The following are some of the most commonly asked questions when students call to inquire about the Internship process. Please take a look at these questions and if you don’t get an answer to your specific question, feel free to contact me at 303-315-6003.
Here you will find a ppt that Drs. Brown & Gentile present with at internship Q & A’s. There is also a recording of the last Q & A on 10/29/20
Dr.G.
Q. How do I get a new internship site approved?
A. If you are interested in becoming an internship site, you would need to seek site approval.
For the Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling tracks, you will need to complete the internship site questionnaire at Counseling Program Internship Site Questionnaire – Formstack and return it to Counseling Internship Coordinator, Dr. Troyann Gentile at Troyann.gentile@ucdenver.edu. Dr. Gentile would be your contact for questions specific to site approval, requirements of internship sites, etc.
Q. Can I work during Internship?
A. Many people continue to work during internship if their jobs are flexible and if their internships are flexible. Most people find it difficult to work full-time unless their internship is spread out over at least a year.
Q. What are the deadlines for getting a new site approved?
A. ** No new internship sites will be approved:
For the Spring semester -after Dec 1st
For the Summer Semester- after May 1st
For the Fall Semester – After May 1st
Q. I work at a treatment facility that accepts interns, can I do my internship at my place of employment? Can my work hours count towards my internship hours?
A. Yes you can do your internship at your place of employment and yes (if appropriate) your work hours can count towards your internship hours. That being said, there are a few caveats’.
- First, you have to discuss your desire to do your internship at your place of employment with Dr. Gentile to determine if it is an appropriate placement. In most cases, a student’s actual job does not suffice as experience that is consistent with the responsibilities of a masters level counselor, therefore their job description will need to be carefully considered in order to determine which work activities are appropriate for an internship experience.
- Second, you must understand that no more than half of your 240 client contact hours can be accrued through completion of your regular work/employment duties.
- Third, you must secure supervision from someone who meets our criteria and who is not your administrative supervisor (i.e., the person with hiring/firing authority).
- Finally, you must submit a letter to Dr. Gentile outlining the internship responsibilities and a memo from the site supervisor indicating that she/he is not the administrative supervisor and does meet the internship standards.
Q. Are internships paid?
A. For the most part, NO. That being said, as was discussed in the previous question, some students are able to complete their internship in their place of employment. In most cases, there are rare placements that have funds to pay interns. We support your ability to find these placements, and to consult Dr. Gentile if you have any questions about the appropriateness of the placement. Good luck!
Q. How does financial aid work when I am in internship?
A. As a master’s student, you generally have to be enrolled for 5 credit hours in order to receive full financial aid. There is sometimes the possibility of obtaining full financial aid when you are registered for only 3 credits, but this depends on the type of financial aid you receive, which means that you need to contact the financial aid office and discuss your options.
The required number of credits for internship is 6, however, very few people are able to obtain their 600 hours in one semester, particularly if you are in the couple and family track. With this in mind, any semester in which you are collecting hours for internship requires you to be registered for at least three credit hours of internship. When you are in internship you can register for 3 or 6 credits of internship until you are finished. Plan on a minimum of 2 semesters of internship. Keep these numbers in mind when negotiating how long it will take you to complete your hours so that you do not have to pay for extra credits that you do not need.
Q. How many credits do I earn during internship?
A. The goal is to earn six (6) internship credits over the duration of your entire time in internship. This means that you need to try and plan how many hours to take each semester based on the number of hours (out of 600) you expect to complete at your site during that semester.
Q. How many hours do I need? What is the breakdown?
A. The total number of hours needed for internship is 600 hours. Here is the breakdown:
* 240 – Client contact hours
(if you are couple/family, a minimum of 121 hours must be with couples/families)
* 15-30 – Individual Supervision Hours
* 23-45 – Group Supervision Hours at UCD (Internship Seminar)
* 285-322 – “Other” Hours
(e.g. paperwork, workshops, additional supervision, etc.)
Q. What happens if I complete my 600 hours in the middle of a semester?
A. Given the fact that you are registered for the Internship Class (COUN5930), you are required to attend your regular Internship Seminar until the end of the semester. It is also important to know that the Counseling Program will send a letter to DORA (The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, which is the department that licenses us!) stating that you have completed all requirements for graduation and you will be permitted to remain at your internship site to accrue hours that will count towards your post-graduate requirement for licensure.
Q. Can I continue to accrue hours by working at my internship site between semesters?
A. Yes. In order to do this you must secure an “on-call” supervisor who will work with you over the break. The supervisor must be either a full-time UCD, licensed Counseling Program Faculty Members or clinic staff members. Students are expected to make weekly email contact with their “on-call” supervisor to report progress and to notify faculty of any problems that may arise. The Supplemental Supervision form must be completed (located in the internship manual) between you and your supervisor.
Q. How early do I need to start planning for my internship?
A. Start planning NOW!!! It may seem too early to start thinking about where you would like to do your internship, but seriously, it’s not. A good first step is to go to the approved internship list on this web site. It lists all of our approved sites and provides you information regarding its location, telephone number, contact person, and the agency or school’s web site. It is also important to talk with other students and faculty members to find sites that may be best suited to your interests. It is important that you start to identify potential sites and begin to determine if the site is compatible with your professional goals. Set up site visits to see the environment and to get to know the supervisor. Please remember that some internship sites only take interns at certain times of the year. Being aware of the deadlines for the sites that you are most interested in can assist you in selecting classes and being ready to start internship. Also, please remember that many sites require the intern to sign a contract that binds the student to that site for the duration of the time stipulated in the contract. You will need to be very clear of your professional goals and time frames before signing a contract with an agency.
Q. Can I have more than one Internship site?
A. Students in all tracks can have a maximum of two internship sites. Students can participate at two internship sites during the same semester or they can be at one site during one semester and then move to another site in the following semester. Arrangements must be made with Dr. Gentile prior to securing the second site. All application materials must be completed for both sites as well. It is also a good idea to talk with your supervisors about your interest in working at more than one site, before making arrangements with a site.
Q. What if I need to move to another part of the country while completing my internship?
A. You will be permitted to complete your internship at a site that is outside of the Denver Metro Area. You will need to go through the process of having your site approved by Dr. Gentile. After, you will register for any internship seminar and work with the faculty supervisor to identify a supervision process that is acceptable within CACREP standards. Each internship class facilitator is at liberty to work with distance students as they believe appropriate. Possible requirements may include weekly telephone contact, weekly Video Conference, video conferencing the student into the actual classroom, etc.