Clinical Mental Health/Marriage and Family Counseling Practicum (COUC 692) – Residential

All prerequisite courses are non-negotiable and must be successfully completed prior to the start of practicum.

• Course Prerequisites
  • Orientation to Counselor Profession Identity & Function (COUC 500)
  • Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling (COUC 501)
  • Human Growth & Development (COUC 502)
  • Multicultural Counseling (COUC 504)
  • Counseling Techniques & the Helping Relationship (COUC 505)
  • Theories of Counseling (COUC 510)
  • Group Counseling (COUC 512)
  • Research & Program Evaluation (COUC 515)
  • Assessment Techniques in Counseling (COUC 521)
  • Psychopathology (COUC 546)
  • CMHC students – Clinical Diagnosis & Treatment Planning (COUC 667)*
    • CMHC students may take COUC 667 as a co-requisite
  • MFC Students – Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Planning in Marriage and Family Counseling (COUC 602)
    • MFC students may take COUC 602 as a co-requisite
• Additional Prerequisites
  • Background Check: You must purchase a background check through American Databank within no more than one year before applying for practicum.
  • Fingerprints: You must purchase and complete your fingerprints before applying for practicum.
  • GPA: You must have a 3.0 cumulative GPA by the posted application deadline.

International Graduate Students must receive approval for what is called “Curricular Practical Training” (CPT) for any internships, regardless of whether they are paid or unpaid. The CPT Document (pdf) must be filled out with the Practicum & Internship Office and submitted to the student’s International Student Advisor for approval. Questions can be directed to mystatus@liberty.edu or by the student making an appointment to meet with an advisor at (434) 592-4118.

Disclaimer: Students are enrolled in practicum sections based on the Degree Completion Plan Audits submitted at the time of applying. If a student switches degrees after submitting their practicum application, they will be responsible for notifying the Practicum and Internship Office immediately.

Minimum Total Practicum Hours: 100

• Please see Residential Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Counseling Fieldwork Manual for the Hour Requirements.
• Students should check with their state counseling board for practicum requirements for the state they wish to be licensed in.

Semester Requirements

• Practicum officially starts the first day of Liberty’s academic semester.
• Practicum is a full-semester commitment.
  • Students are required to earn hours each week of the semester with the approved site and supervisor.
• Practicum is an A-Term course:
  • 16-17 weeks during the Fall and Spring semesters
  • 14-15 weeks during the Summer semester

Telehealth and In-Person Counseling Policy

Please see Residential Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Counseling Fieldwork Manual for the Telehealth and In-Person Counseling Policy.

Video Recording Requirement

Please see Residential Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Counseling Fieldwork Manual for the Video Recording Requirement.

Please note that all students are responsible to keep a record/copy of their verification of final hours form for licensure purposes.

Practicum Opportunities

State Site Lists: The sites listed on the state site lists have previously executed Affiliation Agreements with the Fieldwork Office. However, placement at one of these sites is not automatically approved. Each site must still undergo review and receive approval through the individual student’s application process to ensure it meets all program requirements. Final approval is granted by the Fieldwork Office.

• On average, finding a site and supervisor takes at least three to four months.
• Students are allowed a maximum of two sites.
• All students must apply with at least one site that will allow them to complete their required 2 taped client sessions.
• Students are not permitted to do in-home/home-based counseling.

Types of sites that can be considered for internship:

• Counseling Agency
• Hospital
• Private Practice
• University Counseling Center
• Community Services Board
• School*

*If you are seeking to see clients at a school under your clinical site:

• Final approval is determined by the Fieldwork Office upon review of your application and site qualifications.
• Counseling services must be clinical mental health, not school-based or academic counseling.
• A licensed or associate licensed site supervisor (or designated clinical professional) employed by the site must be on-site at all times while you are present.
• The school must have a formal contract with your clinical site for service delivery.

Students are allowed a maximum of two supervisors.

• Please visit our site supervisor webpage for helpful information for practicum supervisors.

Examples of Approved Supervisors:

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
• Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Licensed Psychologist (LP) with either a PhD in Clinical Psychology or a PsyD (all other Licensed Psychologists will be reviewed on a case by case basis)
• Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist

Examples of Supervisors Not Approved:

School Counselors

Doctorate degrees that are not in the counseling field or are unaccredited

Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) – with the only exception of the macro- or clinical- designations in the state of Michigan.

Limited Licensed Professional Counselor (LLPC)

Master of Divinity

Pastoral Counselors

Please review the Practicum Supervisor Information before proceeding.

The numbers below correspond to the order in which the documents will be uploaded in the SharePoint application:

1. Degree Completion Plan Audit
   • Located under the Degree Completion tab on the Course Registration page
2. Background Check Order Completion PDF
   • Students must submit their background check order completion PDF from ADB (or previously order confirmation page/results summary page from CastleBranch) that is dated no more than one year prior to the date of their application.
   • The practicum office will also verify that you have completed your fingerprints through American Databank (or CastleBranch) at the time of your application. If you have not purchased and completed your fingerprints through American Databank (or previously through CastleBranch), these will need to be completed by the time you apply or you will be denied approval for practicum.
   • Only send the completion document that is sent to your email from ADB once the purchase of the background check or re-check has been made, or if your background check from CastleBranch is not expired and you are using it, please make sure it is either the order confirmation page or page 1 of the results summary page.
   • Visit the Background Check website for further instructions on background check or fingerprints.
3. Supervisor’s License Verification
   • Found on your state counseling board website.
   • Includes name, license number, issue date, expiration date, & current/active
4. Fieldwork Contract
   • On-Site Fieldwork Contract (PDF): an on-site supervisor is an individual who is an employed counselor at the site you are applying to complete your practicum
   • Offsite Fieldwork Contract (PDF): an offsite supervisor is an individual who is not an employed counselor at the site you are applying to complete your practicum, but has received approval to come on-site and provide supervision
   • Signed by student and site supervisor
     • The dates must match Liberty’s A-term semester dates. Check the Academic Calendar for the semester dates you will be completing practicum.
     • Please note: you must only fill out one fieldwork contract per site/supervisor. Students are only required to have one site and supervisor but may have up to two sites and supervisors.
5. Supervisor & Site Information Forms (PDF)
   • Signed by the site director, supervisor, and student
6. Digital Photo of Student
   • Professional photo, driver’s license, or student ID
7. Liability Insurance Face Sheet (PDF)
   • Students are required to purchase their own coverage for the duration of practicum and internship. The coverage requirements are detailed in the link above.
8. Affiliation Agreement and Student Addendum
   • Cover Page: Completed by a site representative
   • 8-Page Agreement: Completed and signed only by legal signatory at site
   • 3-Page Schedule A & B (Student Addendum): Completed and signed by the student
   • Extensions will not be granted for Affiliation Agreement negotiations

Important:

• Please submit all documents as PDF files only. Documents will be uploaded to the portal in the same order they are listed above. The Site and Supervisor Information Forms must be submitted as a single 2-page PDF file. The Affiliation Agreement and Student Addendum must be submitted as a single PDF file containing all 12 pages (9 pages for the Affiliation Agreement and 3 pages for the Student Addendum).

All approval documents must be submitted to the Practicum and Internship Office through the SharePoint submission portal prior to the deadline listed above. No late documents will be accepted. Submission of these forms does not mean automatic acceptance of the proposed site and/or supervisor; they must be approved first. Liberty University must validate that the student’s proposed site will provide a good educational experience and that it has adequate oversight and safeguards built in to ensure an appropriate clinical environment.

Please see Residential Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Counseling Fieldwork Manual for changing site(s) and/or supervisor(s).

It is important to know that some sites in VA require that you have been approved as a Qualified Mental Health Professional-Trainee (QMHP-T). When you have completed 30 hours of your Master’s program you may submit an application for the QMHP-T credentials.  While this is not an official policy, your application may be considered by the state. Here is the link to information about QMHP application for the state of VA.

Virginia QMHP information: view the “Regulations for Registration of Qualified Mental Health Professionals” PDF document.