Specific Practicum Supervision Question

[PsychNLife]

If you're an intern in a PsyD or PhD program, say your first or second year of the program, and you have your practicum placement, can this placement be supervised by a mid-level provider (MSW, LMHC). I'm specifically also asking about Massachusetts laws/boards. This is under the assumption that you also have faculty and professors who are doctoral-level discussing your work with you in classes/feedback sessions. But the actual practicum itself, can it be a mid-level?

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[WisNeuro]

Yikes, this seems problematic. I do not think this would pass muster in my state as the statutes dictate.

 

[PsyDr]

No. The point is to learn to be a psychologist, not to learn to be something else. It is a violation of ethical standards and apa training standards

 

[PsyDuck90]

You originally said internship, but then practicum, so I'm assuming you're referring to externship and not internship. For practicum, I think at most 1/4 of your supervision can be with a licensed allied mental health professional (LPC, LCSW, or even MD). Your primary supervisor needs to be a licensed psychologist. For instance, if you co-facilitate a group with an LCSW who provides some supervision for that group, but the rest of your clinical work is supervised by a psychologist, that should be acceptable. The mid-level should not be your primary supervisor. The DCT at your program should be able to definitively answer this question for you though. The DCT at my program doesn't allow anyone to complete a practicum if there isn't a licensed psychologist on-site serving as the primary supervisor.

 

[PsychNLife]

You originally said internship, but then practicum, so I'm assuming you're referring to externship and not internship. For practicum, I think at most 1/4 of your supervision can be with a licensed allied mental health professional (LPC, LCSW, or even MD). Your primary supervisor needs to be a licensed psychologist. For instance, if you co-facilitate a group with an LCSW who provides some supervision for that group, but the rest of your clinical work is supervised by a psychologist, that should be acceptable. The mid-level should not be your primary supervisor. The DCT at your program should be able to definitively answer this question for you though. The DCT at my program doesn't allow anyone to complete a practicum if there isn't a licensed psychologist on-site serving as the primary supervisor.

The program calls it a practicum, it's what I would be doing first year if I were to officially accept. (I'm currently holding my acceptance but thinking about declining), and I am trying to find out for sure so I'm emailing them. It is possible that it's just the contact people who I would be sending my resume to who are the mid-levels, and maybe I would be provided with doctoral-level primary supervisor. It feels uncomfortable though.

 

[PsyDuck90]

The program calls it a practicum, it's what I would be doing first year if I were to officially accept. (I'm currently holding my acceptance but thinking about declining), and I am trying to find out for sure so I'm emailing them. It is possible that it's just the contact people who I would be sending my resume to who are the mid-levels, and maybe I would be provided with doctoral-level primary supervisor. It feels uncomfortable though.

Practicum and externship are interchangeable terms in this case. Internship comes towards the end of your pre-doctoral clinical training.

I would absolutely clarify with the director of clinical training at the program you are considering the acceptance from. If they are comfortable with students being primarily supervised by mid-levels, that is a huge red flag in the quality of training you are likely to get in the program.

 

[PsychNLife]

Practicum and externship are interchangeable terms in this case. Internship comes towards the end of your pre-doctoral clinical training.

I would absolutely clarify with the director of clinical training at the program you are considering the acceptance from. If they are comfortable with students being primarily supervised by mid-levels, that is a huge red flag in the quality of training you are likely to get in the program.

Yeah you're right about that. I just wonder why they would want me to be sending my resume/cover letters to mid-levels, if they aren't going to be my supervisor. Wouldn't I usually be giving those to my actual primary supervisor?

 

[niceman]

Massachusetts considers licensed psychologists, board-certified psychiatrists, and licensed independent clinical social workers qualified supervisors for advanced practicum for licensure purposes. However, your 1st and 2nd year practica will likely NOT count towards licensure hours as they are not advanced practica. Those hours can still be counted for APPIC applications though.

Some sites may have a program manager who is a masters-level clinician. The actual supervision may still be provided by a licensed psychologist.

 

[ccpsych16]

In my program we have weekly group supervision by a faculty member who is a licensed psychologist. Some practicum sites only have mid-levels as direct supervisors (because there are no psychologists employed or they are not in clinical/supervisory positions), so we receive weekly supervision from both. It has never been a problem for students in my program when it came to internship or licensure.

 

[WisNeuro]

@terrib

In my program we have weekly group supervision by a faculty member who is a licensed psychologist. Some practicum sites only have mid-levels as direct supervisors (because there are no psychologists employed or they are not in clinical/supervisory positions), so we receive weekly supervision from both. It has never been a problem for students in my program when it came to internship or licensure.

If there are no psychologists employed at that site, it really should not be a sanctioned prac site.

 

[ccpsych16]

@terrib


If there are no psychologists employed at that site, it really should not be a sanctioned prac site.

I can only think of one with absolutely no psychologist, and I didn’t go there for multiple reasons (internal dysfunction being one). *shrug*

 

[child_psych123]

Yeah you're right about that. I just wonder why they would want me to be sending my resume/cover letters to mid-levels, if they aren't going to be my supervisor. Wouldn't I usually be giving those to my actual primary supervisor?

I trained at two practicum sites where the director of the organization was a mid-level provider. During the application process, I sent my CV to this person and was interviewed by this person. Once I began at the practicum site, I was assigned a supervisor and received direct supervision from a licensed psychologist who worked for the organization.

 

[cara susanna]

In my program we have weekly group supervision by a faculty member who is a licensed psychologist. Some practicum sites only have mid-levels as direct supervisors (because there are no psychologists employed or they are not in clinical/supervisory positions), so we receive weekly supervision from both. It has never been a problem for students in my program when it came to internship or licensure.

My program did the same thing. This was only for additional placements, though, not the formal practica placement.

 

[futureapppsy2]

My program did the same thing. This was only for additional placements, though, not the formal practica placement.

Were you still able to count those hours in APPIC?

 

[cara susanna]

Were you still able to count those hours in APPIC?

I believe so, since they were technically supervised by a psychologist. It's been a while though.