Internship Reflection

Richard West

Dr. Clavelle

January 6, 2026

My experience during internship has been mostly positive with learning curves along the way. The first couple of weeks were very hectic as my site super and myself started navigating Thunder time together. My instructor and GCU field experience advisory were very helpful and responded quickly with answers.  My weekly group supervision was a positive experience along with the low number of students that made it feel more personalized with the instructor and peers. I also appreciated Dr. Clavelle’s experience in the field of counseling and how he interacts with all of the students. My weekly site supervision was extremely helpful as well and provided me with additional support navigating my internship.

My calendar helped me stay on track, especially with all the documentation of hours required for the course. I had the opportunity to shadow three different teaching styles which provided me with some additional tools when working with escalated students. I witnessed a teacher respectfully de-escalate a student and helped them get back track. My calendar included individual sessions and group counseling skills practice. I also noticed that my indirect hours required me to become a member of the schools guiding coalition which focuses on positive changes for the student body. My biggest area of need primarily centered on my organizational skills. The act of balancing full-time work, internship hours and personal life. I also quickly realized that I knew very little about the data collection process however during this course I got the opportunity to practice. The use of surveys for students’ needs was a powerful identification of student driven needs.

My growth since taking SCN-605

My continued growth will involve professional development through my employer and internships. My continued self-assessment allows me to stay on task for professional development and continuation of building counseling skills. Having a site supervisor also helps me identify difficult situations and how to work through them with ethical boundaries in place. My improvement as a counselor is a direct reflection of my practicum, Internship I. Internship II and Internship III. I have been gaining experience in group counseling as a facilitator and gaining confidence in attending community resource meetings. I was nervous when I started facilitating groups however the more practice, I have the better I feel. I have also defined and increased my relationship building skills with students since starting my program. I have also recently spent time learning information on a family's cultural beliefs system. This family move to our small rural town from Africa and I unfamiliar with their beliefs and religion and started researching to help build a stronger relationship.