SOC-OFE Doctoral Students - Field Experience Manual:

What is Field Experience?

According to the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), field experience (or professional practice) “provides for the application of theory and the development of counseling skills under supervision. These experiences will provide opportunities for students to counsel clients who represent the ethnic and demographic diversity of their community.” Field experience consists of 3 200-hour internship experiences.

The field experience is designed to provide you with

• The opportunity to apply and integrate the knowledge acquired throughout your program.
• A real-world experience of direct practice.
• Mentoring from faculty and experts in your area of study.
• The chance to make a difference in your field.
• Proficiency with necessary skills for professional practice.

Internship is defined by CACREP as “a distinctly defined, entry-level, post-practicum, supervised fieldwork experience in which the student refines and enhances basic counseling or student development knowledge and skills, and integrates professional knowledge and skills.” The purpose of internship is to consolidate your knowledge, skills, and dispositions as competent and confident counseling professionals.

For more detailed information about internship, please refer to Section 4. Participating in Field Experience.

Supervision is a tutorial and mentoring form of instruction in which a supervisor monitors your activities during internship and facilitates the learning and skill development experiences associated with it. The supervisor monitors and evaluates your clinical work while monitoring the quality of services offered to clients. The types of required supervision are as follows:

• Individual Supervision—a tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the counseling profession (supervisor) and a counseling student.
• Triadic Supervision—a tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the counseling profession (supervisor) and two counseling students.
• Group Supervision—a tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the counseling profession (supervisor) and more than two counseling students.

To learn more about CACREP standards and definitions related to field experience and terms used to describe field experiences, see https://www.cacrep.org and Appendix A. Field Experience Terms.

CACREP defines several domains under which roles for professionals in Counselor Education and Supervision fall. You will complete your internship in at least 3 of these domains.

Counseling

For this domain, you will participate in an advanced clinical experience, such as pursuing a unique or advanced certification in a clinical specialty area. Your experience should meet some or all the following CACREP training standard(s):

• Incorporate advanced theories relevant to counseling,
• Demonstrate conceptualization of clients from multiple theoretical perspectives,
• Apply evidence-based counseling practices,
• Adapt methods for evaluating counseling effectiveness, and
• Incorporate ethical and culturally relevant counseling in multiple settings.

Provision of Counseling Services

• All direct client contact hours must be completed at the approved site and, if you are not licensed, the approved site supervisor or designee must be on site at all times that you are seeing clients.
• Direct client contact hours can include counseling over the phone (e.g., supportive counseling until the client can be seen in person); however, telephone counseling cannot be the primary source of counseling hours. You cannot count phone calls to clients for scheduling and other administrative purposes as direct hours (these hours should be logged under “Other Indirect Hours” on the Meditrek® time log). Telephone counseling needs to take place on site with the approved site supervisor or designee present. Students should not manage calls of any kind off site (e.g., crisis hotlines, cell phones).

Supervision

For this domain, you will provide clinical supervision grounded in your personal evidence-based supervision approach. Your experience should meet some or all the following CACREP training standard(s):

• Demonstrate skills of clinical supervision.
• Develop and apply a personal style of supervision.
• Employ the assessment of supervisees’ developmental level.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the application of modalities of clinical supervision and use of technology.
• Practice evaluation, remediation, and gatekeeping in clinical supervision.
• Incorporate legal and ethical issues and responsibilities in clinical supervision.
• Adapt culturally relevant strategies for conducting clinical supervision.

Teaching

For this domain, you will apply your pedagogical approach to your instructional role for graduate-level counseling students. Your experience should meet some or all the following CACREP training standard(s):

• Apply specific pedagogy and teaching methods in counselor education.
• Participate in instructional and curriculum design, delivery, and evaluations methods in counselor education.
• Develop effective approaches for online instruction.
• Employ screening, remediation, and gatekeeping functions relevant to teaching.
• Implement assessment of learning.
• Demonstrate ethical and culturally relevant strategies in counselor preparation.
• Practice mentoring in counselor education.

Research and Scholarship

For this domain, you will apply ethical and culturally relevant research and scholarship approaches to an identified research and scholarship project. Your experience should meet some or all the following CACREP training standard(s):

• Implement research designs appropriate to quantitative and qualitative research questions.
• Apply models and methods of instrument design.
• Produce professional writing for journal and newsletter publication.
• Create and submit professional conference proposal(s).
• Design and evaluate research proposals for a human subjects/institutional review board review.
• Produce and submit grant proposals and other sources of funding.
• Demonstrate ethical and culturally relevant strategies for conducting research.

Note: Students cannot count time spent on dissertation research toward the internship requirements for the PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision program.

Leadership and Advocacy

For this domain, you will apply ethical and culturally relevant leadership and advocacy practices. Your experience should meet some or all the following CACREP training standard(s):

• Participate in leadership and leadership development in professional organizations.
• Exhibit leadership in counselor education programs.
• Demonstrate knowledge of accreditation standards and processes.
• Practice leadership, management, and administration in counseling organizations and other institutions.
• Establish leadership roles and strategies for responding to crises and disasters.
• Incorporate the role of counselors and counselor educators advocating on behalf of the profession and professional identity.
• Apply models and competencies for advocating for clients at the individual, system, and policy levels.
• Implement strategies of leadership in relation to current multicultural and social justice issues.

To learn more about CACREP standards and definiteions related to field experience and terms used to describe field experiences, see https://cacrep.org and Appendix A. Field Experience Terms.