Approved Fieldwork Site Application Process

Thank you for considering serving as a placement site for UNM counseling interns! The UNM counseling program collaborates with agencies, institutions, and K-12 schools in the state of New Mexico to provide in-person school practicum, and school and clinical mental health counseling (CMHC) internships.

The UNM counseling program maintains a list of approved school practicum, and school and CMHC internship sites. This list also includes “provisionally approved” sites who have completed the application process, and are within the first year of working with UNM counseling students. After the first year, the counseling program faculty review evaluation data and decide whether to formally approve the site as a placement for UNM counseling students.

Requirements for Site Supervisor Qualifications

In alignment with CACREP 2024 standards (p. 18), site supervisors must meet the criteria listed below:

  1. a minimum of a master’s degree, preferably in counseling or a related profession;
  2. active certifications and/or licenses in the geographic location where the student is placed, preferably in counseling or a related profession;
  3. a minimum of two years post-master’s professional experience relevant to the CACREP specialized practice area in which the student is enrolled;
  4. relevant training for in-person and/or distance counseling supervision;
  5. relevant training in the technology utilized for supervision; and
  6. knowledge of the program’s expectations, requirements, and evaluation procedures for students.

The UNM Counselor Education program also requires that site supervisors meet New Mexico Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) requirements, which include:

  1. Independent licensure in NM as a Licensed Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Professional Art Therapist, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor, Licensed Psychiatrist, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychiatry, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, or Licensed Psychologist,
  2. completed 3 continuing education unit hours in counseling and therapy supervision since their last renewal, and
  3. completed 6 additional continuing education unit hours pertaining to ethics in supervision OR hold a current supervision credential through the applicable national professional association

Interested in becoming an approved site? Please complete the following steps:

  1. Complete the New Site Application: The first step includes completing the following application to serve as a new site, using the following survey link: https://unm.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eFesFOH6J7MKXb0
  2. Complete a Site Visit Meeting: The next step is to meet with the fieldwork coordinator to go over UNM's fieldwork requirements, answer any questions, and discuss what you are looking for in an intern. The UNM fieldwork coordinator can be reached at coun@unm.edu or starkc@unm.edu

Agreement Form with Student Intern: Once these steps are complete, you'll meet with interested interns to complete the agreement form. This form is made available to the student and site supervisor via email. With the agreement form and application process complete, the intern can start accruing hours!

Additional Resources: Please see below for a copy of our Fieldwork Handbook.

Fieldwork Handbook

Master’s in Counseling Fieldwork

Dates for Fieldwork: Interns’ interactions with clients are restricted to the period beginning with the first day of the UNM academic term and ending on the last day of the term. Duration: The internship will commence on the first day of the academic semester and conclude on the last day of the academic semester. Period of Service: The Intern’s accrual of clinical hours is confined to the term outlined above. No activities (e.g. interactions with clients, training, tasks) shall occur outside this period. If extenuating circumstances require the student to engage in fieldwork related tasks outside of the academic term, this must be articulated in the Internship Site Agreement, and approved by the Fieldwork Coordinator.

Liability Insurance: All students in practicum and internship must maintain liability insurance. Many students use the American Counseling Association or American School Counseling Association for this coverage, as membership includes liability insurance (students pay for membership, then liability insurance is an included benefit). The American Mental Health Counseling Association also provides opportunities for purchasing liability insurance at a reduced rate through a specific provider.

  • What if a site says they’ll add the student to their insurance? All students are required to carry their own individual liability insurance during fieldwork. The agency or site’s insurance coverage is not sufficient.
  • Students are prompted to provide a copy of their “certificate of coverage” for their liability insurance on the Agreement Form.

Agreement Forms: For summer and fall semesters, all agreement forms must be submitted by April 15th. For spring semesters, agreement forms must be submitted by November 15th. These forms are available in the UNM Counselor Education Student Portal in Teams, and are shared with students via email.

*Please note, the site supervisor is the individual who completes the Agreement Form with the student. The site supervisor is the individual the student meets with weekly for supervision.

  • CMHC Practicum: Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) students in practicum (COUN 590) do not need to complete an agreement form. These students complete practicum at the Manzanita Counseling Center.
  • School Counseling Practicum Agreement Form: School Counseling (SC) students in practicum consult the approved site list for potential school-based sites at which to complete their practicum experience. Many students stay at their practicum site for internship. Once students have reached out to, and secured a site placement, they arrange a meeting with the site supervisor to complete the practicum agreement form.
  • Internship Agreement Form: Students completing COUN 595 Internship and/or COUN 519 Group Internship (CMHC and/or SC) consult the approved site list (provided via email) and reach out to MULTIPLE sites to inquire about placement. Once a site placement has been secured, the student arranges a meeting with the site supervisor (via Zoom, or in-person) to complete the agreement form. Students may select multiple semesters on the form, indicating that they plan to stay at the site for more than one semester.

Hours and Work Requirements

COUN 595 Internship

  • Total Hours: The Intern is expected to complete at least 300 total hours (120 direct and 180 indirect) during the internship period each semester.
  • Direct Service Hours: Out of the total, a minimum of 120 hours must consist of direct service each semester.
  • Indirect Service Hours: Out of the total, 180 hours will be indirect service each semester.

Direct service hours are comprised of time spent in providing “Supervised use of counseling, consultation, or related professional skills with actual clients (individuals, couples, families, or groups) for the purpose of fostering social, cognitive, behavioral, and/or affective change. These activities must involve interaction with others and may include: (1) assessment, (2) counseling, (3) psycho-educational activities, and (4) consultation. The following would not be considered direct service: (1) observing others providing counseling or related services, (2) record keeping, (3) administrative duties, (4) clinical and/or administrative supervision, and (5) role plays (CACREP 2024, p. 36).
Indirect hours are any professional service that a counselor might perform that is not experienced directly by a client or consultee for the purposes of development or advocacy. Relevant examples of internship-related indirect services include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Individual supervision: “a tutorial and mentoring relationship between a member of the counseling professional and one counseling student” (CACREP 2024, p. 36).
  • Research: A process whereby a student collects, interprets, and internalizes literature and resources related to a counseling topic.
  • System support: Any activity that students perform administratively related to their counseling practice or skill development in the internship course (includes paperwork).

Direct-hour Activities for School Fieldwork Students

For school fieldwork students, “clients” in the above excerpts is comprised of students, their parents or guardians, other family members, and potentially other stakeholders. Almost any contact with students or family members would be assumed to be covered in the first numbered list above—especially psychoeducation and consultation interactions. As well, the phrase “counseling, consultation, or related professional skills” would be defined as related to school counseling not clinical mental health counseling. Definitions of “professional skills” apply to a school counselor’s role.

Time with students, phoning parents, and presenting lessons in a class. In each case, the student need not be the only person providing services, but must be involved in presenting the services, such as having a cofacilitator in a group the student is leading for K12 students. In deciding whether direct hours, the student and a non-staff person ought to have interacted, and if the student participated in the interaction—did not simply observe a counselor interacting with someone. Direct contact may include face-to-face, video, and phone interactions. Unlike clinical students, those in schools will likely have short interactions. Count such interactions rounded up to quarter hour increments for logging. Alternatively, logs can include blocks that are made up of multiple short interactions on a particular day.

COUN 519 Group Internship

Interns completing group internship must complete 10 hours of direct service (separate from their COUN 595 hours) consisting of facilitation or co-faciltiation of group counseling sessions. Interns will meet weekly for one hour with their group internship site supervisor while actively facilitating groups at the site.

Evaluations for MA in Counseling Students

Over the course of the semester a range of evaluations are completed as part of our CACREP 2024 assessment plan. These evaluations are shared with students and site supervisors via email, and are available in the associated course syllabus. These evaluations include –

  • Site Supervisor Evaluation of Student: This evaluation is completed by the site supervisor regarding the student’s knowledge, skills, awareness, and professional dispositions, as well as development over the course of fieldwork. Some site supervisors prefer to complete this evaluation during supervision, with the student (this is not required).
  • Student Evaluation of the Site: This evaluation is completed by the student regarding their experience at the site. You may complete this evaluation independently, or with your site supervisor.
  • Instructor (aka University Supervisor) Evaluation of Students

In alignment with CACREP 2024 S2.C2, the program assesses students’ professional dispositions and development at multiple points during their program of study. This includes fieldwork instructor's evaluation of students at the end of each semester, using the Counselor Competencies Scale—Revised (CCS-R) and Professional Counselor Performance Evaluation (PCPE).

Fieldwork Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I want to complete internship, or school counseling practicum, at a site that is not on the approved list. What do I do?

Please reach out via email to the fieldwork coordinator Dr. Cortny Stark ( starkc@unm.edu), and copy the contact at the site. The site will then complete a new site application, and meet with the fieldwork coordinator, before being potentially “conditionally approved”. Once provisionally approved, a student may be placed at the site and complete the necessary agreement form. At the end of the semester, survey data from the semester as well as additional information regarding the site will be reviewed before the site is allowed to continue as conditionally approved, deemed an “approved site”, or no longer included as a site for fieldwork for UNM counseling students.

What does my site supervisor need to know about the program, and requirements?

Key information is shared directly with site supervisors through the Site Supervisor Information Sheet, Fieldwork Handbook, Fieldwork Orientation, and through the site approval process.

What’s the best way to complete the practicum or internship agreement form?

This form is best completed collaboratively with the site supervisor and student in one sitting. The agreement includes information regarding hours requirements, expectations for the student, expectations for the site, the student’s goals for their internship experience, and a place for the student to upload a copy of their liability. Students cannot start, then stop completion of the contract (e.g. you cannot re-use the link to access a partially completed survey). At the end of this survey, the student and site supervisor are asked to sign indicating their agreement with the conditions stipulated in the agreement.

I have more than one site. Do I complete more than one Internship Agreement form?

Students will re-use the link provided above to access a fresh copy of the contract to complete with additional sites. If you are completing COUN 595 and 519 at the same site, with the same supervisor, you may complete one Internship Agreement form by selecting both COUN 519 and COUN 595 when prompted on the survey.

Something changed at my site, and I need to update the agreement form, what do I do?

If you need to edit your original agreement, please reach out to the fieldwork coordinator at starkc@unm.edu to receive a link that will allow you to edit your original agreement form.

Please note that all Internship and Practicum Agreements are automatically sent to the Fieldwork Coordinator for review (by the Qualtrics survey platform), and must be approved by the Fieldwork Coordinator prior to the student commencing their fieldwork placement and accrual of hours. The Fieldwork Coordinator will confirm via email whether the agreement is approved.

Counselor Education Doctoral Fieldwork

The purpose of this page is to provide interested community members, current doctoral students, and site supervisors with key information regarding fieldwork (i.e. practicum, internship) at the doctoral level.
Advanced Practicum: COUN 630 Advanced Practicum meets 2.5 hours weekly during the term as a group supervision seminar. PhD students are required to complete a 100-hour advanced clinical practicum that includes a minimum of 40 direct client contact hours. Advanced practicum is routinely completed at the Manzanita Counseling Center during a student’s first semester under the supervision of the clinical director. PhD students who completed their MA at UNM may have off-campus practicum sites.

Site Supervisors for Doctoral-level Interns: Individuals serving as doctoral counseling internship fieldwork site supervisors have: a) a minimum of a master’s degree, preferably in counseling or a related profession; b) active certifications and/or licenses in their geographic location required for practice, preferably in counseling or a related profession; c) a minimum of two years independent professional experience; d) relevant training for in-person and/or distance counseling supervision; e) relevant training in the technology utilized for supervision; and f) knowledge of the program’s expectations, requirements, and evaluation procedures for students. (CACREP 2024, 6.D.4.)

Elements of Supervision: Supervision of the doctoral counseling internship includes secure audio or video recordings and/or live supervision of students’ interactions with clients that are in compliance with applicable institutional, state, federal, and international privacy requirements for all program delivery types. (CACREP 2024, 6.D.1)

Fieldwork Agreement Form: This is completed by April 15 for summer and fall internship experiences. The due date for agreement forms for spring semesters is November 15. The form is best completed during a meeting between student and supervisor as it includes identifying goals, and sharing supervisor's information. Link to agreement form can be found in the UNM Counseling Student Teams Portal, and the associated course syllabus.

Dates for Fieldwork: Interns’ interactions with clients are restricted to the period beginning with the first day of the UNM academic term and ending on the last day of the term. No activities (e.g. interactions with clients, training, tasks) shall occur outside this period. If extenuating circumstances require the student to engage in fieldwork related tasks outside of the academic term, this must be articulated in the Internship Site Agreement, and approved by the Fieldwork Coordinator.
Number of Hours: PhD students are required to complete three internships (9 credits total) with a minimum overall 600 hours (240 of which direct contact hours). One internship must be clinical counseling focused. The hours for the three internships need not be equally split; the number of hours for each of the internships is to be collaboratively decided between the student and their advisor.

Definition of Direct and Indirect Hours*

Direct service is Supervised use of counseling, consultation, or related professional skills with actual clients [or students, depending on role and internship] (can be individuals, couples, families, or groups) for the purpose of fostering social, cognitive, behavioral, and/or affective change.

These activities must involve interaction with others and may include:

  1. assessment,
  2. counseling,
  3. psychoeduca¬tional activities, and
  4. consultation.

The following would not be considered direct service:

  1. observing others providing counseling or related services,
  2. record keeping,
  3. administrative duties,
  4. clinical and/or administrative supervision.

Indirect hours include attending internship class, meeting with site supervisor, completing paperwork, time spent researching issues and interventions, and preparing for interactions with clients or students.
*CACREP 2024 does not provide a specific definition of direct service for doctoral internship. The provided definition is from CACREP 2016, pp 44-45, and is the UNM CE program definition.

Evaluation of PhD in Counselor Education Students

Over the course of the semester a range of evaluations are completed as part of our CACREP 2024 assessment plan. Links to these assessments are emailed to the student, and site supervisor. For our on-site supervisors, these evaluations include –

  • Midsemester Evaluation: Completed by the fieldwork coordinator (that’s me!) during the mid-semester site visit OR by the on-site supervisor. You’ll receive an invitation to schedule a site visit within the next 2-3 weeks.
  • End-of-Semester Evaluations
    • Fieldwork Site Supervisor Evaluation of Student: Completed by you, the onsite supervisor, using the following link. We encourage supervisors to complete this evaluation during supervision, with the student. This feedback is not typically shared with the student in order to maintain site supervisor confidentiality; student and supervisor will be contacted when concerns emerge.
    • Student Evaluation of Site & Supervisor: Completed by the student regarding their experience with the site and supervisor. We encourage students to complete the evaluation with their supervisor. The results are not typically shared with the supervisor in order to maintain student confidentiality; supervisors may be contacted regarding this feedback when concerns emerge.
    • Instructor/University Supervisor Evaluation of Students: In alignment with CACREP 2024 S2.C2, the program assesses students’ professional dispositions and development at multiple points during their program of study. This includes fieldwork instructor's evaluation of students at the end of each semester, using the Counselor Competencies Scale—Revised (CCS-R) and Professional Counselor Performance Evaluation (PCPE).

Hours Logs: Students are using the attached hours log to record their hours, and have them signed on a regular basis; the instructor for the COUN 630 and 696 course provides the due dates for these signed logs. Site supervisors, the student, and the instructor will sign these logs; the instructor typically signs the logs once they are submitted in Canvas.

Final Verification of Hours Form: Towards the end of the semester, students and their site supervisor will complete the Final Verification of Hours form, via the following Qualtrics link, verifying all of the hours they completed over the course of this semester. The purpose of this form is to provide faculty with a summary of the student’s accrual of hours at the end of the semester (without the faculty having to dig through Canvas course shells, download monthly logs, and calculate students’ hours). The link to the final verification of hours lot is available in the associated course syllabus.

Fieldwork Orientation: All site supervisors are strongly encouraged to attend the annual Fieldwork Orientation, typically scheduled for the second Monday of August, from 12-1:30 pm via Zoom. If you would like to attend the orientation, and have not yet received the calendar invite, please reach out to the fieldwork coordinator starkc@unm.edu.