Complete these activities at least 12 months prior to practicum: 

1. Start by reviewing all resources/materials on the MACP Portal. This includes all tabs in the ‘Students’ and ‘Supervisor’ sections, and the Practicum Student Manual, which contains all relevant and detailed information regarding your practicum. 

2. Review Site, Supervisor and General Practicum Requirements. It is your responsibility to understand and be aware of all practicum requirements; this includes appropriate Sites, Supervisor requirements, permitted activities while in practicum, and the number of hours you will need.
3. Review your Provincial Regulatory Body/Professional Association requirements for practicing the Act of Psychotherapy in your Province. If no regulating body or association exists, please review the national association website and become familiar with the regulations and requirements related to completing your practicum during your MACP. This particularly impacts students in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. If you have questions or concerns about registration processes, please contact the regulatory bodies directly.
4. For International Students, please review the requirements of any regulating body within the region/country you reside to be aware of any/all additional requirements that may affect your ability to operate as a student counsellor and complete your practicum. Please see additional requirements for international placements on the Practicum Portal and in the Student Practicum Manual. 
5. Begin to create a list of Sites in your area (or virtual) that interest you. You can use the Site Locator to assist you with your search. It contains a list of practicum sites approved by Yorkville, with site contact information. You can access this list by following this link or accessing through MACP portal. Make sure you are signed in as the list is has restricted access: https://practicum.yorkvilleu.ca/site-locator/

You can track your progress using My Practicum Search Tracker.docx 

*Please be advised – Health Authority, Government Agencies and/or Organizations: Some Health Authorities, Government Agencies and/or organizations require YU to apply on the students’ behalf and may have different deadlines for those applications. You can identify these sites on the Site Locator, as they have the Health Authority Liaison email listed as the site contact. Please see the Health Authority section for more information about specific requirements and deadlines.

*Please be advised – School Setting Sites: Students who plan to complete their practicum in a School Setting must do so in a middle or high school and must start in a September term. This ensures students have enough time to complete the practicum hour requirements over a continuous 7.5-month period. If you are eligible to start in a term other than September, you will need defer your practicum until a September term. Please review the information provided at the bottom of this timeline with regards to Placement Hold Requests and planning to defer your practicum. 

*Note: This restriction does not apply to post-secondary institutions (universities, colleges, etc.) where counselling services may be delivered year-round. 

6. Review the Practicum Application Deadlines for the term you are eligible to apply. Each trimester has its own practicum application deadline, which applies to Student, Site, and Supervisor Applications. 

Resources: 

• Chart of MACP Practicum Requirements (PDF) 

• Introduction to Practicum (Video located at the top of this page) 

• Include Student Manual PDF 

• My Practicum Search Tracker.docx 

1. Review your Resume and Cover letter. Please be advised YUs Career Services can assist with resume/cover letter writing, mock interviews, and job searching. They can also advise you on the language you are using to reach out to potential sites/supervisors to elicit a response to your inquiries. Appointments can be booked on their website at https://careerservices.myyu.ca/
   • Review the below videos in your preparation to start reaching out to Sites(Refer to Practicum Search Tips on the Practicum Information page)
   • Practicum Interview
   • Effective Cover Letter & Resumes

2. Begin to think about the time commitment needed to complete your practicum as well as other work and life responsibilities you have.You will need to commit about 2 days a week to your practicum in order to meet all of your required hours. You will also have Practicum Courses 7113 & 7203; please see the Practicum Course Tab for more details. Review the following videos: (Refer to Guidelines later on this page)
   • Safe & Effective Use of Self

3. Begin reaching out to sites that you have identified. Determine if they provide opportunities for practicum and when they anticipate openings for practicum students in the upcoming year. Determine the process each site uses for initiating practicum placements and the steps you will need to complete to apply to the site. Some Sites may have a formal process, while others may not.

4. If you are offered a practicum, determine if there is a site supervisor that meets YU supervisor qualifications.
   • Review this video: Appropriate Practicum Supervisor(From Eligibility of Site Supervision on the Supervisor Information page)
   • Review the Practicum Supervisor Information Tab
   • If you have any questions or concerns regarding supervisor requirements or eligibility, please ask your potential supervisor to reach out to our Practicum Liaison team at [email protected]. The Liaison team communicates directly with sites and supervisors due to confidentiality around personal application information. You may confirm directly with your intended site contact and/or site supervisor regarding their approval status.

5. Review the instructions for completing a Practicum Placement Application, becoming familiar with all the information you and your proposed site supervisor will be responsible for and the deadline for providing this to the Field Training team.
   • Go to the Practicum Placement Application

1. Consider joining your national professional counselling organization as a student member (CCPA) or other provincial regulatory bodies.This will give you access to conferences, newsletters, committees and other activities that will allow you as a student to interact with other students and professionals in the community. This professional network becomes valuable when you are beginning to locate possible practicum sites as well as supports overall career development. The CCPA offers discounts on Professional Liability Insurance to its student members, which students will need to submit a complete Practicum Application.

2. If you are having difficulties securing a placement, please reach out to our Practicum Advisor team, who can discuss your efforts thus far and advise on next steps. You can reach out to this team via submitting an AskYU ticket to Pre-Practicum Support, Office Hours, or by booking a one-on-one call via the Bookings app on the practicum portal. To better prepare for this meeting, please have your Site Tracker completed and be ready to provide it to one of our advisors.

*We hold office hours twice a week where students can ask questions of our Practicum Advisors and Practicum Coordinators. Office hours are held every Tuesday at 2pm AT (1pm EST, 10am PST) and Thursdays at 10am AT (9am EST, 6am PST), which can be accessed using the following link. https://yorkvilleutfs.zoom.us/j/3091212343?pwd=b0t2NTZ2cFdoNkN2UGFhRnhPVjYrZz09

*REMINDER – Students looking to apply to a Health Authority/Government Agency, please review the MACP Portal for advanced deadlines that may apply. If you have inquiries about specific Health Authority Sites or the process of applying, please contact the Health Authority Liaison team at [email protected].

1. Follow-up with your potential site and supervisor to review all requirements and expectations. Expectations could include client case load, hours, and Yorkville’s application process. It will be helpful for you to bring the application with you as well as the link to the Practicum Portal:
   • Practicum Placement Application
   • Practicum Portal (https://practicum.yorkvilleu.ca)

2. Confirm a start date with your site; remember to review the academic calendar so that you know the first date of the term.
   1. For your application, ensure that you have an updated acceptance email or confirmation from your site and your supervisor (if external supervisor).
   2. Inform your site supervisor of their responsibilities related to the supervisor application process and the deadline for submitting all materials.

3. Review Practicum Application deadlines for submitting a Practicum Application.

Each trimester has its own practicum application deadlines ending at 11:55pm Atlantic Time (AT) on their respective day. These deadlines apply to sites, supervisors, and students and are specified below: 

Please Note* Students who are completing specialized practicum placements (Workplace, Cross Border Practicums) are encouraged to apply earlier than the deadline to ensure all documentation is reviewed on time.

4. Submit a Complete Practicum Application. Please review the following resources:

• Review Submitting a Successful Practicum Placement Application video
• Practicum Application Document Checklist

Practicum Hold Requests. If you wish to defer your placement start for a term, are planning around life events, and/or are unable to secure a placement before the deadline of the term you are eligible to start, please submit a Placement Hold Request. You can find more information about hold requests and Yorkville’s policies on the Practicum Application Tab.

 [SC1]Should the chart of deadlines be inserted here?