When planning your internship experience, it is essential that your work closely with the Counseling Programs' internship coordinator. You must submit the internship application at least two quarters in advance of the quarter in which you plan to enroll for the internship. If later there are any changes to the information you stated on the application form, it is important that you keep the internship coordinator informed of such revisions in your plans. You must also complete all of the courses on your course of study form (except the thesis) prior to the start of your internship.

The internship coordinator and other program faculty will work closely with you to plan an internship experience that meets both the objectives of the internship as well as your individual training needs and professional goals. Where possible, we strive to honor your preferences regarding both the type of placement and the geographic location in which you wish to intern. Keep in mind, however, that our primary goal is to insure that your internship placement provides the kind of training that is consistent with the stated goals of our internship program. We are committed to placing students in agencies and schools in which site supervisors are interested in, and committed to, providing a quality training experience.

To that end, we ask that you work with the internship coordinator to identify the type of setting and geographic location in which you hope to be placed. The internship coordinator will assume responsibility for contacting potential sites, and negotiating a placement for you. In our experience, this approach works well. Please be aware, however, that the process of negotiating a final internship placement often takes several weeks. The process of establishing a placement often requires several steps, and is typically not done is a matter of a few days or a couple of weeks. It is for this reason that we expect you to apply for the internship at least two quarters in advance of the start of your internship. It is not uncommon to finalize placements within a couple of weeks of your internship start date, so please do not be alarmed if you have not been informed of your internship site months in advance.

If you have any questions or concerns as you plan your internship experience, please do not hesitate to contact the internship coordinator or the Counseling Programs Director. We want to work with you to ensure that your internship provides a positive conclusion to your graduate program.

A couple of other things to keep in mind as you plan your internship:

1. If you have a graduate assistantship, you should not expect to continue your assistantship throughout the internship experience. Typically, the internship is a full-time placement; and the daily internship schedule prohibits opportunities to also complete assistantship hours in the department.
2. If you plan to complete your internship during the summer quarter, please be aware that summer school tuition is more expensive than during the remaining academic quarters. The increased cost of tuition is due to the self-support nature of the summer school operation. Despite the increased cost of tuition, you may still find it most cost effective, overall, to complete your internship in the summer.
3. Although completion of the thesis is not a prerequisite to starting the internship, you may find it helpful to have your thesis finished, or nearly finished, by the time you begin the internship. Students sometimes find employment opportunities available to them at their internship sites; however many employers require, or at least, prefer that the master's degree be completed by the time of hiring. Having your thesis finished by the end of your internship training certainly increases your employability.

The specific requirements for your internship depend upon whether you are completing a school counseling or mental health counseling internship. Students enrolling in PSY 681 (Mental Health Counseling Internship) are expected to complete 900 hours (15 weeks full-time) of supervised experience in an approved internship setting. Those enrolling in PSY 682 (School Counseling Internship) are required to complete 400 hours of supervised experience in an approved school setting. In addition, school counseling interns will be placed at a middle/junior high, and either an elementary school or a high school. Please be aware that the number of hours required for each internship are intended to reflect current state or national standards for the training of school and mental health counselors.

For more specific requirements, please refer to the syllabi for these two internship courses. To view the course syllabi, please check on the appropriate link below:

• PSY 681 (Mental Health Counseling Internship)
• PSY 682 (School Counseling Internship)

Counseling psychology interns are typically placed in comprehensive community mental health centers, private counseling agencies, or psychiatric hospitals. In the past, students have been placed in mental health settings in both Western and Eastern Washington. We have established relationships with comprehensive community mental health centers and psychiatric hospitals in both the Central Washington and Puget Sound areas. We have also placed interns in private counseling agencies (e.g., Catholic Family Services) throughout the state. On rare occasions, we may negotiate an out-of-state placement, although typically these placements must be within less than a day's driving distance in order to accommodate faculty on-site supervision. We also have a history of placing school counseling interns in both Eastern and Western Washington. Again, school counseling interns are required to completed supervised hours in elementary, middle, and high school settings, so an important consideration in placing these interns is the availability of supervised experience at all three school levels. On some occasions, a school counseling internship will be placed in more than one school district in order to obtain experience in all three settings.

During your internship experience you will be asked to complete a number of evaluation forms. These forms are intended to assist you in evaluating yourself, your internship site, and your university internship supervisor. In addition, you will be required to complete a daily log of your internship hours as well as your supervision hours. Together, your personal evaluation form and your internship hours logs will help to document the amount and type of supervised experience you obtained during the internship. You are encouraged to keep these forms in your professional file given the likelihood that such documentation may be required when you apply for certification or future employment. Copies of your personal evaluation form and your internship logs will also be maintained in your program file. The internship site supervision form is used by the program faculty to better understand your experience with your placement, and to evaluate the appropriateness of future placement of interns in that setting. The university internship supervisor evaluation form is submitted directly to the Psychology Department office--not to your faculty supervisor--and is used to assist the University is gathering information about the performance of the faculty member. Copies of the intern evaluation forms, site evaluation form, and the internship logs may be obtained by checking on the appropriate link below:

School Counseling Internship Forms:

• All forms are located in the SC Student Handbook. Download this document for what you need.

Mental Health Counseling Internship Forms:

• All forms are located in the MH Student Handbook. Download this document for what you need.