Key terms on this page (6)
- Practicum
- Supervised clinical work during graduate school. In counseling, the shorter first placement.
- Internship
- In counseling, the longer placement after practicum. In psychology, a separate full-year placement near the end of the doctorate.
- Field education
- Social work’s name for its placements, at least 900 hours in an MSW.
- Site supervisor
- The licensed clinician at your placement who oversees your cases day to day. Your program also assigns a faculty supervisor.
- Direct hours
- Time spent in session with clients. Programs and states track these separately from paperwork and supervision.
- Trainee
- California’s word for an MFT or counseling student seeing clients in practicum. Other states use “student” or “intern”.
How much you will need
Each license has its own name and minimum for field experience during the degree. These are set by the national accreditors, and your program may ask for more. Check your program handbook: it is the version that applies to you.
CACREP
Counseling
- Practicum
- 100 hours, 40 with clients
- Internship
- 600 hours, 240 with clients
Practicum first, then internship, with weekly supervision throughout.
COAMFTE
Marriage and family therapy
- Clinical contact
- 300 hours, 100 relational
Relational means couples, families or others in the room together. Spread over at least twelve months.
CSWE
Social work (MSW)
- Field education
- 900 hours
Usually split across a generalist and a specialized placement. Advanced-standing students do fewer.
APA
Psychology (doctorate)
- Practica
- Several years, set by program
- Internship
- One year full time, or two half time
The internship is matched nationally, usually in the fourth or fifth year.
Finding a site
Most programs keep a list of approved sites, and many place students directly. Even so, the best placements usually go to students who start early and ask good questions. A practical order:
- Talk to your field office a term ahead. Ask which sites past students rated well, which pay, and when applications open.
- Choose for supervision and clients, not prestige. A community clinic with steady caseloads and a supervisor who watches your work can teach more than a well-known name.
- Think about your license. MFT students need relational hours, so look for sites that see couples and families. If you want to work with children, find a site that sees them.
- Think one step ahead. Some sites hire their trainees as associates after graduation, which can save months of job hunting.
- Interview the site as much as it interviews you. The checklist below covers the questions that matter.
Tick each question once you have an answer. Nothing is saved or sent.
Paid or unpaid
Many therapy placements are unpaid, and that can mean a year or more of working without income while paying tuition. It is worth knowing where the paid options are:
- Paid placements
- Some sites
Some agencies, hospitals, school districts and the Veterans Health Administration pay trainees or offer stipends.
- Funded stipends
- Some programs
Federal workforce grants from HRSA, and child welfare training programs for social work students, fund stipends at participating schools.
- Psychology internship
- Usually paid
Accredited doctoral internships generally pay a salary or stipend.
- Unpaid placements
- Common
Still the norm in many places. Budget for it, and ask about flexible hours if you need to keep a job.
At a for-profit site, federal labor law asks whether the student or the employer is the main beneficiary of an unpaid internship. Placements tied to your degree, with real teaching and supervision, usually pass that test. If a site expects you to work like an unpaid employee without supervision, tell your program.
Insurance before your first client
Professional liability insurance covers you if a client complains or sues. Most programs require students to carry their own policy, even when the site and school also have coverage, because those policies protect the institution first. Student policies cost little, and some professional associations include or discount them with student membership. Get the certificate before your first session, and keep a copy for your program.
Using supervision well
You will usually get at least an hour of individual supervision a week, often with group supervision as well. How you use it decides how fast you grow. Supervisors are also legally and ethically responsible for your clients, so they need to know what is happening in your sessions.
- Bring an agenda. Two or three cases, and for each one a specific question: “I froze when she talked about her father. What would you have said?”
- Bring the hard stuff first. Risk, a possible report, a boundary you are unsure about. These are what supervision is for, and they cannot wait until the end of the hour.
- Bring recordings if your site allows them, with the client’s written consent. Five minutes of real session teaches more than twenty minutes of summary.
- Say what you don’t know. Trainees who hide mistakes learn slowly and create risk. Supervisors expect you to be new.
- Log your hours every week and get them signed on time. Rebuilding a log months later is painful, and some forms cannot be signed after the fact.
When graduate hours count toward licensure
In most states, the clock for licensure hours starts after you graduate, and practicum counts only toward your degree. Some states credit part of your graduate experience:
- California (MFT only). Up to 1,300 of the 3,000 hours can be earned as an MFT trainee before the degree, once you have finished 12 semester units. California counts no pre-degree hours for counselors or clinical social workers.
- Some others, from a few hundred hours to as many as 1,500, or some supervision hours from the graduate program, usually with conditions on who supervised you.
If your state counts them, keep the logs and signatures it asks for from your very first client. Check your state on the state map or the requirements pages, and see the California LMFT page for the trainee rules in detail.
Myths worth dropping
Myth
“The most prestigious site is the best one.”
Actually
Steady clients and a supervisor who watches your work matter more for your skills than the name.
Myth
“The school’s insurance covers me.”
Actually
Often only in part, and it protects the school first. Most programs require your own student policy.
Myth
“Supervisors want to hear that everything is fine.”
Actually
They need to hear what is hard. That is what keeps clients safe and how you improve.
Next · Step 18
Associate years and supervised hours
After graduation you register with your state and start earning the hours your license requires. Next: titles, choosing a supervisor, what counts and how to log it.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between practicum and internship?
Names vary by program. In counseling, practicum is a shorter first placement (at least 100 hours under CACREP standards) and internship is the longer one that follows (at least 600 hours). Social work calls both “field education”. In psychology, practica run through the doctorate and the internship is a separate, full-year placement near the end.
Do practicum hours count toward licensure?
In most states, no: the supervised hours for licensure start after the degree. Some states count part of your graduate hours. California, for example, counts up to 1,300 pre-degree hours toward the 3,000 required for marriage and family therapists, though not for counselors or clinical social workers.
Are therapy practicums paid?
Many are unpaid, but not all. Some agencies, hospitals and school districts pay trainees or offer stipends, and federal and state workforce programs fund stipends at some schools. Psychology internships are generally paid. Ask your program which sites pay before you apply.
Do I need liability insurance as a therapy student?
Usually, yes. Most programs require student professional liability insurance before you see clients, even when the site also covers you. Student policies are inexpensive, and some professional associations include or discount them for student members.
Sources
Checked 28 October 2026. Your program handbook and your state board are the final word on hours.
- CACREP, 2024 Standards, Section 4: Professional practice — Practicum of at least 100 hours with 40 of direct service; internship of at least 600 hours with 240 of direct service.
- COAMFTE, Accreditation Standards (version 12.5) — At least 300 direct clinical contact hours, 100 of them relational, over at least twelve months.
- CSWE, Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards — At least 900 hours of field education for master’s programs.
- APA, Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology — Doctoral practica and a one-year full-time (or two-year half-time) internship.
- California Business and Professions Code §4980.43 — MFT experience: up to 1,300 hours before the degree, starting after 12 semester units.
- Becoming Licensed 50-state data (2026) — Whether each state counts any pre-degree hours, sourced to the state boards; checked 25 September 2026.
- US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #71 — The primary beneficiary test for unpaid internships at for-profit employers.
- HRSA, Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program — Federal grants that fund stipends for behavioral health students in field placements.
- APPIC — The national match for psychology internships.