, and on-campus faculty supervision. Be aware that faculty supervision and group supervision do not count toward the total clock hours of this course.

2. Schedule a 20-30 minute telephone conference or personal meeting between the faculty supervisor and the site supervisor after 50 hours of on-site work has been completed. During this conference, your instructor and the site supervisor will discuss areas of strength and areas where continued growth are needed. Your site supervisor will also complete the mid-term evaluation and mail it directly to the course instructor on campus.

3. It must be kept in mind that the practicum student not only represents the profession of counseling, they also represent Marywood University. Therefore you need to function within the guidelines and realities of the setting. This requires that you:

a. Consider the site placement as an employment site.

b. Maintain a professional demeanor at all times.

c. Consider yourself a faculty/staff member in terms of behavior and obligations to the site.

4. If problems of any kind arise, the student is expected to bring them to the attention of the faculty supervisor immediately.

After

1. Upon completion of your practicum experience have your site supervisor complete the Practicum Completion Form and the Final Student Counselor Evaluation Form and return BOTH to the faculty supervisor by mail. It is the responsibility of the student to see that this is accomplished in a timely manner. Final grades will not be recorded until all documentation is complete and on file.

2. You are required to submit the Site Evaluation Form at the conclusion of your 100 hours.

3. Complete the Faculty Supervisor Evaluation Form at the conclusion of your 100 hours.

4. If remediation in basic counseling skills is deemed necessary, the student may be assigned additional course requirements beyond those general requirements cited above. This is at the discretion of the instructor.

Evaluation

There will be two types of evaluation from both the course instructor, and from the faculty supervisor:

1. Formative. This evaluation will come from your ongoing interactions between the instructor of this course, and your on-site supervisor. In terms of on-campus supervision, the student and faculty supervisor will focus on the following three areas:

• Intervention Skills-Facilitation of expression of feeling, responsive to important developments, recognizing significance of client statements and their relationship to presenting problems, etc. .
• Conceptualization Skills-Sensitivity to what is transpiring in the session with the client, both in terms of overt and covert behaviors and patterns.
• Personalization Skills-trusting insights, comfort levels, balanced presentation of self, establishing rapport, conveying warmth, etc.
• Administrative Skills-completion of appropriate documentation at appropriate times, as well as regular attendance at the site, on campus for group meetings, and individual supervision with the faculty supervisor.

2. Summative. Both the on-site supervisor and the course instructor will use separate copies of the Student Counselor Evaluation Form at the mid-term point (50 hours) of the semester. When 100 hours are completed, the on-site supervisor is to complete the Final Student Counselor Evaluation Form. Both will have a final conference with the student to discuss it. The student would be well advised to preview this evaluation form so that they understand evaluation criteria.

Final Course Grade: This will be determined by the individual faculty supervisor, in consultation with the on-campus group faculty supervisor and with input from the on-site supervisor.