Counseling Practicum – COUC 698

Course Description

Rationale

This Practicum course involves participation in a planned clinical experience in an approved agency or other settings under an approved supervisor. During the Practicum experience, students are actively engaged in the field of professional counseling and they contribute to the cooperating agency by assisting its staff in carrying out many of the daily clinical activities of that agency. The purpose of the counseling Practicum is to provide a supervised, field-based, work experience for students.

Method of Instruction: This semester-long course is delivered using a digital synchronous learning format. Students attend 1.5-2 hours of video-based group supervision each week. In addition to the weekly digital synchronous class time, students are expected to complete additional work over the duration of the semester.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Advising Acknowledgement Quiz

The student will review the program handbook and licensure information by following the link within the quiz information. Once reviewed, the student will need to complete the Advising Guide Acknowledgment Quiz.

Proof of Liability Insurance Assignment

The student must submit a copy of liability insurance at the beginning of the semester in order to prove that he/she will maintain liability insurance throughout the Practicum. 

No student may begin or remain in practicum without appropriate liability insurance. (CLO: G)

Religious and Spiritual Assessment Assignment

The student will complete an assessment that reflects on faith integration at the beginning of practicum. This same assessment will be requested again at the end of the internship.

The HIPAA Privacy Authorization and Release Form must be completed by each client prior to presenting in class. The form must not be uploaded to Canvas but kept on file at the student’s internship site. The Video Informed Consent Confirmation form must be completed and uploaded to Canvas prior to presenting in class. 

If a site does not permit video/audio recordings of client sessions, the Site Supervisor must observe at least two live sessions of the student counseling a client in lieu of video/audio recording a client. The student utilizing the Live Observation option will also be required to record a taped session with the site supervisor or another licensed clinician acting as the client in order to complete the presentation and verbatim assignments in class. This assignment is only required if the student cannot record clients. 

***Effective Fall 2023*** Live observation will not be allowed as each student must have at least one site that allows videotaping.

Telemental Health Policy Form Submission Assignment

If the student will be conducting telemental health counseling, then the student will complete and submit a Telemental Health Policy Form agreement signed by the Site Supervisor as well as the student. (CLO: E, G)

Telemental Health Training Completion Certificate Submission Assignment

The student will complete telemental health training provided in module 10. Upon completion the student will upload the certificate of completion. A signed policy agreement will also be submitted if telemental health training will be conducted at the Practicum site.

The student will prepare and submit a written informed consent document and upload it in the appropriate assignment portal. (CLO: A, B, E, G)

Benchmark Group Assignment

Definition: Per CACREP 2016 standard, “In addition to the development of individual counseling skills, during either the practicum or internship, students must lead or co-lead a counseling or psychoeducational group”.

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to give the student a hands-on experience in planning and leading a psycho-educational or counseling group in his/her clinical setting as these are frequently planned and led by licensed professionals and are a skill required by CACREP standards.

Directions: The student must begin by consulting his/her site supervisor to assess and brainstorm a psychoeducational or counseling group that the student may plan to either lead, under the supervision of his/her supervisor, or, co-lead with his/her supervisor. After the student has completed the group, submit the Group form using the assignment link in Canvas. (CLO: A, B, C, E, G) 

Self-Reflection Paper Assignment

The student will complete a final self-reflection assignment. The final self-reflection is intended to engage the student in the process of reflective learning while demonstrating self-awareness, self-evaluation, and the ability to develop a specific action plan that will aid them in improving his/her counseling skills. The final self-reflection will be submitted as a paper in Canvas. (CLO: A, B)

This First Client Presentation will focus on basic counseling skills. Each student will complete an approximately 35 minute case presentation during (class time) group supervision (with 10-15 minutes for discussion including time for questions, treatment, & diagnosis). (CLO: A, B, C, E, G) 

The written case presentations requires the student to provide an assignment describing a client, couple, or family an individual is working with at the field site. In this assignment, the student will describe the client's assessment and diagnostic information, case conceptualization, and treatment planning/integration/counseling theory. This second presentation is a benchmark assignment that should also be submitted in Tevera.

Note: The client used in this presentation must be a different client than the one used in the first presentation. (CLO: A, B, C, E, G) 

The student will prepare a PowerPoint for each presentation (2) to share with the class during the WebEx Faculty Supervision meetings.

The student will participate in oral case presentations during Faculty Group Supervision with his/her Faculty Supervisor (COUC 698 Professor). Each student will complete two (35-45 minute oral case presentations). The oral case presentation will include the student's presentation of the case, 10-15 minutes for discussion (includes diagnostic discussion, treatment plan, multicultural, and ethical considerations, and time for questions as well as replies. 

The first oral case presentation and verbatim will focus on basic counseling skills.

The second oral case presentation and verbatim will continue focusing on basic counseling skills, a treatment plan, ethical considerations, and information on multiculturalism (cultural factors).

The student must be prepared to discuss his/her theoretical orientation (the student will select one theory will use to conceptualize clients), evidenced based interventions, ethical, and multicultural considerations. 

The student must attend faculty supervision on the date one is scheduled to present and are not permitted to request an excused absence. 

When the student is not presenting an oral case presentation during faculty supervision, he/she is required to actively participate, provide questions, share resources, and support his/her peers who are presenting. 

The student is encouraged to attend all faculty supervision meetings to aid with the development of his/her theoretical orientation, clinical skills development, preparation for internship, and professional development support. 

View case presentation instructions in the Assignments tab of the course. (CLO: A, B, C, E, G) 

Student Evaluation of Site and Supervisor Assignment

The student will evaluate his/her site and supervisor near the conclusion of the course, using Tevera. This evaluation will also be uploaded into Canvas as well. One evaluation per site needs to be completed. (CLO: H)

Video and Verbatim Assignments (2)

This will involve the student getting informed consent from his/her site and client, recording and submitting a session to the professor, and transcribing and analyzing an 8-10 minute portion of the session. The transcription form is available via the Canvas courseroom.

For the purposes of faculty supervision and site supervision, the student must record two counseling sessions to submit to site supervisors. These counseling sessions will be presented as Case Presentations.

The session due dates correspond with the student presentation date. The session is due the week of the students’ case presentation (see the case presentation schedule/course chart for exact dates; the schedule will be established by the professor). The student will also submit a verbatim form with an 8-10 minute segment of the recorded session and an Informed Consent Confirmation form verifying that he/she has provided an informed consent to the client and site.

*Students with a site that does not allow either video or audio taping of clients will need to work with supervisor(s) to complete Live Observations of client sessions and tapings of role-play sessions. Instructions for these can be found with the taped sessions instructions and documents in the Syllabus and Canvas Classroom. (CLO: A, B, G)

***Effective Fall 2023*** Live observation will not be allowed as the student must have at least one site that allows videotaping.

Faculty Supervisor CCS-R Student Evaluation Assignment

The student's faculty supervisor will complete a final evaluation (CCS-R) of the student. This evaluation will be completed via Tevera. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F, G)

Site Supervisor CCS-R Student Evaluation Assignments (2)

The student’s site supervisor will complete a midterm evaluation and final evaluation via Tevera. The student must remind his/her supervisor(s) to submit this evaluation to Tevera. If the student does not receive passing evaluations during the course, the student will work with the supervisor and Liberty University Practicum faculty to develop a plan to correct any deficits. The points earned for these evaluations are based directly on how the site supervisor evaluates the student. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F, G)

Quiz: Site and Supervisor Information

The student will submit the contact information for the approved site(s) and supervisor(s). This will help ensure that the student's information for the approved site(s) and approved supervisor match our office records.

Quiz: Emergency Acknowledgement and Contact Information

The student will provide his/her home address and phone number, as well as contact information for a counselor or counseling agency in his/her area. This will be used only in a situation where personal counseling is recommended.

Quiz: Ethics

The quiz will cover the American Counseling Association's (ACA) code of ethics. The student will have 45 minutes to choose the correct answer for 25 multiple-choice and true/false questions. (CLO: G)

Quiz: Policy

This quiz covers a few important policies required to complete the Practicum class, including the Practicum manual, Tevera, attendance, and video capability. The quiz consists of 4 multiple choice questions.

Reading Quizzes (4)

The quizzes will cover chapters 1-4 of Jungers & Scott textbook. The student will have 30 minutes to choose the correct answer for 5 multiple-choice questions. (CLOs: A, B) 

The student will complete a quiz that covers the learn material for Module 5 where suicide assessment and prevention are reviewed. The quiz contains 10 multiple-choice questions with a time-limit of 60-minutes.

The student will complete 3 self-reflection journal entries throughout the course. One will focus on an action plan for clinical skill improvement, the second will reflect on skill development progress and challenges in the practicum, and the third will reflect on theoretical development.

Quiz: Group Assignment Progress

The student will verify that he/she is making progress on the group counseling assignment that is due the last week of class.

Quiz: Self-Care Reflection

The student will reflect on activities used for personal self-care and protection from burnout.

Quiz: Dispositions Reflection

The student will be asked to reflect on the nine dispositions required by our program and our CACREP accreditation organization. The quiz include 9 multiple-choice and 1 essay question.

Quiz: Recorded Videos

The student will confirm that all of the recorded videos have been deleted.