Mental Health Field Practicum Student At — Aspire Public Schools - Sac - Alex Twilight College Prep-Sac
Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy is a secondary charter school located in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood, serving students in grades 6th to 12th. As a practicum student, you will gain comprehensive experience providing both individual and group counseling, facilitating classroom guidance lessons, and collaborating with teachers and staff to best support student needs. Areas of focus include assisting students in developing social skills, healthy coping strategies, goal setting, and academic success. Students will also learn to assess the severity of mental health symptoms using standardized screening tools, including the PHQ-9 and GAD-7. Additional training includes crisis intervention and suicide risk assessment using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Students will gain knowledge of mandated reporting requirements and best practices for supporting students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans. Training will also include proper clinical documentation, such as managing referrals, conducting intake sessions, discussing informed consent, and completing closing summaries.
Practicum students will learn to: 1.Provide developmentally appropriate individual and group counseling services to middle and high school students. 2. Facilitate classroom guidance lessons that promote social-emotional learning, healthy coping skills, goal setting, and academic success. 3. Collaborate effectively with teachers, administrators, families, and multidisciplinary teams to support student well-being. 4. Utilize evidence-based screening and assessment tools, including the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and C-SSRS, to evaluate mental health symptoms and suicide risk. 5.Demonstrate appropriate crisis intervention skills in school-based settings while maintaining student safety. 6.Apply knowledge of mandated reporting laws and ethical responsibilities relevant to school counseling practice. 7. Support students with IEPs and 504 plans by implementing accommodations and collaborating with special education teams. 8.Complete accurate and timely documentation, including referrals, intake assessments, informed consent, progress notes, and closing summaries. 9.Interns will learn to maintain professional boundaries, confidentiality, and ethical standards in accordance with school policies and legal requirements. 10.Reflect on counseling practice through supervision, demonstrating growth in cultural responsiveness and professional competence.
Creating curriculum and lesson plans for group activities will be on-going throughout field practicum. The site supervisor will model different ways lesson plans can incorporated into group counseling. During the first week of field, the student will have the opportunity to shadow the site supervisor in order to learn procedures, ways to build relationships with students and staff and ask clarifying questions throughout. They will also be given an hour training on mandated reporting, correct documentation, school emergency procedures, using research-based scales such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scales, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scales. Students will have the opportunity to attend monthly role-alike meetings with the counselors throughout the central valley at our Stockton regional office. Each week throughout the semester, the student will participate in one hour of supervision with the site supervisor to discuss challenges and find solutions in providing services to students. The student may be asked to attend IEP, 504, attend school events or school staff meetings throughout the semester as well.
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