Practicum Requirement

I've gotten a few questions about the Counseling Practicum requirement in the first year curriculum of the CMHS program so I thought I'd provide an overview for you guys. During early summer, the internship coordinators, who are two current faculty in the program, will email you about your practicum preferences -- mental health agency vs school and population (children, adolescents, adults, etc). Throughout the summer before classes begin, they will look for a fitting site according to your preferences. Once you arrive on campus, everyone will most likely have individual meetings with the internship coordinators about your given site and they will address any questions or concerns that you have about it during that time.

Practicum requirements state that you must work at the site 8-10 hours a week, depending on what your supervisor suggests, and it lasts the whole year. Practicum students usually provide individual counseling or group counseling or both. The site is required to provide you with supervision hours throughout your time there. Your supervisor has to be a certified school counselor or licensed mental health professional. In addition, you will be enrolled in a year-long Counseling Practicum course that supplements your practicum experience. This course will go over counseling techniques and skills as well as interventions for specific populations. It's a fun class, ultilizing mostly collaborative work and class discussions on various counseling topics.

My placement this year is at an inner-city public high school. I have worked with students individually and in groups on various issues and topics -- including personal matters and college/career concerns. My experience at my site has been very educational and beneficial to my personal growth as a counselor. I admit it was a bit intimidating in the beginning, but my supervisor was helpful in familiarizing me with the school culture and preparing me to work with certain issues that are common in that population. One of the main reasons I decided to attend PennGSE was the practicum requirement during the first semester. I thought bridging classroom with experiential learning early in my studies would be an effective way to gain skill and it seems to be the case!

Feel free to comment here or email me at CarusoL@gse.upenn.edu if you have any questions about the practicum experience!