School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology

CAP 484 Internship Experience

The CAP 484 internship experience is an opportunity for undergraduate students at the junior or senior level pursuing a degree in the School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology to apply counseling knowledge and theory in field settings. Students will apply their knowledge through observation of other professionals and by supporting the sites’ needs in terms of provision of mental health services for the populations they serve.

In previous years, students have completed internship experiences in fields such as:

behavioral health
community counseling
crisis intervention
school counseling

military members/veterans/first responders counseling
substance abuse and addictions counseling
sports and performance counseling
nonprofit mental health volunteering

Definitions

Internship coordinator

The internship coordinator assists students in finding and securing an internship and processes enrollment of students in the CAP 484 course.

Course instructor

The course instructor is a faculty member who administers the CAP 484 course and works hand-in-hand with students and site supervisors during the internship experience to verify engagement and requirements are met.

Site supervisor

The site supervisor oversees and manages the student during their internship at the internship site.

General information

Students must complete at least 60 college credit hours before CAP 484

CAP 484 interns must complete a minimum of 135 internship hours in a semester.

All internships must be reviewed and approved by the internship coordinator prior to applying/interviewing/accepting an internship position.

If an internship site is not on our pre-approved internship site list, the student must provide the following information to the internship coordinator for review:

Website
Description of internship activities
Information of the potential supervisor (name, position/role, email address)

Whether the internship is paid or unpaid
Whether the internship is remote or on-site
Note: We may contact the internship site in order to validate whether the site meets our requirements.

The internship start and end dates must coincide with the academic calendar; all documented hours must fall within the start and end dates for the semester in which credit is earned. Hours earned outside the dates of the semester cannot be counted towards the 135 hours required for the course.

The CAP program does not require direct client services and recommends CAP 484 interns only shadow and/or provide counseling support or assistance (co-facilitating groups is acceptable). However, if the site requires direct client work, we will evaluate the request and if approved, the site may be requested to provide any additional training and supervision as deemed necessary by the CAP program.

The CAP program reviews all proposed sites on a case-by-case basis. Please note that internships which have been determined as inappropriate or insufficient for CAP 484 credit may be denied, however we will work with you to identify other potential options.

Enrollment procedure

Submit the In-person student pre-screening form (linked below)
Internship coordinator follows up with confirmation/denial of eligibility for the course.
Student is given a list of contact information for the pre-approved sites in which they indicated interest in the pre-screening form.
If students want to propose a new site, they would need to send the internship coordinator the necessary info for review.
1. If the proposed site is approved, the student can then proceed with the next step
Student inquires with approved site(s) about available spots
Student interviews and secures an internship
Student notifies internship coordinator of internship offer and acceptance
Internship coordinator provides site supervisor and student with
1. Confirmation letter
2. Credit sheet
3. Student Placement Agreement (if needed)
Student and supervisor return these documents to the internship coordinator
Internship coordinator completes a final review and enrolls the student in CAP 484 if internship and all documents are approved.

In-person student pre-screening form

Submit the Online student pre-screening form (linked below)
Internship coordinator follows up with confirmation/denial of eligibility for the course
If the online student lives in the Phoenix area, they are provided with the list of local pre-approved sites.
1. Then the student will notify internship coordinator of any sites from the list they would like the contacts for so they can inquire about available spots.
Student is given information and tips on how to search for potential sites
Student sends internship coordinator the following information about the internship site for review:
1. Website
2. Description of internship activities
3. Information of the potential supervisor (name, position/role, email address)
4. Whether the internship is paid or unpaid
5. Whether the internship is remote or on-site
If proposed site is approved, the student may apply/interview/accept the internship
student notifies internship coordinator of internship offer and acceptance
Internship coordinator provides site supervisor and student with
1. Confirmation letter
2. Credit sheet
3. Student Placement Agreement (if needed)
Student and supervisor return these documents to the internship coordinator
Internship coordinator completes a final review and enrolls the student in CAP 484 if internship and all documents are approved.

Online student pre-screening form

Internship requirements

Interns must have a site supervisor (ideally a licensed mental health professional).
The site should provide interns with supervised, hands-on experience in counseling support activities.

Required documents for enrollment (internship coordinator)

Once the student has formally accepted an approved internship, the internship coordinator must receive the following completed documents in order to complete the student's enrollment for CAP 484:

A Student Placement Agreement (SPA) between the site and ASU. If there is not an active SPA on file between a site and ASU, the Internship Coordinator will facilitate creating a SPA.
A confirmation letter on official company letterhead completed by the supervisor (to be provided by internship coordinator upon approval of the site)
A CAP 484 Credit Sheet completed by the student (select “3 credit hours at least 135 hours”)

Required documents for the course (instructor)

The following documents will be provided by the CAP 484 instructor and must be completed at the end of the internship semester:

Site supervisors must sign off on instructor-provided weekly hours logs to verify student engagement.
Site supervisors must complete a formal student evaluation using the “ASU Counseling and Applied Psychological Sciences Intern Evaluation” form.
Interns must complete an evaluation of the site supervisor using the “ASU Counseling and Applied Psychological Science Supervisor Evaluation” form.
Interns must complete an evaluation of the site using the “ASU Counseling and Applied Psychological Science Site Evaluation” form.

Proposed internship activities

The following list of internship activities can be performed with supervisor support as duties of the CAP 484 internship. This is not a comprehensive list, but rather a collection of ideas or suggestions.

Psychoeducation and outreach

Interns may develop and deliver sample workshops, such as:

Building coping mechanisms
Stress management
Anger management
Cultural sensitivity

Substance use prevention
Bullying prevention
Communication skills
Growth mindset

Mindfulness skills
Resilience building
Understanding microaggressions

Career and vocational support

College application support, such as
- College search
- Résumé writing
- Personal statements

Counseling support

Group co-facilitation (e.g., stress management groups, trauma groups, mindfulness groups)
Case management support (support the coordination of services with clients and third parties)
Intake/session shadowing
Administrative/documentation support

Referrals and community services

Make referrals to different services, such as
- Health care referral
- Family services
- Other social services

Classroom and teacher support

Assist with implementation of behavioral strategies (e.g., anger management)
Support programs on communication skills
Demonstrate mindfulness and emotion-regulation practices
Support initiatives on friendship, bullying prevention, and healthy relationships

Tips for the internship search

Include additional keywords in your searches related to specific populations you are interested in. For example: veterans, survivors, children, older adults, etc.
Some sites you reach out to might only accept graduate level interns. This may be a little discouraging, but keep searching daily.
Try not to only look into counseling clinics/practices, as these more often will want Master’s level interns (although some do accept undergraduates!)
You may not always find something posted online; try also calling or visiting mental health/counseling resources in your area to see if they can offer undergraduate internships or volunteer opportunities.
Your internship can be in-person or remote, and you can be unpaid or paid, if this helps broaden your search.
You can broaden your search to
- behavioral health technician/ABA therapist/related mental health job positions
- mental health-related nonprofit organizations
- churches/faith-based organizations that offer counseling support services/groups
- school counselors
- after-school programs that focus on social skills/mental health support
- Etc.

Keyword suggestions

volunteer mental health <your city/location>
volunteer behavioral health <your city/location>
mental health nonprofits <your city/location>
mental health resources <your city/location>
internship mental health <your city/location>
internship behavioral health <your city/location>

Please note

Any in-home direct client work without supervisor/staff support is generally not accepted for CAP 484 hours for liability reasons, but we will evaluate this case-by-case as needed.

If you are having issues finding an internship opportunity, please reach out to the internship coordinator for assistance.

Connect with us to get started

Students interested in enrolling in the CAP 484 course will need to first submit a pre-screening interest form. Once we receive your submitted form, we will assess your student profile to evaluate your eligibility for the course.

Students deemed eligible will receive detailed instruction on how to continue with the CAP 484 application process or will be recommended to defer your enrollment in CAP 484 until you complete additional coursework.

Contact

Brittany Lee
She/Her/Hers
Internship Coordinator
Counseling and Applied Psychological Sciences
School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology
College of Integrative Sciences and Arts

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