WELCOME TO MHS-6800:
Supervised Practicum in Counseling
The practicum experience requires a minimum of 400 clock hours each semester, with a minimum of 160 clock hours of direct service work.
Besides collecting the hours at the practicum site you have the "practicum class". For me, it was on Saturdays for 3 hours. The first half of the class was devoted to group supervision; the rest was a lecture. The syllabus was quite intimidating. Besides the usual information about lectures and assignments, there was an additional section for “Practicum”. This included:
Develop a "Practicum Prospectus"
Develop and submit a written statement of individual learning goals for the practicum”,
Do a “Site presentation”
Do a “Case presentation” (including a recording of a session with a client)
Keep a weekly “logbook”; which includes a description of your field experiences, the date of the field experience, the amount of time spent, and your reflections about this experience.
The first day of the practicum experience felt like walking into a concert. You are excited, a bit nervous (the good-kind-of-nervous), proud of your outfit, and READY to start… Just that they are not that ready for you. Do not get me wrong, they NEED you. A lot of these sites operate because of interns. Yet, for them, your first day is a regular day at the office. The staff is trying to do their best to train you as effectively as they ca while handling the day-to-day events. To be honest, the "training" feels more like an orientation. The staff tells you where things are, what your duties entail, and the dos & don’ts. Afterwards, your supervisor gives you clients/groups, and that is pretty much it; you are all set to start at the deep end. Whatever concern you might have about a client, you reach out to your supervisor, but reality is you have to wing it.
Most of the cases my practicum site works with are court-mandated. Their population includes domestic violence victims, domestic violence perpetrators, people with DIUs, people work substance abuse problems, and sex offenders. For this, the offered a lot of groups (to meet court requirements). Therefore, I had a lot of groups assigned and only 5 clients (which was enough to meet my hours). Honestly, I got lucky, some classmates had 2-3 clients and no group experience. This is why I recommend you do research on different sites before choosing. You need to know how the site operates, how many clients they can assign to you, whether they have groups, etc. I was the only intern at this site, which was great since all the available hours were for ME, but a little sad because I did not have fellow interns to learn from or share with.
In terms of my hours, I had 9 groups (three 2hr groups and the rest were 1hr groups) and 4 clients. For a total of 16 hours of direct hours with clients. I had 1 hour of supervision on Wednesdays. On Friday’s I dedicated 3 hours to office-work, to do my site assignments, group notes, individual therapy notes, do intake assessments if needed, or sometimes I’d visit my clients at court for support. I completed 20 hour/week for 20 weeks (400 hours in 5 months).
Keep in mind that this is quite similar to what your life would be like as a Licensed clinician, so this better sounds exciting for you!
When it came to the "big picture" of my life, I was working at the practicum site 20 hours/week, working as a server 3-4 days/week (roughly making $400-500/week), going to my 3-hour practicum class on Saturdays, and completing a substance abuse class online. To try to stay in shape, I was going CrossFit 3-4 x/week. Do not ask me how I managed to have a social life, but I did. There were weeks that I did not see friends, but to be honest, the server job helped. I had a lot of fun with my co-workers, they became friends and family. So Friday/Saturday nights after work, I really just wanted to go home.
Now, let's get back to our topic of interest!
During groups, my role was "Co-facilitator" which is a fancy term for a “Group Assistant”. The facilitator was a licensed clinician; responsible for running the group. Some of them gave me small assignments to learn common terms used in group, understand the theories/approaches behind group dynamics, and come up with topic ideas. Other facilitators wanted me to stay quiet, learn, and take notes (not very helpful). Towards the end of my time there, some (nice) facilitators allowed me to take charge of certain groups/days. Besides all this, I wrote their group notes (this is definitely a way to win them over! It felt annoying then, but nowadays I am a Notes' master).
Groups were fascinating and one of my favorite experiences. Think about it, you are in a room with 5-10 people with the same problem, but each person there has a different story, background, perspective, current problems, forms of expression, etc. And then there is you, in the middle of the storm --and rainbows. Because trust me, some days the waters are calmed and everything goes as planned, but other days, the group will take an intense turn making you want to vanish in the middle of it; you will leave the room feeling drained. But know that regardless of the energy of the group, the group facilitator must remain confident, assertive, and in control at all times. I strongly believe that groups will help you develop character as a clinician. So please, do not avoid them. Besides the amazing and necessary clinical experience, groups are also an effective way to get your hours, as your hours are pretty much are guaranteed. Groups are 1-2 hours, and if one person cancels, there are still other people showing up.
People usually ask me about my experience with sex offenders. I had 3 groups for sex offenders and 3 sex offender clients for individual sessions. The facility for the sex offender groups was totally separated from all other clients (in fact, it was 30min away and not in the best neighborhood). I have to admit I was paranoid on my first day. The building was located in a in an industrial area, the building was also under construction (so not much movement there), and there were 30+ sex offenders walking in an out the office from 2pm to 8:30pm. The only other adults were 2 female therapists (including my supervisor).
Now let me provide answers for what everyone asks: No, nobody harassed me or harmed me in any way. Yes, I was (sexually) disrespected once or twice. We used such events to work on corrective experiences for the client/s and also as interactive group opportunity for all of us. The most eventful time was when one day someone had taken the chair I usually sat on (next to a little table where I’d put my belongings). I just sat somewhere else. However, one of the group members noticed the situation and asked the gentleman that was on my usual spot to move. He did. But this other old man (group member) was paying attention. He was known for being inappropriate, vocal, and observant. He said... “or you can sit here, pretty girl!” while tapping onto his legs. I ignored him. I told the owner/group facilitator (who was my supervisor) and she wasn’t happy about it. The client had to write an apology note to present during the next group meeting. To be honest, I have no recollection of what he said during his apology. I was so nervous and intimidated that I really couldn’t hear what he said. All I know is that after that day I felt empowered somehow.
The sex offender clients were significantly diverse and as human as you and I. I bet you have crossed paths with one (if not several) and never imagined who he could be. There were men from all SES. There were black, white, Latino, European, and Haitiano. Two of my clients (for individual therapy) were teenagers and one was an adult. Most of them were adults. Ages ranged all the way from late 20s to 60ish. From what I remember, there was a graduate student, two veterans, a journalist, a mechanic, an engineer, a gentleman that had a respectable job at Microsoft, a mechanic, several men in construction, and an entrepreneur. There were family men with supportive partners and there were complete recluses. There were 2-3 reckless womanizers (no doubt why they got in trouble). Several group members had their own personal history of sexual trauma. They felt like victims themselves, which can be very hard to empathize with. At first, I felt offended that they’d even dare to justify or victimize themselves using their past stories. This was a real challenge for me and I’m glad I faced it; a good therapist has to achieve this level of empathy. These people don’t come to “support groups” to be judged. The group room is not their courtroom and I’m not their persecutor. They already went through that. They are already alienated, isolated, rejected, and exerted from society. People in their life circle already fear them or despise them. Nobody wants to give them a job. Nobody wants to be near them. Their family is ashamed of them. Their patrol officer already makes them feel in prison every day. Yes, I get that you’d think that they deserve all that. And they do; otherwise, this wouldn’t be their situation. But as a therapist, you get another role in their life. They’re “mandated” to attend to group therapy 1x/week. Imagine the level of responsibility we have with our community. Their future and the future of many victims could potentially depend on that therapeutic work. I had to decide what impact I wanted to have on these people. I had to put aside my bias, emotions, and personal beliefs, to be a THERAPIST. With time I became a non-judgmental mediator between their messed up world and the world they live in. I decided I wanted to do something about the problem instead of adding to it. I decided I had a duty and a responsibility with my community.
I often tell my colleagues about this experience because it was indeed remarkable for my career. For day I was able to hear these men’s stories without judgment, I knew there was much more beyond my degree on paper.
I understood that somehow I (and other professionals that are passionate about this career) have this innate disposition to help others heal; and that right there goes beyond right and wrong, black and white, good and bad.
P.S.: My Internship experience was very similar to the practicum, only that I was putting in MORE hours, it was 40-45 hours/week (I did it over the summer; so it was an intensive program). I was also required to be involved in individual therapy, support groups, site supervision, school supervision, and administrative hours. I attended to Domestic Violence court 1x/week. The internship requires a minimum of 600 clock hours each semester, with a minimum of 240 clock hours of direct service work. I worked at a different site, so I handled cases related to domestic violence victims, LGBT issues, drug addiction, depression, anxiety, and past-trauma.
Feel free to ask any questions about my internship experience.
This is my major take from my practicum & internship experience. I hope you enjoyed this reading.
Your Hustler,
Daniela M.
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