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Maintaining Good Work Habits 26
Developing an Electronic Portfolio 29
Portfolio Formats 29
E-Portfolio Benefits 30
Content and Organization of Educational E-Portfolios 31
Conclusion 31
For Your E-Portfolio 32
References 34

Chapter 2
GETTING ACQUAINTED 37
Getting to Know Your Agency 38
Getting to Know Your Co-Workers 39
Understanding Your Role in the Organization 41
Learning About the Agency’s Mission, Goals, Objectives, and Strategies 42
Learning About the Agency’s Organizational Structure 45
Learning About Agency Funding 47
Learning About the Agency’s Network 49
Learning About Your Client Groups 51
Learning About the Context of Your Organization 54
Getting to Know the Community 54
Understanding Your Agency’s Social Policy Context 59
Conclusion 66
For Your E-Portfolio 66
References 68

Chapter 3
DEVELOPING ETHICAL COMPETENCE 71
An Overview 72
Competency 1: Understanding the Ethical and Legal Foundations of the Profession 73
Ethical Standards of the Human Service Profession 73
Legal Issues and Standards of the Profession 76
Competency 2: Understanding the Values and Ideals That Should Guide Responsible
Human Services Practice 78
Competency 3: Recognizing the Ethical, Legal, and Values Issues Involved in Any Given
Practice Situation 79

vi Contents

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Competency 4: Weighing Conflicting Ethical and Values Positions in a Given Situation and
Making Decisions Between Them 85
The Ethical Principles Screen 85
Ethical Decision Making 88
Maintaining Appropriate Professional Boundaries 92
Maintaining Appropriately Open Boundaries 95
Guarding Against Dual Relationships 97
Conclusion 102
For Your E-Portfolio 102
References 104

Chapter 4
USING SUPERVISION 107
Understanding the Supervisory Relationship 108
Supervisor Characteristics 109
Student Characteristics 111
Working Within the Supervisory Relationship 114
Supervision Is a Planned Contact 114
Supervision Is Prepared For 115
Supervision Involves Discussing Professional Issues 115
Supervision Includes Planning 116
Supervision Generates Feedback 117
Conclusion 120
For Your E-Portfolio 121
References 122

Chapter 5
LEARNING TO LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE:
THE INTEGRATIVE PROCESSING MODEL 125
The Role of Reflection in Learning from Experience 125
An Overview of the Integrative Processing Model 128
Step 1: Gathering Objective Data from Concrete Experience 130
Step 2: Reflecting 132
Step 3: Identifying Relevant Theory and Knowledge 132
Step 4: Examining Dissonance 135
Step 5: Articulating Learning 137
Step 6: Developing a Plan 139
Applying the Integrative Processing Model 141

Contents vii

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Conclusion 148
For Your E-Portfolio 148
References 150

Chapter 6
COMMUNICATING WITH CLIENTS 153
The Basic Skills 154
Values and Attitudes 154
Active Listening 156
Client Interviewing 158
Exploration Skills 160
Action Skills 161
The Contect and Direction of Communication: Considering the Strengths Perspective 163
Working with Individuals, Families, Groups, Larger Systems, and Communities 166
Working with Individuals 166
Case Management and Advocacy 169
Working with Families 173
Working with Groups 177
Working with Communities 183
Community Organization 184
Political Engagement 185
Conclusion 189
For Your E-Portfolio 189
References 190

Chapter 7
DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE 193
An Overview 194
Understanding Concepts Related to Diversity 196
Experiencing Diverse Groups 197
Increasing Your Knowledge of Multiple Cultures 199
Developing Awareness of Your Own Culture 201
Decreasing Ethnocentrism 205
Understanding Biculturalism as an Adaptive Mechanism 208
Understanding Social Location 210
Understanding Power Differentials 213
Understanding Agency Culture 215
Considering the Isms and You 217

viii Contents

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Conclusion 219
For Your E-Portfolio 219
References 221

Chapter 8
WRITING AND REPORTING WITHIN
YOUR FIELD AGENCY 225
Writing in Human Service Settings 226
Written Reports Related to Direct Services to Clients 228
Purposes of Documentation 229
Ground Rules for Documentation 231
Common Types of Written Reports Regarding Direct Client Care 232
Written Reports Related to Administrative Services 240
Reports About Agency Programs 240
Process Evaluation Reports 241
Reports to the Board of Directors 241
Funding Requests 242
Public Relations 244
Oral Reporting and Presentations 246
Conclusion 250
For Your E-Portfolio 251
References 252

Chapter 9
TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF 255
Developing Self-Awareness 256
Developing Self-Understanding 257
Developing Assertiveness 258
Developing Conflict Resolution Skills 261
Developing Positive Self-Talk 264
Developing Self-Control 267
Learning to Manage Your Stress and Care for Yourself 269
Maintaining a Balance Between Your Work Life and Your Personal Life 277
Keeping Safe 283
Conclusion 286
For Your E-Portfolio 287
References 288

Contents ix

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Chapter 10
ENDING YOUR INTERNSHIP 291
Evaluating Your Performance 292
Understanding the Final Evaluation 292
Preparing for Your Evaluation 294
The Field Supervisor’s Perspective 296
The Evaluation Conference 297
The Faculty Liaison’s Perspective 300
Leaving Your Internship 301
General Guidelines for Positive Termination 302
Be Aware of Your Previous Experiences and Patterns with Terminations 302
Be Self-Aware, Recognizing Your Needs and Wants (Baird, 2008; Welfel & Patterson, 2005;
Sweitzer & King, 2009) 304
Reflect Upon and Deal with Your Feelings (Alle-Corliss & Alle-Corliss, 2006; Brill, 2005;
Okun & Krantrowitz, 2008; Sweitzer & King, 2009) 305
Review the Experience (Alle-Corliss & Alle-Corliss, 2006; Okun & Krantrowitz, 2008;
Young, 2005) 306
Acknowledge the Progress and the Changes That You Have Made (Baird, 2008;
Cormier & Hackney, 2005; Royse, Dhooper, & Rompf, 2010) 306
Saying Good-Bye to Your Supervisor 309
Saying Good-Bye to Your Clients 311
Transferring Your Work 315
Termination Rituals 317
Conclusion 318
For Your E-Portfolio 318
References 320

Chapter 11
PLANNING YOUR CAREER 321
Where Are You Now? Thinking About the “Answered Questions” 322
Where Are You Now? Thinking About the “Unanswered Questions” 324
Where Are You Going? Clarifying Your Career Goals 325
Achieving Your Career Goals 328
Basic Steps in Career Development 331
Step 1: Clarifying Long-Term Goals as Distinct from Short-Term Goals or Intermediate
Goals 331
Step 2: Doing Your Research (For a Job or an Advanced Academic Program) 333
Step 3: Conducting a Job Search 336

x Contents

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Developing a Resume 337
Writing Effective Letters 340
Developing Interviewing Skills 342
Maintaining a Positive Outlook 344
Conclusion 345
For Your E-Portfolio 346
References 347

Appendix
ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR HUMAN
SERVICE PROFESSIONALS 349

Index 355

Contents xi

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Preface

To The Instructor
Welcome to the third edition of The Human Services Internship: Getting the Most from
Your Experience. Like the previous editions, this book is designed for use by students
and instructors who are engaged in the challenging experience of fieldwork in human
service agencies. The book is organized around the key issues that students encoun-
ter in human service internships. These range from theoretical content areas such as
cultural competence and ethical decision making to more personal challenges such as
taking care of yourself as a human service intern and professional. If you are familiar
with the second edition, you will note a number of changes in this latest version.

New to This Edition


From beginning to end, all topics have been updated with the most current infor-
mation and relevant scholarship. Some of the content from previous editions, while
still present, has been reorganized. This reorganization has resulted in fewer chap-
ters without loss of content. For example, the Trouble-Shooting chapter in the pre-
vious editions discussed possible pitfalls and problems in internships. In this third
edition, that content has been reorganized and incorporated into appropriate chap-
ters according to the particular issue under discussion, such as Chapter 1, Getting
Started; Chapter 3, Developing Ethical Competence; and Chapter 9, Taking Care of
Yourself.
Content has also been added to this third edition that reflects current develop-
ments and prevailing thought in the human service field. For example, Chapter 2,
Getting Acquainted, has a significantly extended discussion of social policy issues as
they relate to the internship and incorporates information and perspectives related
to the current economic situation. Chapter 3, Developing Ethical Competence, in-
cludes a more thorough discussion of professional boundaries and dual relationships
as compared to previous editions. Also, this chapter directs students to ethical codes
for a number of specific helping professions, including counseling, psychology, and
social work. Content regarding evidence-based practice is a new addition to Chapter 5,
Learning to Learn from Experience: The Integrative Processing Model, and is a topic
that is reinforced throughout the book. Chapter 6, Communicating with Clients,
now incorporates information regarding the strengths-based perspective, a common

Preface xiii

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
philosophical orientation in human service practice today. Similarly, Chapter 7, De-
veloping Cultural Competence, includes updated demographic information and more
extended discussions of concepts such as social location, privelege, power differen-
tials, and the assumption of whiteness. Chapter 9, Taking Care of Yourself, provides
the latest information about safety issues in the human services workplace and in-
cludes a new work stress scale that will be helpful to students in identifying potential
points of stress in their internships.
In addition to these improvements related to basic content, discussion of the
electronic portfolio throughout the book has also been strengthened and extended.
Specific open source (free) software platforms for these portfolios are discussed, and
each chapter provides an excerpt from a student portfolio reflecting on the chapter’s
central topic. Through these additions both faculty and students will gain a greater
understanding of how electronic portfolios might be used for student reflection on
their own learning and development as well as how they might be used to assess stu-
dent mastery of specific learning outcomes.

Features from Previous Editions


You will also note that the key strengths of the previous editions have been main-
tained. As has always been the case, the text is designed for students at any level in
their educational programs, majors and non-majors alike, but is geared primarily to an
undergraduate audience. Although it is written for students taking course work in hu-
man service education programs, it may be used to great advantage with any student
engaged in fieldwork or internships in a human service agency, especially those in
social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and social work.
Because the structure and organization of field experiences vary broadly from
program to program, the text is written with this is mind. Students will benefit from
using it in course-linked fieldwork projects, one-month “mini-term” experiences, or
longer half-semester, full-semester, or full-year practica and internships. The text is
ideal for use in field seminar courses where various exercises and topics can be further
discussed, but it may also be used fairly independently by students.
Finally, a word about terminology might be in order. Because academic programs
use a variety of different terms to refer to their field experiences, I do the same in this
book. I use the terms “internship” and “fieldwork” interchangeably throughout the
text. Similarly and for the same reason, I use the terms “faculty liaison” and “faculty
member” interchangeably in referring to the role of the faculty member working with
the student during the field experience.
I also hope you find that the “teachable moments” of your students’ field expe-
rience become even more powerful through the timely presentation of relevant and
critical reflection offered here. I hope you find that your students are able to integrate
knowledge and experience more effectively through the use of this text. If you have
suggestions as to how I might modify this text to reach these goals more effectively,
I appreciate and invite your comments.

xiv Preface

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Purpose
My purpose in creating this book has remained constant from the first edition through
the third edition. My goal has always been to create a tool that will help students
and faculty in the challenging, but potentially powerful, teaching and learning process
presented by the internship experience. As a faculty member working with intern-
ship students, my sense is that many “teachable moments” can be lost, or not fully
exploited, when students are not prompted to think more deeply about their experi-
ences as they relate to the extensive body of knowledge of the human service field.
This becomes even more important as the number of students completing intern-
ships increases dramatically.
The numbers of students participating in internships has grown exponentially
over the past two to three decades. Twenty-five years ago, approximately 35 percent
to 40 percent of college students participated in internships or a professional work
experience of some type prior to their graduation. Currently, about 86 percent of col-
lege students are participating in these experiences (Gardner, 2009). Increasingly,
both students and faculty are raising questions about how to maximize the benefits
of these experience and how to integrate them with the academic curriculum most
effectively. This book provides a tool to support both students and faculty in this im-
portant work.
Students in their human service fieldwork are expected to meet multiple and
complex objectives. The purpose of this text is to provide the information, structure,
guidance, and coaching that they need in order to approach their work with greater
confidence and thoughtfulness. The goal of the text is to help students maximize
their learning in every experience. Toward this end, the text is realistic, practical, and
supportive in its approach.
During internships, students may be supervised closely by agency supervi-
sors and staff but may have relatively little direct contact with faculty members and
classmates as compared to their experiences in traditional classroom-based courses.
Although internship students may be placed in rich learning environments and work
under good supervision, the demands of the workday often preclude the opportunity
for them to discuss their experiences on a daily basis. As a result, opportunities for
learning all that they might from various experiences are sometimes missed. As an
instructor of field courses, I have often wished that I could sit down with each of my
students at the end of the day to discuss their experiences, call attention to important
issues, raise questions, and help them draw upon the knowledge base of the profes-
sion to make sense of their experiences. Obviously, this is not possible. This text en-
gages students in a similar process of thinking and reflection. With my own students,
I sometimes refer to this book as “the professor in your pocket.” Without a text to
accompany the internship, students are asked to integrate their classroom/academic
knowledge with their experiences in the field based on their mastery of that material
and their ability to retrieve it sometime later. This book assists the student in this
challenging task by reviewing and updating key information related to core content
areas that inevitably are pertinent in the field.

Preface xv

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
A common concern among faculty teaching field courses is how to help students
make meaningful connections between their classroom learning and their experiences
in the field. This text offers not only specific content that students need to draw upon
in their internship, but also provides exercises that engage students in making those
connections. These exercises, included in each chapter, take the student beyond the
level of learning content and into critical thinking and active application of content to
their own experiences. In addition, an entire chapter is devoted to teaching students a
six-step model for processing their experiences, a model that includes the application of
theoretical, conceptual, and empirical knowledge, as well as other types of reflection.
The many exercises in the book have been classified into one of three types:
Personal Reflection: Observation of Self and Others; Synthesis: Linking Knowledge
and Experience; or Analysis. This categorization is an effort to highlight for students
and faculty the nature of the predominant thought processes required by the exercise.
Each chapter includes several exercises, but there is no expectation that students will
complete all of the exercises in each chapter. Faculty are encouraged to select and as-
sign the exercises that will best help their students achieve the learning goals of their
academic program. Faculty also might consider asking students to jot brief notes in re-
sponse to some of the exercises while requiring more thorough completion of others.
Each chapter of the book includes a prompt to stimulate students’ thinking about an
appropriate electronic portfolio entry related to the topics discussed in the chapter and an
excerpt of a student entry in response to that prompt is also offered. Electronic portfolios
are explained in some detail in Chapter 1. This feature of the book is designed to assist
both faculty and students in academic programs that use electronic portfolios to encourage
student reflection on their work and/or to assess student learning and growth. The use of
e-portfolios has become particularly prevalent in assessing student learning outcomes at or
near the end of an academic program. Because the internship is the capstone experience
in many human service programs, it is a likely point for such assessment. As students have
become more comfortable using electronic media, they often value the building of portfo-
lios to highlight their best work and sometimes use these portfolios in their job searches,
even when this is not required by their academic programs. Each e-portfolio prompt pro-
vides an opportunity for students to respond to the topic of the chapter as it relates to their
own development in the internship. Faculty should, of course, feel free to adapt these
prompts to the assessment processes and desired student learning outcomes of their own
academic programs. Likewise, students who choose to develop portfolios through their
own initiative should see the prompts as possible springboards for that project rather than
as prescriptive assignments.

Philosophy and Approach to Experiential Learning


The text reflects certain assumptions about experiential education, about the role of
writing in thinking, and about how students learn. The text assumes that while ex-
periential education can be a powerful pedagogical approach, students often need
to learn how to learn most effectively from experience. Although experience can be a
good teacher, at times it may not teach very effectively in and of itself. Without careful

xvi Preface

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
thought, analysis, and reflection, students can easily draw erroneous conclusions and
make incorrect inferences based on their experiences, just as they can misread or mis-
interpret a text. Experience is a powerful teacher that proves to be more effective when
combined carefully with critical thinking, self-evaluation, and reflection. This text is de-
signed to keep students engaged in this thinking process throughout their fieldwork.
Furthermore, the text requires students to “think on paper.” This feature is
based on the premise that writing helps the thinker to think more clearly and pre-
cisely. In each chapter, students express their thoughts in writing in response to spe-
cific exercises. As students’ thoughts are expressed in writing and shared with the
instructor, a fruitful dialogue can be initiated. Through reacting to the student’s writ-
ten work, the instructor has regular opportunities to provide supportive assistance,
corrective feedback, prompts toward further reflection, or other responses that can
enhance the student’s learning.
Finally, the text is based on a philosophy of active, student-centered learning.
Each chapter actively engages students by consistently bringing their experiences
and thoughts into the discussion along with theoretical and academic content. The
inclusion of examples of student work throughout each chapter enlivens the text by
offering concrete examples of student experiences and reflections.

Content
The opening chapters of the book address practical matters in beginning the field
experience, focusing on issues such as myths about internships, stages of internship
development, guidelines for successfully completing the internship, development of
a learning agreement (Chapter 1), and getting to know the field placement agency, its
clients, its community, and its sociopolitical context (Chapter 2).
Beyond these initial, obvious entry points, the most advantageous ordering of
the chapters becomes less clear. Therefore, each chapter is offered as a free-standing
module that each faculty member can order according to the students’ needs and the
“teachable moments” that present themselves. Certainly, students should be well
grounded in the ethics of the profession before beginning the internship. For those
faculty teaching students who have been well prepared in the classroom on this topic,
they might feel comfortable delving into the content related to ethics later in the
term. But for those faculty whose students might be entering the internship from aca-
demic programs that have not emphasized this theme, Chapter 3, Developing Ethical
Competence, should be assigned very early. Another chapter that is considered foun-
dational for many faculty is Chapter 4, Using Supervision. If this is a student’s first
experience in a professional-level field placement, this chapter too will need to be
assigned early in the experience to help students understand how to work with a su-
pervisor productively and how to use supervision to enhance their learning and the
quality of their internship experiences.
Some faculty might choose to assign Chapter 5, The Integrative Processing
Model: Learning to Learn from Experience, very early during the internship, as it
provides a key tool for student learning and reflection throughout the experience.

Preface xvii

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
This chapter focuses on the processes involved in learning from experience and in-
troduces students to a six-step model that they can use in thinking through their
experiences in the field. The model, my original work, provides a useful framework
for helping students extract maximum learning and personal growth from their ex-
periences. In summary, this model calls upon students to observe their experiences
carefully, reflect on their personal reactions, identify and apply relevant knowledge,
identify dissonance (i.e., points of discomfort or conflict that might include ethical
dilemmas, conflicts between theoretical points of view, etc.), articulate their learning
from the experience, and make plans for the next step in their work and in their learn-
ing. This process not only helps students learn more during their fieldwork but also
teaches them a method for thinking through their experiences that can serve them
well throughout their careers.
Chapters 6 through 9 deal with key skills that human services professionals must
develop. Chapter 6, Communicating with Clients, helps students think carefully about
the various communication skills they are drawing upon in their internship experiences
as they work with individuals, families, groups, and communities. Similarly, there are
chapters devoted to developing cultural competence (Chapter 7), preparing oral and
written reports (Chapter 8), and the self-care skills (Chapter 9) that are so important
for students and beginning professionals to develop in order to ensure long and pro-
ductive careers. Chapter 9, Taking Care of Yourself, focuses on critical content to help
students manage their stress and their emotions throughout the internship experience.
Faculty are encouraged to consider carefully the needs of their particular students in
this area. This chapter can and should be assigned earlier in the experience if the fac-
ulty member considers it likely that the students might struggle with issues of stress
in their internships. Chapter 9, although placed toward the end of the book, offers
information that many students might benefit from accessing early in their internships
in order to cope most effectively with the emotional demands of the experience.
The final chapters of the text move toward providing closure for the student as the
internship draws to a conclusion. Chapter 10 focuses on processes involved in ending
the internship, including both evaluation and termination. Chapter 11 assists students
in making the transition into “life after the internship” through a focus on career plan-
ning. In some cases, the chapters have been ordered in a way that reflects the stages of
the internship’s development. Chapters 1 through 4, for example, focus on topics that
will help students get a good start in the internship, whereas Chapters 10 and 11 focus
on bringing it to a satisfactory close. Other chapters, such as Chapter 6, Communicating
with Clients, and Chapter 7, Developing Cultural Competence, are less clear in terms
of their exact placement in relation to one another. In making decisions about how to
order the chapters for maximum effectiveness, instructors are encouraged to consider
the specific challenges students are encountering in their field experiences at a given
point in time. Seizing opportunities when students are ready and eager to examine par-
ticular topics makes the learning offered in the text all the more powerful. As I myself
use the book with my students, I try to remain flexible in how I order the chapters each
semester, observing and listening closely to identify student needs along the way.
Throughout this book, content is included in the form of case studies and exam-
ples of various kinds. This material was inspired by more than 30 years of experience

xviii Preface

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Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
in working with students and clients in various contexts. In no case, however, does
the book include information drawn from any particular student or client. The people
with whom I have worked over the years have provided a rich history upon which to
draw, but their struggles and situations appear in this book in very disguised, com-
posite forms. Names, identities, situations, and details have been routinely altered
to such an extent that no actual person or persons are depicted. Any likeness to the
names and circumstances of real people is strictly coincidental.

References
Gardner, P. (2009). Recruiting trends: 2008–2009. Michigan State University: Collegiate
Employment Research Institute. Retrieved January 15, 2010, from http://20100112-images.
experience.com/images2/fms/webinar/trends_08_09.pdf.

Acknowledgments
I wish to acknowledge gratefully the contributions of many people who contributed
to the successful creation of this third edition. At the top of this lengthy list is my
husband, Rick, who was unfailingly patient, encouraging, and supportive as I spent
many long hours at the computer. Many thanks must also go to faculty colleagues
and administrators at Elon University, who provided interest in and enthusiasm
for my work; my students at Elon University, who have taught me much of what
I know about experiential education and provided feedback on previous editions;
my colleagues in the Southern Organization for Human Service Education and the
National Organization for Human Service Education, who encouraged my efforts;
and Seth Dobrin, editor for this third edition, whose suggestions, guidance, and
support did much to strengthen the book. I especially appreciate Seth’s flexibility
and patience in working with me and adjusting deadlines following the death of my
mother. The staff of PreMediaGlobal also provided excellent assistance in strength-
ening the final manuscript and moving the book into production. Finally, I wish to
acknowledge the time and contributions of the following reviewers who made astute
and insightful suggestions, adding significantly to the quality of the finished work:
Alisabeth Buck, Tacoma Community College; Mary Di Giovanni, Northern Essex
Community College; John Hancock, Fitchburg State College; Jeffrey Haber, Metro-
politan State College of Denver; Paul Hand, Anna Maria College; Ed Neukrug, Old
Dominion University; Theresa A. Bowman Downing, Thomas Edison State Col-
lege; Mary Kay Kreider, St. Louis Community College–Meramec; Lynn McKinney,
University of Rhode Island, for the first edition. For the second: Kathleen Conway,
Wayne State College; Anita Vaillancourt, University of Northern British Columbia;
and Keith Willis, Wayne State College. For the third edition: Ona Belser, SUNY
Plattsburgh; Christine Borzumato-Gainey, Elon University; Clyde Ibara, Chaminade
University; Rita Ruhter, College of Southern Idaho; and Carla Strassle, York College
of Pennsylvania.

Preface xix

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Introduction

One of the best ways to learn about human services and prepare yourself for a human
service career is through fieldwork—that is, actually spending time in a human service
agency engaged in its daily work. Most graduates of human service programs report
that their field experiences were among the most important, valuable, and enjoyable
parts of their professional preparation. As a student in a human service program, you
have probably participated in other types of experiential education as well because
learning from experience has always been heavily emphasized in human service edu-
cation. Since human service education began in the 1970s, students have participated
in simulations and case study analysis, group discussions have revolved around stu-
dent field experiences, and extensive fieldwork has been required for degree comple-
tion. The National Standards for Human Service Worker Education and Training (Council
for Standards in Human Service Education and Training [CSHSE], 2005) defines field
experience as “a process of experiential learning that integrates the knowledge, the-
ory, skills, and professional behaviors that are concurrently being taught in the class-
room” (CSHSE, 2009, p. 9).
Human service programs vary in the structure of their field component. While all
human service programs tend to emphasize field experiences as critical components
of student preparation, their duration, format, and timing in the overall education pro-
gram can vary widely from one program to another. Despite the many variations found
among human service field programs, you will probably find that your department’s
program design includes some combination of the following components:
1. Students engage in fieldwork early in their academic program while en-
rolled in one or more related academic courses. This type of experience is
often referred to as a field practicum or perhaps as a service-learning project.
2. Students engage in fieldwork at approximately the midpoint in the program,
after having studied human service content in traditional academic courses.
Field experience at this point is especially useful as it enables students to
apply their previous theoretical learning to their fieldwork and then return
to course work with greater understanding and insight based on direct expe-
rience in the field.
3. Students engage in fieldwork at or near the end of their academic program.
This experience, often referred to as an internship, serves as a capstone expe-
rience, allowing students the opportunity to apply and test what they have
learned in the classroom, as well as an opportunity to gain new knowledge
and skills.

Introduction xxi

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Despite the fact that human service students are nurtured and developed within
such a tradition of active, experiential learning throughout their course of study, you
may find that you are approaching your fieldwork with a sense of anxiety, concerned
that you might not be sufficiently prepared. As one student said, “What if I go into my
internship and find out I don’t know anything? What if I fail?” Although this anxiety
is an understandable and normal part of starting a new experience, in most cases there
is little basis for this fear in reality. The foregoing discussion illustrates that students
entering a field experience at any point during their human service program are not
cast into the practice world without knowledge, information, or preparation for the
task at hand.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for students in a human service field experience
is not one of possessing knowledge but one of making use of that knowledge in practical
ways. The field component is intended to be central to your learning, serving as an in-
tegrative experience in which you retrieve your previous learning and apply it to prac-
tice situations. This objective can be quite daunting, especially in view of the broad
curriculum that you have probably studied within your human services program. Con-
tent in human service education covers a wide range of topics and skills, including,
for example, information about special populations and human problems; theories of
human behavior and human development; skills in working with individuals, families,
groups, and organizations; professional ethics; cultural awareness and skills; and devel-
opment of self-awareness. Despite its challenges, your task during your fieldwork is to
make use of this material (and more), applying it accurately and skillfully to practice
situations that you will encounter day to day. Through your field experience, your aca-
demic learning can come alive and take on new meaning as you see the connections
between the knowledge and skills you have gained in the classroom and your “real-
world” practice experiences while working in a human service agency. This dynamic
connection between the academic and the practical makes fieldwork experiences in
human services especially satisfying, interesting, and challenging.
With all of this in mind, the goals of this text are (1) to help you integrate theo-
retical and conceptual information with your experiences in the field, (2) to help you
learn more from your experiences in the field by thinking extensively and carefully
about those experiences, and (3) to provide the information, structure, and coaching
necessary for you to explore the relatively unfamiliar territory of a fieldwork experi-
ence with confidence. Toward these ends, you will find that the text includes useful
information about every stage of the process from beginning the experience (Chapter 1,
Getting Started) to ending the experience and moving on (Chapter 10, Ending Your
Internship, and Chapter 11, Planning Your Career). Each chapter calls upon you to be
an active learner, reacting to, applying, and reflecting upon the many ideas discussed.
As you work through the material and exercises in the text, they will guide and sup-
port you through the various stages of your field experience, helping you to seize its
opportunities, anticipate and avoid its potential pitfalls, and extract maximum learn-
ing from your experiences.
The human service literature uses a variety of labels to refer to field experiences
in human services. The terms practicum, fieldwork, and internship are frequently used
to denote various types of field experiences. Nomenclature varies from program to

xxii Introduction

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
program and has been the subject of much discussion in human services programs
(Simon, 1999). For the sake of clarity, fieldwork, field experience, and internship are the
terms generally used in this book, and they are used interchangeably.
Now, as we embark on your fieldwork experience together, best wishes to you!
Keep in mind what a privilege it is to be allowed the status of an “insider” within a
professional organization. Be determined to use every opportunity to advance your
learning and development as well as to serve others. These attitudes will set the stage
for an unforgettable and invaluable learning experience.

References
Council on Standards for Human Service Education. (2009). National standards: Baccalaureate
degree in human services. Retrieved September 29, 2010 from http://www.cshse.org/documents/
Standards-Bachelor.pdf
Simon, E. (1999). Field practicum: Standards, criteria, supervision, and evaluation. In H. Harris &
D. Maloney (Eds.), Human services: Contemporary issues and trends (2nd ed., pp. 79–96). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.

Introduction xxiii

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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