INTERNSHIPS & SUPERVISORS
The marriage and family therapy internship site, usually an off-campus location, offers our students the opportunity for experiential learning by providing clinical services in a professional and supportive learning environment. Students will work with a wide variety of people, relationships, and problems. The internship site provides appropriate clients for the intern to meet their requirements, offering as culturally diverse a clientele as possible in regard to culture, race, religion, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and family configuration.
During the internship, students provide at least 500 face-to-face therapy hours with clients while under supervision. At least half of the direct therapy hours will be with couples and/or families present in the room. Students receive supervision from qualified supervisors at their site and on campus during the practicum course sequence. Students receive at least 100 hours of supervision, with at least 50 hours being individual supervision.
Students have an opportunity to meet site supervisors and representatives during Internship Day, an event held on the SPU campus. The end goal of Internship Day is to enable students to make an informed decision about which sites they would like to pursue for placement. For students on the 2-year track, their 18-month internship begins Winter term (January) of their first year and concludes upon graduation. For students on the 3-year track, their 21-month internship begins Fall term (September) of their second year, concluding at graduation. An internship will begin once the student, site supervisor, site representative, and the SPU Director of Internships sign the Four-way Internship Agreement.
