Potential Community Partners

Information & Resources

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Counseling Program offers clinical field placement opportunities over three semesters for counseling students to gain counseling experience at one of our many community partner locations. Counselors in training participate in a wide variety of counseling activities including one-on-one counseling with individuals, families, couples, and groups. All counseling students receive quality supervision on campus as well as on site with qualified clinical supervisors. As a CACREP accredited program, we contract with community partners who agree to support our students in their academic field placements. This involves weekly engagement and individual supervision conducted by qualified site supervisors. Site supervisor qualifications and responsibilities are described below.

The cooperating counseling professional who will have direct responsibility for the practicum or internship student at the workplace will be designated as the site supervisor. Although practicum or internship students potentially perform a number of tasks and frequently work with different staff members, for purposes of continuity, overall supervision and final evaluation is done by one site supervisor designated for each student’s entire practicum or internship.

1. Developing the Practicum or Internship Agreement

The site supervisor should meet with the practicum or internship student to discuss and complete the practicum/internship agreement. During this meeting, the student shares with the site supervisor their goals for the clinical experience (i.e. what they want to develop, strengthen, gain, etc). The supervisor should provide suggestions and guidance in terms of realistic goals and activities that can be completed within the time constraints of the clinical experience. It is required that all activities and goals of the clinical experience be written down as part of the Practicum/Internship Agreement

2. Orientation

The site supervisor is responsible for providing an orientation to the practicum or internship position. This orientation should include general information about the site, an overview of the administrative structure, and the role of the counseling office within the overall helping community. The site supervisor should also make sure that the practicum or internship student is formally introduced to other staff in the site and individuals in other areas with whom the student will interact.

3. Supervision

The site supervisor is expected to spend a minimum of one hour per week in direct supervision of the practicum or internship student. Initially, sessions may cover such topics as review of the practicum or internship agreement, orientation to the workplace, and start-up work on outlined activities. As the clinical experience progresses, this time should be spent reviewing the student’s progress. This time is designed to provide the practicum or internship student with feedback on his or her performance and clinical skills, and for the practicing professional to share insights and experience with the student.

4. Role Modeling

The site supervisor is expected to serve as a professional role model for the practicum or internship student in job performance, personal growth, and professional and ethical behavior. As such, the site supervisor is expected to possess appropriate training, knowledge, and experience in a recognized helping profession, preferably counseling. Site supervisors are expected to hold at least a masters degree in their field, with appropriate licenses from the state pertaining to the clinical setting, and at least two (2) years of work experience in the field of counseling or other mental health profession.

5. Recording

All practicum or internship sites must allow for a taped supervision review process of students. This further facilitates the professional development of students and assists in quality control of services delivered to clients. If audio or video taping is not allowed at a site, students will have to be re-assigned to an alternative site. Site supervisors should help students identify clients that will be amenable to audio or video taping of sessions for university supervision purposes.

6. Site Visits

A site visit by the university course instructor is expected for all internship students. These visits should occur for each semester that a student is enrolled in an internship. The instructor will contact the site supervisor to arrange this meeting. [NOTE: If for any reason site visits cannot be made, the university instructor will be in contact with site supervisors via phone and/or email].

7. Evaluation

The site supervisor is expected to provide on-going feedback to the student concerning his or her overall performance and behavior at the practicum or internship site. The practicum or internship student will write a mid-semester self-evaluation. This self- evaluation will also include a conference with the site supervisor to assess work toward goals that were established at the beginning of the semester. A formal evaluation from the site supervisor will be conducted at the end of the semester.

Dr. John C. Nance

Director of Clinical Field Experience

jcnance@charlotte.edu