NYMHCA Internship Placement Survey
As part of our advocacy efforts, NYMHCA needs to have a clearer picture of a crucial part of the licensure process. Thousands of agencies in New York State provide clinical services, but a high reported percentage of agency directors lack accurate information about our profession. Counselor education programs are direct links to those agencies and are pivotal in the education of agency personnel. We know that when agency directors are informed about the education, training and scope of practice of mental health counselors, doors to internship sites and employment are opened. We know too that once an agency hires one mental health counselor, they are likely to hire others.
The goal of this survey is to discover the barriers to finding internship placements as well as the creative ways counselor education programs are securing those placements for their students. The results will be published in our next Counselor Educator Newsletter and will be discussed at the NYMHCA Convention in April, 2012.
We ask that 1 representative from each campus of every graduate program fill out the survey below.
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1. Name of Educational Program (and campus if applicable):
2. Name of Faculty Member Filling Out Survey:
4. Approximately how many local agencies accept your students for internships?
6. Please check all of ways you communicate with local agencies with the goal of
contracting with them to accept your students:
7. Please rate the approximate effectiveness of your recruitment efforts:
5. Does your program have enough placements for your current number of students?
10. If an agency decides not to accept your students, what are the reasons they give?
Check all that apply.
7a. Which method(s) is most effective and why:
6a. If other, please explain:
8. What creative ways have you considered to secure internship placements? Feel free to explain in detail.
One counselor education program holds an annual breakfast for agency directors. They show a Powerpoint presentation about the profession and the program. Agency directors then have an opportunity to discuss their hiring needs and recommendations for the education and training of students. Printed materials are provided.
9. When an agency agrees to accept your students, what are the reasons they give?
Please check all that apply.
9a. If other, please list additional reasons:
11. When negotiating with an agency, what percentage of the time do you find they have accurate
information about the mental health counseling profession?
10a. If other, please list additional reasons.
13. If you present agencies with printed information, what is included in that material?
14. Has printed materials developed by NYMHCA been helpful in your efforts to educate agency
directors about the profession?
15. What percentage of the agencies you contract with are state-funded?
12. In your experience, how interested are agency directors in learning more about the mental
health counseling profession?
16. Approximately what percentage of the agencies you contract with hire your students after
graduation?
17. If the above is not a satisfactory percentage, please list the barriers to the employment of your
grads:
18. Please list the ways you reach out to alums to find out if they are employed and where:
19. What percentage of your graduates find local employment within a year of graduation?
20. What else do you want NYMHCA to know about the process of contracting with local agencies:
21. Please tell us how NYMHCA can be of additional assistance to your program.
Thank you for taking this survey.
3. Approximately how many students are currently enrolled in your counseling program?
