Practicum Information Welcome to the Practicum Information page. The purpose of this page is to provide current and prospective students information about practicum experiences available to students in the Counseling Psychology program. You will find information on approved practicum sites, policies and procedures, required practicum documentation, and sample curriculum vitas. Students are required to complete a minimum of 400 hours of practicum (many students elect to take significantly more), of which 150 are direct client contact and 75 are supervision; the remaining hours are devoted to such activities as writing case notes, processing tapes, preparing for sessions, and attending case conferences and practicum seminar meetings. It is typical that students take 4 or 5 semesters of Advanced Practicum in order to further enhance their readiness for internship. Students typically log approximately 150 hours of practicum activity over the course of a semester, of which about 40 are direct client contact and about 20 are individual supervision. For all students, the first practicum is a training clinic at Iowa's University Counseling Service (an APA-approved internship site). Subsequently, students and faculty work jointly to select advanced practicum sites. The variety of sites ensures that students will receive a broad training in different treatment modalities and with a diverse clientele. Additional information and a description of practicum opportunities are availabe on the UCS website. Regularly available at the sites are experiences in individual, conjoint, and group counseling/psychotherapy; assessment; and outreach and prevention. Depending on the site, students may gain experience in working with persons who are experiencing substance abuse, marital and family problems, rehabilitation and health concerns, developmental problems, neuropsychological assessment, and severe psychopathology. Furthermore, the clientele across sites present a diversity in age, ethnicity, affectional/sexual orientation, and educational level. Our program is committed to training psychologists to be competent in their work with these diverse populations. During any practicum, students receive supervision from a licensed psychologist or supervision that is supervised by a licensed psychologist. Faculty members who serve as coordinators of practica and internships conduct ongoing evaluation of all practicum sites. Please follow the links below for further information: Current Practicum Sites A list of program approved practicum sites (Updated Dec, 2009) with descriptions from former practicum students. Policies and Procedures Important information for students about applying to practicum and practicum student conduct. Practicum Documentation Forms Forms required for documenting practicum activies. Sample Curriculum Vitas Sample vitas from students who have successfully applied to a variety of practicum sites. |