Clinical Training and Placement
“My field-placement site supervisor and program supervisor collaborate to ensure I have the guidance and instruction to utilize my coursework into real-life fieldwork. I often share what I am learning with my site supervisor and how my new knowledge affects my clinical skills.”
—EBONEIKA HENDERSON, ’21
Find Suitable Clinical Training Placements with the Help of a Placement Specialist
To become an effective counselor, you must be able to apply the theories and concepts you are learning in the classroom to real-life scenarios. Counseling@Northwestern Placement Specialists identify suitable clinical sites and Clinical Training Directors (core faculty members) approve sites to meet CACREP and program standards where you can gain supervised experience helping clients with a range of needs.
Placement starts in the first or second term for accelerated full-time students, the fourth term for traditional program students, or the seventh term for part-time students. Whether you are enrolled in the Standard Program or the Bridge Program, you will gain unique insights as you complete both a Practicum and an Internship.
Practicum Training
The 200-hour Practicum shows you how a professional counselor performs various job responsibilities, while also giving you insight into the tasks you may perform as a clinician. The total expected time commitment for the Practicum is 10-15 hours per week.
| Element | Total Hours | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
Direct client contact | 50 (required total) | Approximately one to three hours per week of direct face-to-face contact with clients |
Indirect contact | 30 (approximate amount depending on placement start date) **there is no minimum requirement for indirect hours** | Approximately two to three hours per week of record keeping, staff meetings, research, workshops, conferences, training, outreach, advocacy, and presentations |
Supervision contact | 120 (approximate amount depending on placement start date) | Required one-hour meetings held on-site with your site supervisor to start when placement starts; weekly two-hour Reflective Practitioner Supervision meetings held online with your university supervisor and a small group of students |
You will complete the Practicum in 3 terms while enrolled in the Supervised Practicum in Counseling courses, which prepares you to provide direct clinical services to clients and apply a basic repertoire of clinical skills.
Internship Training
The 600-hour Internship is an advanced, hands-on clinical experience in which you assume all the functions and characteristics of the role of a counselor as you continue to provide supervised direct counseling to clients. The total expected time commitment for the Internship is 20–24 hours per week.
| Element | Total Hours | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
Direct client contact | 240 (required total) | Approximately eight to ten hours per week of direct face-to-face contact with clients |
Supervision contact | 120 (approximate amount depending on placement start date) | Required weekly one-hour meetings held on-site with your site supervisor to start when placement starts; weekly two-hour Case Conference Supervision meetings held online with your university supervisor and a small group of students |
Indirect contact | 240 (approximate amount depending on placement start date) **there is no minimum for indirect hours** | Approximately eight to ten hours per week of record keeping, staff meetings, research, workshops, conferences, training, outreach, advocacy, and presentations |
While you complete your Internship, you will also:
- learn advanced client management and therapeutic skills during the Supervised Internship in Counseling course; and
- assess your therapeutic effectiveness and articulate areas of concern during the Psychodynamic Case Conference Experience.
Clinical Training and Placement Expectations
Counseling@Northwestern strives to give you a valuable Practicum and Internship experience that will enhance your education and growth as a counselor. You will work with our placement team to secure qualified clinical placements that meet The Family Institute’s and Northwestern’s high standards for excellence.
Placement Policies
Please review the following policies to help ensure a smooth placement process.
- Field placements must be completed at sites within the United States, not including US military bases abroad. If you live outside the United States, you must relocate to the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii before starting your placement.
- You must adjust your schedule to your site supervisor’s schedule to complete field placements during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.).
- We strive to place you as close to your community as possible, but you may need to travel up to 75 miles one way to your placement sites.
- Due to potential conflicts of interest, students cannot complete clinical training at their current place of work.
- Our in-person learning and clinical field experiences are central to our highly collaborative program. Due to Covid-19, there is an increase in telemental health (TMH) services and opportunities, however, TMH placements cannot be guaranteed and in person work should be expected.