The goals of Zayed's Practice internship are to train competent, culturally aware, and ethical counselors who can provide exceptional psychotherapy services in private outpatient settings. The internship aims to provide practical face-to-face experience, preparing students for the business side of therapy, and empower them to achieve their personal and academic aspirations. Interns are supervised to develop skills necessary for academic success, personal growth, positive interpersonal relationships, and career development.
A master's level student internship is a critical clinical experience for graduate students training as mental health therapists and counselors. It offers exposure to various clinical situations and additional training under the supervision of a licensed mental health professional. Interns conduct individual, couples, family, or group therapy to accrue direct client contact hours, with therapy-related activities supervised by the site and administrative supervision by the educational institution.
The internship site provides supervision, reports, evaluations, and other internship requirements to the educational institution. It ensures effective levels of supervision, support, and mentoring and offers feedback and input through evaluations of the student’s progress.
Supervision goals include clear expectations about procedures and performance evaluation, solid supervisor-supervisee relationships, attention to case management, theory, skill development, open communication, and focus on growth and competencies. Supervisors facilitate the supervisee’s ability to evaluate their progress and competency objectively and subjectively.
Students must maintain professional liability insurance, create and maintain a Psychology Today profile, track and submit hours and logs in time-2-track, treat clients throughout the internship, and attend mandatory training, staff meetings, and weekly individual and group supervision sessions.
Supervision includes reviewing critiques, role-playing scenarios, discussing therapeutic approaches, sharing experiences, discussing ethical and legal issues, and providing ongoing support. Supervisors will assess the student’s strengths, struggles, adaptation to the site, case note writing, counseling knowledge, therapeutic skills, professional dispositions, ability to establish therapeutic encounters, develop treatment plans, manage caseloads, receive feedback, apply the code of ethics, set boundaries, handle crises, maintain confidentiality, and understand cultural issues.