Become a Clinical Placement Site
Thank you for your interest in hosting Naropa graduate students at your mental health agency. We are always looking to partner with new agencies in Colorado and now nationwide!
Naropa University is a small, private, nonprofit university whose graduate-level counseling programs combine fundamental clinical mental health education with mindfulness and contemplative practices. Learn more about the Graduate School of Counseling & Psychology.
If your agency is able to fulfill the clinical requirements detailed below, and if you are interested in further exploring a potential new partnership, please select a button below.
For Agencies Already in Communication with a Naropa Student
For Agencies That Would Like to Become a Clinical Placement Partner
If you are not already working with a Naropa student and are interested in a partnership, please use the button below to complete the interest form:
About Clinical Placements
Practicum & Internship provide for the application of theory and the development of counseling skills under supervision. These experiences offer opportunities for students to counsel clients who represent the ethnic and demographic diversity of the community.
The first of two professional practice experiences in the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, the Practicum is required and provides for the development of counseling skills through fieldwork at a community agency with on-site consultation and supervision. It is designed to provide a supportive and instructional forum for students’ initial experiences working with clients in community settings. The student will observe and work in a therapeutic setting, at one site, for at least 100 hours during one semester, accumulating approximately 8–10 hours a week. Individual/triadic supervision is to be provided by a licensed on-site supervisor.
The second professional practice experience in the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, the Internship provides for the application of theory and the development of counseling skills under supervision. Internship is defined as basic and intermediate clinical and educational exposure in a clinical treatment setting where the intern is an active member of a treatment team and holds a full client caseload. The student must complete a 700-hour internship placement at one site for a minimum of two semesters, accumulating approximately 20–25 hours a week. Individual/triadic supervision is to be provided by a licensed on-site supervisor.
Common Types of Practicum & Internship Sites
- Community mental health agency or center
- Schools/organizations for youth with mental health services
- Group practices of mental health providers
- Addiction recovery centers
- Inpatient facilities
- Acute treatment units
- Hospitals where mental health services are offered
- Outpatient facilities
- Justice system facilities—jails or re-entry programs
- Hospices
