Supervisor Information

• Students are to participate in all orientation procedures, staff meetings and any other clinical opportunities that are deemed appropriate by the supervisor and would contribute to the student’s learning.
• Clinical hours can only be accrued for direct contact with clients in a designated counselling session or educational or therapy groups. Online counselling sessions count as face-to-face. However, students should be keeping track on the sheet provided in this handbook of other activities that occur on the practicum.
• The student will develop a learning covenant for the practicum and give the site supervisor and the professor of the Practicum course TH664M a copy as requested in the TH664M course syllabus.
• Students will always maintain confidentiality at their practicum placement site and in the TH664M class. Clinical Case discussions in the TH664M class must be presented with respect toward the client and with as much confidentiality as possible i.e., using pseudonyms and providing only the most necessary personal information about the client. 
• Students are to strictly observe client confidentiality and their duty to access, use and disclose client personal information as authorized by the Practicum Site (both during and after their Placement). Confidentiality is life-long.
• Clinical hours cannot be accrued at a practicum site or with a supervisor that has not been approved by the Practicum Coordinator.
• Evening hours are expected at most practicum sites. The student will negotiate their time at the practicum site with their clinical supervisor. Any planned or unexpected absences will need to be addressed with the site supervisor.
• If the student experiences difficulty accruing the 160 clinical hours, they may continue to see clients until the number of hours has been met. The Practicum Coordinator, the site supervisor, and the practicum site must approve this decision. If an extension into the spring/summer term is approved by all, the student will need to petition for an extension for the Practicum course (TH664M).
• Practicum students are expected to abide by the Code of Ethics of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and any Professional Association the student intends to join after graduation.
• Practicum students breaching the CRPO code of ethics or the student academic or non-academic code of conduct at Luther/Wilfrid Laurier University will receive a failing grade for the practicum course, be removed from their placement, and/or removed from the program. Please see this link for the CRPO code of ethics and the WLU codes of conduct linked above.
• After acceptance into a placement, students are responsible for making an appointment with their potential supervisor at their site to complete the Luther and WLU required documentation. All three documents should be sent to the Luther practicum coordinator at the same time, rather than sending items one at a time over a period of time. Students will not be able to begin seeing clients until the following documentation has been submitted to the practicum coordinator:
  • The practicum agreement form – signed by the student and the supervisor
  • The WLU student declaration of understanding – signed only by the student
  • The WLU Unpaid Work Placement Health and Safety Orientation Certificate (self-registration on MyLS). Completed by the student latest by May 15 of each 
• Students will complete all the appropriate forms in the supervisory process as is required by the supervisor and/or practicum sites.
• Students are not paid for their practicum hours. Client fees collected by the agency will be used to cover the supervision and administrative costs of the Practicum. Some placements may charge a 100–150-dollar monthly admin fee to help pay for supervision.
• Students are expected to follow the health and safety protocols put forth at the practicum site, including any city, provincial, or federal guidelines and/or mandates.
• Students are expected to confirm with their supervisors or the practicum facility, who their primary contact is in case of a client emergency.
• Students are responsible to attain and must confirm with their potential placement sites what documentation is necessary before starting their placement. It is the student’s responsibility to acquire this documentation in a timely fashion, so their placement start date is not affected. Confirming what documentation is needed before starting their placement is usually discussed once you been accepted into the placement. Any documentation would be required before starting the placement and/or seeing clients:
  • Hospital settings may require the following:
    • Proof of Immunizations, including Covid
    • Tuberculosis Testing
    • Mask fitting
  • Hospital and all other clinical settings will require:
    • Vulnerable Sector check
  • Students are expected to know that their supervisor has met the CRPO requirements for supervision and which college their supervisor is registered with (CRPO, Social Work etc.).
  • Students must understand the facility or supervisor policies regarding safety planning, assessment, and emergency protocols, whether working at the facility in person or when doing telemedicine or online counselling.
  • Students will negotiate with their clinical supervisor any absences from the clinical placement and advise the Luther practicum co-ordinator.
  • Students are expected to spend additional time on course readings and assignments; in other words, course readings and assignments are not considered instructional hours.
  • The placement site can extend the placement of the student if it is agreed upon by the placement site, the student, and Luther. If an extension is requested into the spring term, the student must request (petition) to stay enrolled in TH664M for one extra term. The student must ask their practicum teacher at least 6 weeks prior to the needed extension. Students must also be enrolled in a spring term course to maintain liability insurance.
  • The minimum number of hours required by Luther is 160 DCC, however, if the placement site requires the student to attain more hours based on the needs of the client load, the student should identify these expectations at the beginning of their placement.
  • Once the student has been accepted into a placement, they must honour that commitment and stop interviewing/looking for other placement opportunities; the commitment to the placement site, the clients, and the staff is a priority.
  • Students are only allowed to be a to be at one site with one supervisor for the entirety of their placement. Only in situations where students are not meeting their DCC hours should they contact the practicum coordinator to seek out auxiliary placement options.

The practicum site is aware the students are inexperienced practitioners and will provide students with clinical supervisors who meet the supervisor requirements of the CRPO.

• The practicum site and on-site supervisor takes full responsibility for the safe and effective care of all clients seen by students.
• If the practicum student is unable to continue their placement due to extenuating circumstances, the practicum co-ordinator must be contacted. The placement must have policies in place to safeguard the care and well-being of the clients should this occur. The supervisor is responsible for being sure the clients are transferred.
• The practicum site supervisor provides 1 hour of individual supervision per week or 1.5 hours per week of dyadic supervision for the full length of the placement OR 1 hour of supervision for every 4.5 hours of direct client contact.
• The practicum site supervisor should directly observe the student’s work with clients at some points over the course of their placement (i.e., beginning, middle, end) and/or allow the student to audio or video record live sessions for supervisor feedback, instructions and/or guidance. The practicum site is responsible for attaining recording consent from the client.
• The practicum site supervisor will provide Luther with a mid-term evaluation of the student’s work by early January and a final evaluation at the end of the practicum placement (usually April or August depending on the student end date).
• Clinical hours cannot be accrued at a practicum site or with a supervisor that has not been approved by the Luther practicum Coordinator.

• The practicum site will provide a Registered Psychotherapist to supervise the student at the site and ensure the supervisor meets the CRPO supervisor requirements/credentials.
• The practicum site will provide the student with a minimum of 160 direct contact clinical hours in spiritual care, psychotherapy, and/or spiritually integrated psychotherapy and a minimum of 36 supervision hours.
• Students require a minimum of ~7 clients per week (not including cancellations and holidays) to meet their 160-hour goal in 24 weeks for a 8-month placement. This usually means booking 8-10 clients per week at a minimum.
• Students should be onboarded and trained during the first weeks of their placement. It is expected that after the first 4 months (Sept-December) the student will have accrued at least ~70 DCC hours. It is expected that during the first few months of the placement, the student will see fewer clients and as they gain experience will slowly increase their client load. It is expected that students start with 2-3 regular clients and each month slowly increase their case load. Students will likely attain more hours from January to April.
• During the second half of their placement; from January– April, the students will be seeing more clients per week usually between 10-15 client hours weekly.
• The practicum site is expected to outline the increase of case load process at their site for students in training, so they know what to expect.
• The practicum site will ensure the direct contact hours be in the form of individual, family, or couples therapy; the majority of which should be individual therapy.
• The practicum site and onsite supervisor will ensure the student understands how to activate a safety plan and the facility procedures for clients in serious distress.
• The practicum site clients will be informed at intake that they will be seeing a counselling student working under supervision and that students will be talking about their case to a supervisor.
• The practicum site client files are kept at the practicum site following completion of the practicum; the client files belong to the site or supervisor, not the student.
• The placement site can extend the placement of the student if it is agreed upon by the placement site, the student, and Luther. If an extension is requested into the spring term, the student must request (petition) to stay enrolled in TH664M for one extra term. The student must also be enrolled in a spring term course to maintain liability insurance.

• The practicum site will provide students with a full orientation to the facility, required equipment, and resources.
• The practicum site is aware that clients must be provided to the students; the student is not expected to market and/or find their own clients.
• The practicum site will assign clients to the student based on the client’s issues and the student’s level of skill development.

• The practicum site and/or onsite supervisor will decide if TVO counselling is permitted by the student, based on their skills.
• The practicum site and/or onsite supervisor will decide whether TVO counselling must occur at the practicum site facility or if it is permitted from the student’s home.
• The practicum site and/or onsite supervisor will provide TVO counselling training if this modality is required by the site.
• The practicum site and onsite supervisor will provide adequate supervision for the student whether they are working onsite at the facility or if the student is doing TVO counselling from their own home.
• If the student is permitted to provide TVO counselling from their own home, the facility and onsite supervisor must ensure that on-call supervision is available for support.
• If the student is permitted to provide TVO counselling outside the business hours (evenings, weekends/holidays) of the facility, the facility and onsite supervisor must ensure that on-call supervision is available for support. The practicum site and/or onsite supervisor must ensure students do not provide TVO counselling on evenings, weekends and/or holidays when the facility is closed and/or supervisor support is not available.
• The practicum site and supervisor will ensure the student is aware of the safety protocols necessary for doing TVO counselling, whether this is done in the student’s home or at the facility.
• The practicum site and supervisor will ensure the student is aware of the emergency protocols (calling 911 or breaking confidentiality) necessary for doing TVO counselling, whether this is done in the student's home or the facility.
• The practicum site and supervisor will ensure the student is using HIPAA compliant platforms for virtual counselling.
• The practicum site will ensure that clients sign an informed consent form that acknowledges the limitations regarding confidentially, even when using an HIPAA compliant platform.

• Luther will appoint a key contact – the practicum coordinator – whose responsibility it is to liaise with Practicum Site staff (supervisor, administration, human resources), the student and the practicum course professor.
• Luther will orient students to the practicum placement process and provide a list of potential practicum placement and/or SPE sites to students. Luther does not guarantee students a placement and Luther does not employ a matching program. Students are responsible to find and interview for their own placements based on the criteria set forth in the practicum handbook and the MA and MA-MDiv. Double degree student handbooks.
• The practicum coordinator may collaborate with the onsite supervisor and course instructor to support the student when they are not meeting the learning objectives of the clinical site or the course objectives of TH664M
• The practicum coordinator will ensure each placement site meets the clinical requirements outlined by Luther and the TH664M practicum class.
• Wilfrid Laurier University will provide and maintain $5,000,000 (per occurrence) in liability insurance. Students must be registered in courses at Luther to acquire this insurance.
• Luther will provide and maintain insurance certificates for placement sites. These are renewed annually, on January 1 and can be sent to placement sites upon request.
• Luther and the Practicum Sites will collect, use, disclose, and otherwise handle student personal information independently of each other in accordance with applicable privacy legislation.
• Luther is not responsible for the loss of, unauthorized access to, or unauthorized disclosure of student personal information that is in the practicum site’s control, including any notification and reporting obligations.
• Luther is not responsible for any expenses incurred by the placement site when they agree to take on students.

If a student is unable to complete their placement due to medical or extenuating circumstances, it is important they connect with their on-site supervisor and the practicum coordinator. The supervisor and/or the placement site must have policies in place for the supportive transfer of clients should a student need to abruptly end their placement; the student should make themselves aware of these policies and practices at their placement.

Occasionally, a practicum experience will become more difficult than is helpful for the student, supervisor, the clinical site, and/or the clients at the clinical site. For example, learning goals may not be being met by the student in a timely matter or the student may need more remedial assistance in their placement in terms of clinical skills and practices. The practicum coordinator can assist the supervisor and the student should this arise. In addition, should relational or interpersonal difficulties arise in the practicum between the student, the supervisor, and/or the site, students can contact the Practicum Coordinator for mediation. If possible, a solution to the current difficulty should be sought among the parties involved, however, it may become necessary to prematurely end the practicum.

The following steps should be taken if difficulties arise with the on-site practicum supervisor:

First Level: Where there is a disagreement between the student and their on-site supervisor, the parties should first strive to mutually resolve the issue among themselves.

Second Level: If the conflict cannot be resolved between the initial parties, the practicum coordinator (mlupracticum@wlu.ca) should be contacted to assist with mediating the situation. The practicum coordinator will meet with the parties involved in the dispute, individually and then together, with each party involved in the conflict having the opportunity to describe their understanding of the nature of the problem and the issues involved. Note: If the practicum coordinator is also the student’s practicum supervisor or practicum course (TH664M) professor, the student may then contact Kristine Lund (klund@luther.wlu.ca), the Principal-Dean of Luther, for mediation between the placement site and the student.

Third Level: Should a resolution still not be achieved via the practicum coordinator, the issue should be escalated to the office of the Principal-Dean, Kristine Lund (klund@luther.wlu.ca). The PD will meet with the parties involved in the dispute, individually and then together, with each party involved in the conflict having the opportunity to describe their understanding of the nature of the problem and the issues involved. The Principal-Dean will then work either directly with the parties involved, or by delegating such efforts to a restorative justice consultant, in order to seek resolution. Note: If the Principal-Dean or the Department Head is associated with the student’s practicum site and/or their practicum course (TH664M) the student may then contact the Assistant Dean Allen Jorgenson (ajorgenson@luther.wlu.ca).