I’m a Master’s level helping student, or, an undergraduate who wants to gain more experience before obtaining an advanced degree.

What can I expect from a placement with Connection Counseling?

Completing your Master’s practicum or Internship(s) with Connection Counseling & Consultation is a very unique experience. There is no other outpatient therapy practice that offers the variety of experiences we offer. We pride ourselves on providing quality care to the folks we serve which means you will receive a very high level of supervision and support. We also strive to be competent in all needs connected to clients who identify as neurodivergent and/or queer.

We are a small practice, and so compared to most larger agencies we offer a very individualized approach for our students. You will receive group supervision on a regular basis, and that group will be composed of individuals who are working towards their license post-graduation, as well as students who are working on practicums and internships. Supervision is provided by April Artz, LPC (read bio for more details on April).

The Big Picture:

Fall & Spring Placements

Placements in the fall & spring will involve the student:

  • Shadowing seasoned clinicians (mostly in the community/at client’s schools & homes) (Direct hours)

  • Assisting in running in-person social skills groups on Sundays for a wide range of neurodiverse youth (Direct hours)

  • Assisting with behind-the-scenes tasks (ex: curriculum development, resource guides, etc)

  • Shadowing April during adult evaluations for Autism (Direct hours)

  • Shadowing April to learn about the IEP/504 systems in schools

  • Shadowing April to learn more about early development in children

  • Picking up your own coaching or therapy clients after having shadowed several clinicians at the practice (Direct hours)

  • A deep dive into understanding the world of neurodiversity and what it looks like from childhood through adulthood

Summer Placements

Placements in the summer are quite unique (and fun!) and will involve:

  • Items listed to the left (Fall/Spring) but will primarily focus on the opportunity explained below

  • A deep dive into understanding the world of neurodiversity and what it looks like in a wide range of ages of children

  • Providing inclusion support to local JCC camps (Majority of your hours/Direct hours available M-F from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.)

  • Inclusion Support involves being outside at camp and helping campers with invisible disabilities (ex: ADHD, Autism Spectrum, etc) to be appropriately integrated into traditional day camp settings

  • Gaining extensive knowledge about Positive Behavior Support (PBS)

  • 45 minutes of group supervision daily (M-F)

  • Working as part of team with other interns, pre-licensed clinicians, and licensed clinicians

  • Individual clients if/when you demonstrate readiness/understanding to work individually with a wide range of neurodiverse folks

You will learn how to:

  • Observe behavior and determine it’s function

  • Incorporate Positive Behavior Support techniques into the camp environment (these techniques work for groups of all ages and are easily transferred to other settings and groups)

  • Create behavior charts, reward systems, and visual schedules

  • Make accommodations for campers with invisible disabilities

  • Run group check-ins with camp groups

  • Interface with parents who may or may not be aware that their child is neurodiverse

  • Learn how to transfer and teach Positive Behavior Support approaches to camp staff

Skills Needed to be Successful:

  • Strong executive functioning/organizational skills

  • Ability to “jump right in” as needed

  • Assertiveness

  • Strong communication skills

  • Open minded

  • Creative: We never use a one size fits all approach

  • Not wedded strongly to using only one therapeutic methodology (ex: only CBT, only DBT, etc)

  • Emotional fortitude (not all clients will be socially gracious/immediately responsive)

  • Patience in terms of conducting individual therapy (we only assign you individual clients once you have shadowed for a few weeks)

If you have a passion for neurodiversity and are a quick learner, we will happily keep you around for prac and internship!

If your program allows it, we sometimes provide paid work opportunities to students once they have reached Internship II, depending on the practice’s needs and the student’s availability/level of professionalism demonstrated over time

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