Practicum vs. Internship vs...all that.

[Aura5]

Have mercy on me if I'm asking a dumb question.

I'm looking at master's programs, trying to figure things out (seems like so many things to consider!) and, more or less, am trying to make sure I'm getting the most bang for my buck.

So...what's the different between a practicum versus an internship, as far as what is required towards licensure as a counselor? (LPC of some sort.) You know...meaning, if I go to a school that just has practicums, does that mean I'm going to have to do 2000000 more hours afterwards on my own trying to find an internship? Better to find a school that has an internship as part of their program? then, is there more beyond that? supervised hours, beyond the practicum and internships?

my heads bout'ta'explode

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[ikibah]

I can only answer for msw programs: Every program has something that they either call an internship, field placement or practicum but they are all the same thing. This is the field work that needs to be completed in order to earn your degree. After you graduate if one wants to be licensed they need to get additional hours under somebody certified to do so (usually about two years). Getting the degree and getting licensed afterwards is two separate things completely. I'd imagine that masters programs in psych run similarly in that you need a certain amount of fieldwork/practicum/internship to earn the degree (in which the school takes care of for you) and then after graduating one needs to get additional hours to become an lcpc.

 

[Aura5]

Okay, thanks. That seems to match up with what I'm looking at. With the post-grad pre-license ship hours....do the schools give you an idea where to go/how to get those? I mean it seems like you wouldn't be able to get a job without a license. Unless it's the kind of jobs you can get without a grad degree of any sort...

 

[ikibah]

No. I mean maybe the school will post open jobs but once you graduate it's up to you to find a supervisor and those hours. There are PLENTY of jobs out there for those only with a masters degree (again I'm talking in the field of social work not psychology) and many of them will allow you get supervision as you work. I am not sure what jobs exist for those with a masters in psych w/o licensure though. Somethings gotta exist though as people get those hours somehow.

 

[Aura5]

I see. Thanks. I'm now googling about supervised hours...seems like I['m not the only one confused although some of the other people are already graduating without knowing! Makes me feel a little better. Thanks for pointing me in a direction and distinguishing between the two. For some reason I assumed it was just one blob of hours you needed...not a blob for the degree, and then another blob for licensure. (Meaning, I assumed whatever hours you took during school would count/go towards the overall amount needed to get licensed?) Anyway...

 

[socwrkr]

I'm in California, so I can only speak to how it's done here. For MFT's in California, a small portion of the practicum hours completed during school will count toward the total clinical hours obtained after graduation. For MSW's in California, none of the 750 practicum hours completed during school will count toward clinical hours for licensing; you will have to accumulate 3200 hours AFTER graduation working in a mental health setting supervised by a licensed mental health clinician.

The route to licensure is: a master's program ->graduate ->work in a mental health setting as an intern->accumulate hours under supervision->take clinical exam->pass->become licensed.

The whole process, from school to licensure, is at a minimum five years.

There are many mental health agencies that hire pre-licensed clinicians who need to complete their hours; pre-licensed clinicians are cheaper to pay than licensed clinicians.

 

[Vasa Lisa]

In my experience for a CACREP approved CHMC program - 100 hours for practicum - 40 direct client hours and 60 admin and close supervision. Then a 900 hour internship while still in grad school. Often unpaid, and required for graduation. 240 direct hours - the rest admin and supervision, and intern class, etc. If you graduate from a CACREP program some states allows you to count the 900 hours toward the total hours for residency. Residency - depends a lot on your state - mine requires 4000 hours - 2000 direct and 2000 indirect. For me I had many more indirect than direct so it was over 4000 hours before I qualified to take the NCMHCE. Some states only require the NCE - a multiple choice book test. The NCHMCE is 10 clinical vignettes in 4 hours - and in my opinion a much more stringent exam than the NCE which is 200 questions based on book learning not clinical skill.

My residency was paid - but my internship was not. I started grad school in 2007, graduated in 2010, and was licensed in 2013.

HTH,

Vasa Lisa

 

[Goobernut]

Vasa Lisa, do you mind my asking what state you are in? I want to say that I thought you were in California? And what is the license called in your state? Just curious. It still boggles my mind how different all the states are on their licensure requirements for all mental health mid-level practitioners.

 

[Vasa Lisa]

Goobernut - not California - and my license is an LPC - licensed professional counselor. CA was the last of the 50 states to recognize CHMC/LPC - the MFT lobby is very powerful in that state.

 

[Aura5]

Hi..thanks for the information socwrkr and Vasa Lisa. So it sounds like, based on your experiences, there is potential that some of the hours earned while receiving the degree can go towards the service hours required for licensure. But, at the end of the day, it really depends on the state's requirements for that licensure. I should probably look at the schools in comparison to the state licensure requirements to get the best sense of what I'm getting/bang for buck.