Student Placement Programs File

Introduction

Dalton Associates’ practicum placement is designed for master’s level counselling psychology students to give students supervised practical application of their field of study. Our program provides said student the opportunity to gain knowledge and comprehensive counselling experience within the Mental Wellness with Dalton (Counselling Services) Division of our agency, as well as other Divisions as appropriate. Students are supervised by a Registered Psychotherapist (registered with the CRPO) who oversees their placement for an agreed upon duration and specific number of hours.

The program offers complete and diverse training opportunities for counselling psychology students who wish to acquire solid practical experience in the field of Counselling Psychology/Mental Health and Wellness.

The placement is designed to provide master’s level students with a focused experience in various clinical modalities. Students will have opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills from their formal academic training and will be supported to work with a variety of populations through direct practical experiences with clients and using various evidence-based practices in the field of psychology. The practicum consists of virtual services and virtual supervision. Practicum students will additionally have opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams and collaborate with a variety of health care professionals for an enriching experience.

Structure of the Program

The training experience at Dalton Associates consists of a combination of direct clinical work, individual and group supervision and consultation, and additional hours for documentation and other administrative tasks.

Clinical Time and Practicum Details:

• This practicum placement consists of a 7.5-month placement over 2 trimesters of 15 weeks each, which is a total of 30 weeks.
• The practicum student will be designated by a title that denotes their trainee status: “Student Therapist”
• The practicum student will be provided with a written training and learning objectives contract that includes a timeline of goals and objectives for the duration of the placement. o If difficulties arise during the placement that compromise the practicum student’s success, the first step will be to develop a written plan to support the student to address these challenges. The written plan will include (1) steps of notice, (2) hearing and (3) appeal. Please see the Supervision Agreement signed both by student and supervisor at the commencement of placement for additional details.

Supervision and Evaluation:

• Supervision will be provided by a Registered Psychotherapist who is a full-time employee of Dalton Associates o 1 hour of individual supervision will be provided every week and 2-hour group supervision (with a maximum group of 8 students) will be once monthly. This offers a total of 6 hours of supervision per month; 4 individual hours and 2 group hours.
• Ad-hoc supervision will be available as needed for crisis that may arise. Please see the Supervision Agreement for additional details about ad-hoc supervision.
• Supervision will follow a developmental approach and will be based on the student’s skill level and experience. For supervision meetings, practicum students are encouraged to bring cases they would like to discuss or different topics they would like to cover.
• Completion of the appropriate evaluation paperwork and feedback as requested by the practicum students’ school.

Administration:

• Practicum student’s administrative duties will include creating and editing client progress notes (clinical case notes) and other standard clinical forms, completion of reports, consultations with shared providers, informal consultation, preparation for sessions, and communicating with the clients (when necessary).
• Practicum students must adhere to all ethical standards related to administrative duties.
• Practicum students are free to set their own clinical schedules.
• It is recommended that the practicum student spend a total of 13.5 hours per week dedicated to the practicum placement. It is recommended that 4 to 6 of those hours be dedicated to direct client contact. However, Dalton Associates is open to discussing other full-time or part-time practicum placement arrangements.