INFORMATION ABOUT PRACTICUM SITES

Process of Application and General Information to Consider

What is the process/ requirements for applying?
Do you apply to the site or directly to a supervisor?
Is there a brochure or website for the site?
Do you have the contact information for this site? If so, can you specify the name of the site contact person, phone number, address and email address.
When is the deadline to apply?
When does the practicum start and finish?
What’s involved in the interview and who conducts it?
How many days per week or hours per week are students expected to be at the site? How can this time be spread out and who determines the schedule?
Is there flexibility to move around the site (i.e., doing rotations in various departments or moving to another department if the number of hours is not being met)?

Opportunities for assessment? (if so, what type of assessments will YOU do? Note: an intake interview for a potential therapy client is not the same as full a psychological assessment; also there are different types of psyc assessments).
What assessment instruments will be you be trained on?
What is the process of training?
Direct observation of your supervisor?
Reading on your own?
Opportunities for treatment?
What is the client population?
Are there opportunities to conduct couples therapy? Group therapy?
What percentage of time is devoted to direct contact, report writing, other?
What is the theoretical orientation used for treatment?
Will you receive training for working with specific populations or dealing with specific mental health issues?
What is the expected case load (i.e., number of psychotherapy cases and/or the number of assessments a student is expected to get)?

Are research opportunities available?
Are teaching/ didactic opportunities available?
Is there a possibility of attending clinical rounds? Professional workshops conducted at the site?
Are there future opportunities following a practicum such as paid assessment work, research work, and does the site formally train interns?

How many other trainees were at the site with you? (interns, post-docs, etc.)
What other professionals did you work with? (social workers, psychiatrists, etc.)
Did you have your own office?
Did you have computer access?
Any concerns about accessibility of the site by public transit?
How wheelchair accessible is the site?

Provide a rating on a “five-star” scale of 0 stars (not recommend) to 5 stars (highly recommend) and comment on your overall experience at this practicum.
What does a typical day look like at the site?

Consider downloading and watching the "match made on earth" documentary. There are tons of questions re. internship that would probably also be helpful for considering a practicum site.
What is the perception of psychology as a profession within the site?
How is conflict resolved at this site? Consider what would happen in the event of a problem between supervisor/supervisee. Information from former students at this site may be very helpful in this regard, to get a sense for how professionally the site conducts itself.