Clinical Placements: Planning and Procedures
- Classes of Clinical Placements
- Ensuring Breadth and Depth of Training
- Prerequisites for Clinical Placements
- Amount of Clinical Practical Training
- Structure and Content of Clinical Training
- Practicum Class
- Clinical Placements: Timeline and Procedures
- Clinical Placement Paperwork
- Supervision Requirements
- Amount and Type of Supervision
- Reimbursement for Expenses Incurred at a Placement
I. Classes of Clinical Placements
Note: These will be recorded as "Clinical Training Milestones" (without the paid vs unpaid designation) on your transcripts.
- Psychological Assessment Practicum (9901) [A]
- Clinical Practicum (Paid or Unpaid) [A]
- Program-sanctioned (PS) clinical work in a research setting (Paid or Unpaid) [B]
- Program-sanctioned (PS) clinical work in a community-based health/social service agency (Paid or Unpaid) [C]
[A] For a placement to be considered a Clinical Practicum, as per CPA Accreditation Criteria (page 17):
- The supervision (or co-supervision) must be provided by a psychologist registered for independent practice in the jurisdiction where the services are provided.
- The psychologist retains responsibility for the services provided by the supervisee.
- At least one hour of supervision for every four hours of direct service-related activity provided to a student during practicum training is individual supervision.
[B] If the clinical work in the research setting involves intervention and meets all the criteria specified for a clinical practicum (immediately above), then it may qualify as a practicum. If in doubt, consult with the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
[C] Under most circumstances, this will apply to training received in a setting that does not employ registered psychologists. But it will also apply when supervision is provided by someone who is not a registered doctoral-level psychologist in a setting that employs doctoral-level psychologists.
II. Ensuring Breadth and Depth of Training
Students should choose clinical placements to maximize breadth and depth across their graduate training. That is, assessment and intervention with diverse populations, in various settings, with different theoretical orientations and treatment modalities, including group and individual. (For your information, this table shows the range of clinical training experiences for the 19 students who applied for residencies between 2018 and 2023).
Table 1: Breadth of Training
(Above: Range of clinical training experiences for residency applicants)
Towards this end, each student in MSc2 and beyond will correspond and/or meet with the Clinical Practicum Coordinator at least once per year, typically in May or June, to generate a tentative practicum/PS training plan for the upcoming year (September 1st to August 31st). See Section VII (Practicum Planning) for more information.
The Clinical Practicum Coordinator must approve each clinical placement before it begins.
III. Prerequisites for Clinical Placements
Psychological Assessment Practicum (9901)
- Psychology 9300: Professional Foundations of Clinical Psychology
- Psychology 9301: Pre-Practicum in Clinical Psychology Skills (Can be taken concurrently)
Clinical Practica or Program-Sanctioned Hours
- Psychology 9900 (Psychological Assessment) and 9901 (Psychological Assessment Practicum)
- Psychology 9902 and 9903: Lifespan Psychopathology I and II
IV. Amount of Clinical Practical Training
As per CPA 2023 Accreditation Criteria (page 17), while in their programs student should accrue at least 300 direct (face-to-face) client contact, supervised by a registered doctoral-level psychologist. And the direct hour/supervision ratio should not exceed 4:1.
Similarly, to be eligible to be registered as a Psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario (Point 12), one must have obtained a doctoral degree from a CPA-accredited doctoral program (or its equivalent) and that program must require (clinical) practicum training of “at least 600 hours, of which at least 300 are devoted to direct, face-to-face client contact and at least 150 hours consists of supervision. Furthermore, this supervision must be provided by practitioners who are registered to practice psychology in the jurisdiction in which the services are being provided.
As implied by the above, clinical training conducted under the guidance of a regulated-health professional who IS NOT a doctoral-level psychologist would not count towards these minimums. However, if approved in advance, it can count towards the tally of program-sanctioned hours that the DCT will sign off on for APPIC (i.e., as part of the residency application process).
To meet the program requirements, students also must complete a full-year (full-time; 1600-hour) CPA or APA-accredited residency.
To be competitive for a residency, data from our recent residency applicants suggests that students should have more than the (300 direct) CPA minimum by November 1st of the year preceding their anticipated residencies. Some residencies may require considerably more of applicants. Students should keep these variations in mind when planning their clinical training sequences and selecting programs to which to apply.
Table 2: Clinical training hours accrued in the program (as per students' APPI forms*) between 2009 and 2023
Note: These are the APPI hours approved by the Clinical Director in November before the start of residencies, which typically begin in September of the year in question.
*From 2014 onwards, ‘program sanctioned clinical hours’ were included in the tallies. By that, we mean hours NOT accrued during a practicum, but approved as APPI-eligible.
|
Year residency begins |
# |
# Intervention Hours |
# Assessment Hours |
# Supervision Hours |
2009 |
5 | 499 (±139) 384-681 |
108 (+66) 34-212 |
294 (+82) 221-424 |
2010 |
2 | 413 (+74) 361-465 |
117 (+39) 90-145 |
218 (+83) 159-27 |
2011 |
3 | 400 (+79) 352-492 |
127 (+26) 110-157 |
235 (+39) 201-277 |
|
2012 |
3 |
488 (+19) |
143 (+41) |
359 (+56) |
|
2013 |
6 |
436 (±118) |
210 (±98) |
285 (±93) |
|
2014 |
10 |
529 (±191) |
210 (±61) |
299 (±53) |
|
2015 |
2 |
503 (±13) |
259 (±61) |
348 (±95) |
|
2016 |
3 |
611 (±129) |
216 (±11) |
377 (±88) |
|
2017 |
0 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
2018 |
4 |
503 (±135) |
237 (±115) |
366 (±92) |
|
2019 |
2 |
620 (±6) |
246 (±11) |
262 (±39) |
|
2020 |
3 |
566 (±111) |
224 (±35) |
322 (±58) |
|
2021 |
2 |
828 (±232) |
224 (±6) |
408 (±19) |
|
2022 |
8 |
570 (±300) |
195 (±141) |
279 (±83) |
|
2023 |
2 |
421 (±69) |
195 (±128) |
317 (±4) |
|
Total |
55 |
Median: 503 |
Median: 210 |
Median: 308 |
(Above: Hours reported in APPI applications by UWO clinical psychology students)
Bear in mind that ‘more is better’ definitely does not apply to clinical training hours. We advise students not to strive for a ‘magical maximum’ (i.e., the number of hours to ‘guarantee’ a match). Rather, they should aim for a ‘magical minimum’ (i.e., the most efficient number of quality hours) that complements other desirable aspects of an applicant’s file (publications, presentations, near-completion of the doctoral dissertation).
This advice is consistent with the Canadian Psychological Association’s Accreditation Standards (page 19), which states that:
"The Accreditation Panel acknowledges that in the competitive marketplace, students may complete far more than the required number of practicum hours prior to applying for residency. However, it is strongly encouraged that students and programs focus on quality (e.g., variety of issues and populations) over quantity (e.g., amassing a large number of hours) when completing their practica. The Panel believes that the practicum requirements described in this Standard could be achieved in no more than 1000 hours of practicum training (including direct contact, supervision, and indirect hours).”
V. Structure and Content of Clinical Training
Psychological Assessment Practicum (9901)
The first term involves classroom instruction. Also, students practice test administration, integration, and interpretation of findings.
Each student completes at least one comprehensive assessment.
Each assessment involves 4-10 hours of direct client contact. The Direct Clinical Contact to Supervision ratio usually does not exceed 3:1.
Length and Days per week for Clinical Training Experiences:
(This does not apply to the Psychological Assessment Practicum 9901)
Clinical practica and program-sanctioned clinical hours in community-based health/social service agencies usually take place over an 8-month period (e.g., September-April). But some might take more time and others less time (e.g., practica over the summer) to complete. However, under normal circumstances, they are not to go beyond August (which would extend the clinical placement into the next planning cycle). Extensions beyond August require the approval of the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
In contrast, program-sanctioned clinical hours in a research setting can extend into the next planning cycle. However, they are not approved for longer than 6 months. Students may request another six months (or less) in the same setting. When doing so, they must make the case for the incremental training value of the extension.
Whether the training experience is a practicum or program-sanctioned hours, students typically should not be required to be on site more than two days per week.
There are no minimum (or maximum) direct clinical contact hours for practica or program-sanctioned hours.
That said…
- When discussing a possible placement with a prospective supervisor, students should indicate the number of direct contact hours they hope to gain. Their prospective supervisor should make every effort to provide them with a realistic sense of the (average) number of direct contact hours they can expect to accrue per day in placement.
- Under most circumstances, accruing a large number of direct hours (e.g., more than 100) in a given clinical training setting, be it a practicum or program-sanctioned, may come at the expense of breadth of training. If it looks like you are heading towards a large number of hours in a given setting, consult with the Clinical Practicum Coordinator. You would have to make a convincing case that these additional hours are contributing to your professional development/training. If you are unable to demonstrate this, although you could continue to do the work, the hours would not count towards as practicum or be considered program-sanctioned.
For practica and program-sanctioned hours in a clinical (i.e., non-research) setting, there should be a minimum of one hour of regularly scheduled one-on-one supervision per week. Unless the student is advanced (i.e., in PhD 3 or 4), Direct to Supervision ratio should not exceed 4:1. The average Direct to Supervision ratio for students who went or residency between 2010 and 2023 (as per Table 1) was about 2.5:1.
VI. Practicum Class
(This does not apply to MSc students in the Psychological Assessment Practicum 9901)
During the Fall and Winter terms students are to keep Thursday afternoons (12:00-4:30) free. This time is for Clinical Brownbags (12:00-1:00) and the Clinical Practicum Class, which meets 1:30-3:30, regularly from September to April. Students taking practica and those accruing program-sanctioned hours any time between September and April are required to attend. The class focuses on professional development, with a rotating set of annual themes and required readings. There are two student presentations per class.
Ideally, students will not schedule activities (practicum or otherwise) on Fridays 3:00-4:00 pm. This is when the department's colloquium series is held, and students are strongly encouraged to attend.
VII. Clinical Placements: Timeline and Procedures
Note:
- The timeline specified below applies to Clinical practica and program-sanctioned hours in a community-based health/service agency. It does not apply to program-sanctioned clinical hours in a research setting or to practica in settings (e.g., the Thames Valley School Board) that require students to apply earlier. It also does not apply to the Assessment Practicum course (9901). Those placements are arranged by the course instructor.
- Unless otherwise specified, the procedures outlined below apply to practica (including the Psychological Assessment Practicum (9901) and all classes of program-sanctioned hours.
March-April: Clinical students in M.Sc. 2 and higher confer with their research supervisors about how many hours or days per week they can allocate to clinical training (be it practicum or program-sanctioned) between the upcoming September and subsequent August, given the other demands on their time commitments (e.g., thesis, coursework, TA/RAships). The amount of time might vary depending on time of year (e.g., Summer vs Fall or Winter term). They then send an email to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator (with a CC to their research supervisor) with this information.
Late April-Late May: The Clinical Practicum Coordinator confers with students in MScII or higher (more senior students first) about placements for the upcoming year (i.e., September 1st to August 31st). As a general rule, placements will not begin before September 1st, nor end after August 31st.
Early to mid-May: Adjunct faculty inform the program about their availability to supervise our students in the upcoming year. Adjunct faculty listings on the Clinical Program web page are updated as this information comes in.
May 15th: List of preferred placement opportunities due to the clinical program coordinator.
Late May to mid-August: Students will be informed of which adjunct faculty/supervisors to contact first (again, more senior students first), with a CC to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator. The more senior students contact prospective supervisors before their juniors because they have less time to complete the hours/training they need before applying to residency. This tiered structure also provides the flexibility to try and ensure that every student gets a placement consistent with their training goals.
Before contacting prospective supervisors:
- Students are encouraged to confer with those in their cohort about who will contact whom. It's perfectly okay for more than one person to be interested in contacting a clinical supervisor.
- Students will organize a ranked list of their top (up to 6 max) preferred placement opportunities, with a very brief (i.e., sentence or 2) explanation on why that opportunity is a fit with your training goals, and send this to the clinical program coordinator. (due by the May 15).
- The clinical practicum coordinator will assist with sorting out "first-dibs" placement opportunities based on student seniority, training goals/previous experiences, and program standing.
- The clinical program coordinator will then inform students about who to contact with a placement application.
- The clinical supervisor/adjunct faculty would ultimately make the decision about whom to work with.
When contacting a prospective supervisor:
When contacting a prospective supervisor (or, a prospective trainer, in the case of placements in community settings), under most circumstances* students should include:
- Their CV
- A statement about what they would bring and hope to get out of the placement
- A list of relevant graduate coursework and workshops/brownbags
- A summary of practicum and program sanctioned hours, if any have been accrued to date (the summary provided by Time2Track would work)
- Contact information for recent or current supervisors (if relevant)
- Anything else that might be helpful (e.g., relevant volunteer or employment experience, contact information for people who can speak to the student's clinical/interpersonal demeanor)
*Submitting application material may not be necessary for some program-sanctioned hours. Check with your prospective clinical supervisor.
Students may arrange more than one practicum in a given year, as long as they are consecutive. They also may arrange a concurrent practicum (assuming the research supervisor has agreed to this), but only after all PhD students have secured their placements. Students may do a practicum and accrue program-sanctioned hours concurrently, so long as they have their research supervisor’s approval to do so.
Once a tentative agreement has been reached with a supervisor/trainer (even if the exact start and end dates have not been determined), please inform the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
Once the placement is confirmed, submit an Intended Clinical Training Milestone (ICM) form (signed and dated by the student, their primary (and secondary, if appropriate ) clinical supervisor, and their research supervisor) to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator for signature.
If/when any details about the placement (e.g., supervisor, start date, end date, number of hours per week) change, submit a revised (and signed/dated) Intended Clinical Training Milestone (ICM) form to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
Some placement opportunities at LHSC are moving to a formal application/match-like process. For those opportunities, an application for will be due in February for a placement beginning in the summer/fall of the next academic year.
VIII. Clinical Placement Paperwork
Prior to their first clinical placement, all students must complete a WEPA (Workplace Educational Placement Agreement) form. This typically is done in MSc 1.
Required Documentation
Table 3: Summary Table of Required Documentation
| Documentation | When | Psychological Assessment Practicum (9901) | Clinical Practica | Program- Sanctioned hours - community setting | Program-Sanctioned hours - research setting |
| Intended Clinical Training Milestone form [A] | When a placement is arranged | √ | √ | √ | √ (must be renewed after 6 months) |
| Pre-placement screening procedures – Setting specific | Prior to a placement | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Practicum/ Placement supervision contract |
At onset of a placement | √ | √ | √ | |
| Mid-term evaluation of student | Mid-placement | √ | √ | √ | |
| Practicum/PSH log sheets | At the end of a placement | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Practicum/PSH summary sheets | At the end of a placement | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Final evaluation of student | At the end of a placement | √ | √ | √ | |
| Student evaluation of supervisor/trainer | At the end of a placement | √ | √ | √ | |
| Honorarium request | At the end of a placement | √ | √ | √ | |
| An additional Intended Clinical Training Milestone form, if the placement extends longer than 6 months | √ |
[A] If and when details (including but not limited to start and end dates) subsequently change (either before or after the placement starts), the student is to submit a revised ICM form (with the revised element bolded or otherwise ‘signposted’) to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
Details about Required Documentation
Before beginning a placement
(This applies to all practica and all classes of program-sanctioned hours)
Student completes the Intended Clinical Training Milestone (ICM) form form and submits it as soon as the key details (start and end date, supervisor, setting) have been confirmed, and no later than one month before the planned start of the placement. If the student and their supervisor discuss an approximate start date but have yet to settle on the exact date, students submit an ICM form with the approximate date. If and when details (including but not limited to start dates) subsequently change (either before or after the placement starts), the student is to submit a revised ICM form (with the revised element bolded or otherwise ‘signposted’) to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
Pre-Placement Screening Procedures
Students are responsible to ensure that they have met the pre-placement requirements for the settings in which they will be doing practica. This in information is accessible either through the Setting/Clinical Adjunct web page
or will be communicated to you by your clinical supervisor.
Note that:
- Almost all settings will require an up-to-date Police Check
- Many of the hospital-based settings will require a health screen and proof of immunization form and a Seasonal Flu Vaccination form
- LHSC-affiliated placements require that students undergo N95 (facemask) Fit Testing to protect themselves and patients in the event of an infectious disease outbreak.
At the beginning of a placement
(This does not apply to program-sanctioned clinical work in a research setting)
The student and supervisor meet and complete the Practicum Supervision Contract at (or before) the onset of the placement. This process is important, as the contract is intended to provide signposts for a dialogue between the supervisor and student. A copy of the contract is to be submitted to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator and the Clinical Program Assistant within one month after the start.
The practicum supervisor/trainer and student each retain a copy of the signed contract and the student provides an additional copy to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator for the Clinical Program Files.
The contract should be reviewed with an 'expectation check' after 4-6 weeks, at which point any revisions are noted and the contract is signed by both parties. Send the revised contract to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator.
Midway through the placement
(This does not apply to the Psychological Assessment Practicum or program-sanctioned clinical work in a research setting)
When the student has accrued roughly half of the projected clinical contact hours for the placement (i.e., about 35 for full practica and 20 for half practica), the supervisor completes the "Mid-Term Evaluation" column of the Supervisor Evaluation of Student.
The student retains a copy of this completed form and provides one copy of the form to the practicum coordinator.
At the end of the placement
Once the placement ends*, the student should complete the following paperwork promptly (and no later than one month after the end of the placement*) and submit electronically (all the files in one email) to the Clinical Practicum Coordinator. The practicum coordinator will look it over for completeness and to determine whether the supervisor/trainer is satisfied with the student’s work. Assuming both are the case, will ask the Clinical Program’s Administrative Assistant to document the milestone as having been completed on the student’s transcripts.
Students should retain a copy of the end of placement material for their files.
*N.B. Placements end when students have had their final client contact or submitted the final version of their final reports to their supervisor, and not when the student and supervisor/trainer discuss and co-sign the Supervisor/Trainer Evaluation of Student form.
Items to be submitted as a packet at the end of a placement:
(Refer back to Table 3 for quick overview).
(This applies to all practica and all classes of program-sanctioned hours)
Students may create their own log sheets, informed by Documenting Professional Psychology Training Experiences (CCPPP, Aug. 2021) or Time2Track. (Even those using Time2Track should refer to the CCPPP's documentation guidelines.)
The log sheets are to be signed and dated by students. They should include a clear indication of the following practicum-related activities:
- All face-to-face contact (intervention, assessment, feedback, intake/diagnostic interview) with clients and/or their guardians, ideally noting whether the supervisor/trainer is present/observing.
- Time spent in individual or group supervision.
- Indirect support activities: Time spent outside of your therapy hours while still focused on the client (background reading, chart review, preparing and presenting case presentation).
Note: These categories are mutually exclusive. That is, an hour may not be counted more than once across any of these domains.
2. Practicum/PSH Summary Sheet
(This applies to all practica and all classes of program-sanctioned hours)
To be dated and co-signed by the student and clinical supervisor. It requires a tally of the total # of hours engaged in the following activities:
- DI: Direct Intervention - without supervisor present
- DA:Direct Assessment - without supervisor present
- DI-s:Direct Intervention - with supervisor present
- DA-s: Direct Assessment - with supervisor present
- S: Supervision - without client present
- I: Indirect - non-classroom
- I-c: Indirect - Intervention practicum class - case related
It also involves characterizing that training experience. Instructions for completing the form are included as an Appendix on the form itself.
For more extensive information, refer to CCPPP’s Guidelines for Documenting Professional Psychology Training Experiences (CCPPP, Aug. 2021) hours.
3. Supervisor’s Evaluation of Student
(This does not apply to program-sanctioned hours in a research setting)
The final column and associated comments section are to be completed by the clinical supervisor. The form is to be dated and co-signed by the student and clinical supervisor.
4. Student Evaluation of Supervisor and Setting
(This does not apply to program-sanctioned hours in a research setting)
Print out at least one hard copy (you’ll be prompted to do so at the end the survey) to include with the rest of the end-of-practicum paperwork.
5. Completed Honorarium Request Form
(This does not apply to program-sanctioned hours in a research setting)
The Social Insurance Number and amount of honorarium should be left blank. For Adjuncts, you need not include the address. For supervisors who are not Adjuncts, provide the email address (in lieu of an address) so that the Clinical Program Assistant can contact them for additional information.
The primary clinical supervisor for a practicum*:
As per CPA 2023 Accreditation Criteria (page 17), the clinical supervisor must be a psychologist, registered for independent practice in the jurisdiction where the services are provided. This psychologist must have clinical responsibility for the supervised case(s).
If a student is being supervised by an advanced-level clinical psychology student, intern/resident, or non-registered psychologist, that supervision, in turn, is to be supervised by a doctoral-level psychologist, registered with a provincial or US state regulatory body who has primary clinical responsibility for the supervised case(s).
Typically, and preferably, clinical supervisors are UWO Department of Psychology Adjunct Clinical Faculty members. If the clinical supervisor is supervising the student in a practicum, the setting must have a formal arrangement with the UWO Clinical Psychology Program (via a Memorandum of Agreement with UWO).
*If the individual is not a doctoral-level registered psychologist, the placement cannot count as a practicum. But, if approved in advance, it can count as program-sanctioned hours.
Our Adjunct appointment requirements are available at:
https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/research/clinical/adjfacinfosheet.html
X. Amount and Type of Supervision
(As per CPA 2023 Accreditation Criteria, pages 17-18)
There should be, at minimum, one hour of scheduled face-to-face individual supervision for every four hours of direct service-related work provided by the student.
At least some part of the supervision will involve the supervisor’s observation (direct, or via audio and/or videotapes) of the trainee’s clinical work.
Up to 25% of individual supervision/training within a given placement can be asynchronous. This would be the case when the supervisor reviews, outside of the formal supervision session, the student’s work (the draft of a comprehensive report, or a video/audiotape of a session) and subsequently provides the student with detailed and comprehensive feedback.
To guard the safety of students and clients:
Under most circumstances, clinical supervisors will always be on-site when their students are providing services. If not, supervisors should be readily accessible (via telecommunication) and, ideally, designate a registered on-site psychologist as a back-up.
Under no circumstances are students to be alone with clients in settings. That is, as a safety precaution, at least one staff member should be immediately physically accessible whenever students are seeing clients.
XI. Reimbursement for Expenses Incurred at a Placement
You may seek reimbursement for least some of expenses associated with your placement (e.g., the cost of pre-placement screening or training, parking expenses) via the Psychology Department’s Graduate Student Professional Development fund (contact psygradinfo@uwo.ca for information) or from the SOGS Professional Placement and Experiential Learning Subsidy fund (https://sogs.ca/documents).
