Practicum and Internship Practices of CACREP Approved Counselor Education Programs

In spite of the importance of practicums and internships in counselor preparation, counselor educators have available to them little empirical knowledge on the organization and administration of these domains. So as to determine existing practices and to establish baseline information, this article reports on the practicum and internship practices of counselor education programs approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Programs (CACREP). Eight categories were profiled: (1) demographic information on the counselor education department; (2) role of the practicum/internship coordinator; (3) role of counselor education faculty in practicum/internship; (4) evaluation of supervised experiences/supervision; (5) relationships with sites, site selection, and placement; (6) supervision practices and requirements; (7) on-site issues/problems; and (8) attitudes toward practicum and internship coordination. Thirty-six counselor education programs responded to the questionnaire. More than 60% of practicum/internship coordinators--the targeted group--felt that their work was valued and that their roles were understood. The results show many divergent roles attending practicum and internship coordination, which reflects the lack of guidance in the literature for standardized practices in this area. (RJM)