Which Practicum To Choose

[Grenth]

I've seen some folks get great insights recently when they asked about choosing an offer, so I thought I'd see what you all have to say about my situation.

I'm a Ph.D. student starting my second practicum. I am at a university counseling center this year and I have loved that experience. For next year ( practicum 2/3) I have these offers.

1. Military Hospital
Pros: I want experience with this population. The training, especially in trauma, sounds amazing. The supervisor is very flexible and excited about my input in shaping a new component of the established training. I would specifically be working in outpatient and the experience would be pretty applicable to a wide-variety of sites.

Cons: Two hour round trip commute, limited assessment experience.

2. Community Mental Health
Pros: Assessment heavy with a neurologically diverse population. Short round trip commute.
Cons: I am not that interested in assessment or this population but I currently don't have any integrated reports and my understanding is that I would need a few for internship. Very limited treatment opportunities.

3. University Counseling Center

Pros: This is at a huge prestigious university with an internship site I will likely apply to. I really enjoy this population.
Cons: I already have UCC experience and I want to experience something else to make sure its what I really like. No assessment.

Currently, my thoughts for internship/career are to pursue a UCC, but I'm not sure if that's what I really love or if it's just all I know. However, my fear is if I turn down the prestigious UCC this year they won't take me if I apply next year or for internship.

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[deleted343839]

Re: the UCC site, are you interested in their UCC internship, or in an unrelated internship at the institution? If the latter, it may not matter that much to your eventual application.

One year I did a practicum 2 days per week at a site that was usually a 90-100 minute round trip commute. It's added stress but not undoable. If you are interested in a military or VA internship it would be worthwhile experience.

The CMH position sounds like the poorest fit. You don't NEED an assessment-focused practicum. Just make it well known, wherever you are, that you are interested in assessment experience and you might get some opportunities at another site even if you focus mainly on treatment.

 

[Grenth]

Re: the UCC site, are you interested in their UCC internship, or in an unrelated internship at the institution? If the latter, it may not matter that much to your eventual application.

One year I did a practicum 2 days per week at a site that was usually a 90-100 minute round trip commute. It's added stress but not undoable. If you are interested in a military or VA internship it would be worthwhile experience.

The CMH position sounds like the poorest fit. You don't NEED an assessment-focused practicum. Just make it well known, wherever you are, that you are interested in assessment experience and you might get some opportunities at another site even if you focus mainly on treatment.

Thank you. The internship would be with the UCC, which is why I'm afraid turning them down might reflect poorly on me. I think I am going to go ahead and decline the CMH position and try to get assessment experience where I can. My gut feeling is to go with the military hospital to get some diversity and experience in that area and see if I would like to consider a VA/military internship which I think about doing. I'm still a little torn though.

 

[deleted343839]

Thank you. The internship would be with the UCC, which is why I'm afraid turning them down might reflect poorly on me. I think I am going to go ahead and decline the CMH position and try to get assessment experience where I can. My gut feeling is to go with the military hospital to get some diversity and experience in that area and see if I would like to consider a VA/military internship which I think about doing. I'm still a little torn though.

It sounds like a tough decision - maybe you can reach out to students who have already completed these practica and that might tip the balance for you.