Clinical & School Internships

Deadline for M.A. Summer 2024 AND Fall 2024 Applications:
January 19, 2024

Finding an internship site can be exciting. It enables you to become familiar with the mental health and/or school counseling fields and network for possible jobs.

Identifying and interviewing with sites can take months so start early! At the same time, open your heart and mind to a variety of experiences. As you know, God has a way of working everything out for His glory!

Instructions

ON-CAMPUS & ONLINE STUDENTS (LOCAL TO REGENT CAMPUS): CMHC/MCF INTERNSHIP

• Search through the SPC Field Placement Site List. This list provides you with placement options in a variety of clinical settings. The list is not comprehensive and you are welcome to look for other sites. Should you decide to follow this route, please read the instructions below under the Online Students (not local to Regent campus) heading for the process that must be followed.
• Choose the top 3 sites you are interested in and include them where asked on the google form application for internship. Please do not include more than 3 sites, any more will not be considered with the application. If 3 sites are not on the application, it will be discarded and you will be asked to submit a new one immediately.
• The FPL will make first contact with all sites that students are interested in to determine who is interviewing students for internship placement and will provide you with contact information for those sites. It is important to note that the FPL does not begin contacting sites until all applications have been submitted and processed.
• Email resumes, complete application packages, or set up interviews as directed by the FPL.
• When offered placement by a site on the list, sign the FieldWork Contract with the person who will serve as your site supervisor. Each semester of internship is treated as a separate entity so this first contract is for Internship A, you will sign another one for Internship B later. Submit this completed contract to the Field Placement Liaison, who will add her signature and return a fully signed copy to you.
• Students are not allowed to register themselves for field placement classes. You will be notified when registered for the appropriate section of either COUN 593 Internship in Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling or COUN 595 Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

ONLINE STUDENTS (NOT LOCAL TO REGENT CAMPUS): CMHC/MCF INTERNSHIP

• Research and identify potential sites in your area. You can check with the Field Placement Liaison (FPL) as there may be sites in your area that Regent already has a relationship with.
• You will provide information on the top 3 sites you are interested in where asked on the google form application for internship. This includes the name of the site, street address, and website. Please do not include more than 3 sites, any more will not be considered with the application. If 3 sites are not on the application, it will be discarded and you will be asked to submit a new one immediately.
• Once the FPL has reviewed the information on your top 3 sites, you will be given permission to begin contacting these sites on your own. You may contact more than these 3 sites, however you do not need to send additional site information to the FPL when doing so.
• Make sure you are familiar with the internship requirements. You must spend both semesters with the same site and are expected to accumulate a minimum of 600 hours (minimum of 300 per semester), with at least 240 of those hours (at least 120 per semester) being direct service. Supervision is to be an average of one hour per week. NOTE: It is the student’s responsibility to know and understand the internship requirements for licensure in the state where you reside or plan to seek licensure. You will need to acquire whichever is greater, the 600 internship hours required by the program at Regent University or the number of hours required by the state in which you intend to seek licensure.
• MCF students should be aware that while you must still have a minimum of 240 direct service hours (at least 120 per semester), at least 200 of these hours must be spent working with couples and families.
• Students seeking an internship for the CGS in MCF program should be aware that they will be required to accumulate a minimum of 300 total hours in one semester, including at least 200 direct service hours working with couples and families. Supervision is to be an average of one hour per week.
• Keep in mind that you must have a supervisor who holds a mental health license, i.e., LPC, LMFT, LCSW, LCP, or Psychiatrist. Be familiar with your state requirements in terms of internship supervision.
• Interview with any site that offers you that opportunity.
• When you have accepted a placement, notify the FPL and provide complete contact information [name of agency/practice, address, telephone number, contact person, and (if known) that person’s email address and a website for the agency/practice].
• The FPL will make contact with the site to complete the university approval process BEFORE authorizing you to sign the FieldWork Contract with the person who will serve as your site supervisor. Each semester of internship is treated as a separate entity so this first contract is for Internship A, you will sign another one for Internship B later. Submit this completed contract to the Field Placement Liaison, who will add her signature and return a fully signed copy to you.
• Students are not allowed to register themselves for field placement classes. You will be notified when registered for the appropriate section of either COUN 593 Internship in Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling or COUN 595 Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

Even though you will be contacting potential internship sites on your own, it is important to know that you are not alone in this process. Contact the Field Placement Liaison if you have questions regarding a site. You may encounter a site that wishes to speak with a university representative first, and in those cases provide the complete contact information (as described above) to the FPL.

Make sure to provide updates of your progress to the FPL, do not wait until the last minute to inform the university of any problems in locating a site.

ON-CAMPUS & ONLINE STUDENTS (LOCAL TO REGENT CAMPUS): SCHOOL INTERNSHIP

FYI: School placements are not possible in the summer semester.

• Refer to the SPC Field Placement Site List for a listing of the school districts that Regent University works with for internship placement.
• Complete the appropriate school placement request form and upload it where asked on the google form application form for internship. If this request form is not uploaded, your application will be discarded and you will be asked to submit a new one immediately. NOTE: Only ONE placement request form for ONE school system per student.
• The FPL will submit the placement request form to the school district on your behalf.
• Be prepared to furnish any additional paperwork that may be required by the school district (i.e., application, resume, recommendations, official/unofficial transcripts, etc.).
• When placement information is received, the Field Placement Liaison will notify you via email. You should contact the assigned school counselor ASAP and see if you could meet with him or her briefly before your placement begins.
• The FieldWork Contract is due by the end of the first week of the semester in which you are completing this internship. If you are able to meet the school counselor and sign this earlier, go ahead and do so. This can also be taken care of via email. Submit the completed contract to the Field Placement Liaison, who will add her signature and return a fully signed copy to you.
• Students are not allowed to register themselves for field placement classes. You will be notified when registered for the appropriate section of COUN 594 Internship in School Counseling.

ONLINE STUDENTS (NOT LOCAL TO REGENT CAMPUS): SCHOOL INTERNSHIP

FYI: School placements are not possible in the summer semester.

• Research and identify school districts in your area.
• Choose ONE of the school districts in your area, complete the generic placement request form and upload where asked on the google application form for internship. If this request form is not uploaded, your application will be discarded and you will be asked to submit a new one immediately. NOTE: Only ONE placement request form for ONE school system per student.
• The FPL will submit the placement request to the school system on your behalf.
• Be prepared to furnish any additional paperwork that may be required by the school district (i.e., application, resume, recommendations, official/unofficial transcripts, etc.).
• When placement information is received, the Field Placement Liaison will notify you via email. You should contact the assigned school counselor ASAP and see if you could meet with him or her briefly before your placement begins.
• The FieldWork Contract is due by the end of the first week of the semester in which you are completing this internship. If you are able to meet the school counselor and sign this earlier, go ahead and do so. This can also be taken care of via email. Submit the completed contract to the Field Placement Liaison, who will add her signature and return a fully signed copy to you.
• Students are not allowed to register themselves for field placement classes. You will be notified when registered for the appropriate section of COUN 594 Internship in School Counseling.

Students are NOT to contact school districts or individual schools on their own. Many school districts have a prescribed placement process and we must follow those requirements.

What to do when you get an interview:

• Wear business attire
• Bring a copy of your resume, the appropriate Fieldwork Contract, and the Site Supervisors Quick Reference Guide.
• Be able to discuss any information presented on these forms.
• Verify internship qualifications

Deadline for Summer 2024 Contracts (Clinical Placements):
April 25, 2024

Deadline for Personal Counseling Verification Forms for ALL interns starting in Summer 2024:
April 25, 2024

Deadline for Fall 2024 Contracts (Clinical Placements):
July 15, 2024

Deadline for Fall 2024 Contracts (School Placements):
August 23, 2024

Deadline for Personal Counseling Verification Forms for ALL interns starting in Fall 2024:
July 15, 2024

The School of Psychology & Counseling uses an Academic EHR platform called Tevera for most evaluations and entering your time during internship. Please see the following How To documents on how to do each of these activities, but do note that you cannot enter time until you have completed the assignment to add a time track, and information about that is sent to you via email at the beginning of your first semester of internship. The assignments for the evaluation form completed by the site supervisor and the track hours log are done at the midterm and final points in the semester so will not show as available at the beginning of the semester. Students evaluate their field placement site and their site supervisor at the end of the semester.

Each evaluation is a Google Form. Please provide your site supervisor with the link to the one he or she is responsible for completing at the midterm and final points in the semester.