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Internship handbook (Table of Contents) (Online Forms) |
Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology ("MAC") The
MAC Internship Handbook: The MAC Program has a number of expectations for you. These include the total number of hours and a variety of policies and procedures. Internship Hours Internships require a total of 600 supervised hours of professional experience spread over a minimum of 30 weeks (two semesters). It is the policy of the MAC Program that you must log a minimum of 7 hours per week. This ensures that you are making adequate progress to complete the internship in a reasonable amount of time. It is also the policy of the MAC Program that you may not collect hours so rapidly that you finish the 300 hours before the academic semester ends. Students sometimes have difficulty understanding why a maximum number of hours is imposed on the internship experience. As stated earlier, it is necessary to spread the internship over a sufficient period of time to guarantee that you can follow a small case load of clients over the full course of treatment. Note that students occasional run into problems by trying to collect hours too early. No student may begin to collect internship hours prior to completing the following:
Any hours collected prior to completing all three of these conditions will not be counted toward the required 600 hours. Number of Internship Sites If at all possible, your internship should be spent at one site. There are several reasons for this policy. The main one is that it provides a more in-depth educational experience. Students who have to be in two or more internship sites (concurrently or sequentially) are at a disadvantage. If the two experiences are concurrent, you have a divided loyalty between the two sites that may leave you, your fellow workers, and any clients confused and frustrated. If the multiple sites are sequential, there are other problems. You will no sooner have "learned the ropes" than the one-semester experience will be over. As far as the clients go, they will be cheated out of critical continuity; just as they have bonded with you, they will be transferred to another therapist. Although it may conceivably be necessary to arrange an alternative internship, taking on a second internship merely for variety of experience is not considered an acceptable reason. Unless you have an excellent reason for having two sites, you will be expected to make a choice among acceptable internships and stick with it for two semesters and 600 hours. Aim for depth, rather than breadth, in the internship experience. The bottom line? Completing an internship at two sites will only be possible where the major presenting problems, theoretical styles, and clientele are very similar across the two internship agencies. Malpractice
Insurance Another policy is that you are responsible for your own accident, injury, and health insurance. You may also be required to provide your own malpractice insurance. You need to find this out from your internship site. By no means should you do professional counseling, especially for pay, without having some kind of malpractice coverage. We live in a "sue-happy" society and you need protection. If you think you won't be sued because "you're a poor student" and don't have insurance, think again! If you were to be sued for malpractice, you would not want to be financially responsible for a large settlement where they could seize your assets, come after your wages for the rest of your life, or drive you into bankruptcy. The best kept bargain around town is malpractice insurance. The American Professional Agency,® for example, offers mental health counselors $100,000 for each single incident for only $26 per year! The more highly recommended coverage of $1,000,000 is still only $49 per year. If you aren't sued so don't need to use this coverage (and that is obviously the ideal) it is still incredibly cheap peace of mind. And if you do have to use it, $49 is nothing compared to settling a law suit out of your own pocket! For more information or to request an application form, call: 1-(800) 421-6694, write to: American
Professional Agency, Inc. or visit their website at: http://www.americanprofessional.com One last word about insurance. If you are using your private car in internship-related activities, that car must, of course, be fully insured for transporting clients. Check with your agent if you have any questions. |
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Email contact: (MAC@stmartin.edu) |
