Synopses & Reviews
THE SUCCESSFUL INTERNSHIP: PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND CIVIC DEVELOPMENT, 3e, offers you more than just a resource for how to find a position or how to interview; it addresses the concerns, emotions, needs, and unique personal challenges that are the essence of an internship or field experience and focuses on the internship as a vehicle for your development as a civic professional. The authors describe in detail the path of change you'll find yourself embarking on and the challenges you'll face along the way. The book's five-stage model of the internship process--anticipation, disillusionment, confrontation, competence, and culmination--places the material in a meaningful framework that lends structure to your understanding of the work you'll be doing.
Review
"This text is chock-full of pertinent information for students embarking on field placements. It is exceptionally well written and provides students with a wealth of knowledge to guide them during their internships."
Review
"This book has a strong emphasis on meaning making, understanding one's personal experiences in an internship setting and how those impact a new counselor personally and professionally"
and
"another strength of this book is its self-reflection emphasis, which allows students to process and articulate how the internship experience is impacting them and how they are impacting clients too. This book is practical and it is grounded on a theoretical framework."
Review
"The authors have combined their own lengthy and sophisticated experience as internship supervisors and instructors in human services with some of the best theory and practice in the field of experiential education."
Review
"The book is really an essential reference in the field. It is one of the most accessible and authoritative works available."
About the Author
H. Frederick Sweitzer is Professor of Human Services at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, where he also serves as Associate Dean of the College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions. Fred has over 25 years' experience in human services as a social worker, administrator, teacher, and consultant. He has placed and supervised undergraduate interns for 18 years and developed the internship seminar at the University of Hartford. Fred brings to his work a strong background in the scholarship of teaching, service learning, self-understanding, human development, experiential education, and group dynamics. He is on the editorial board for the journal HUMAN SERVICE EDUCATION and has published widely in the field.
Table of Contents
SECTION ONE: BEGINNING THE JOURNEY. 1. Surveying the Landscape. 2. Essentials for the Journey. 3. Framing the Experience: The Developmental Stages of an Internship. 4. Understanding Yourself. SECTION TWO: DISCOVERING THE FIELD. 5. Experiencing the "What Ifs": The Anticipation Stage. 6. Getting to Know Your Colleagues. 7. Getting to Know the Placement Site. 8. Getting to Know the Community. 9. Getting to Know the Clients: A Chapter of Special Relevance for Helping and Service Professionals. SECTION THREE: FACING NEW FRONTIERS. 10. Taking Stock and Facing Reality: The Disillusionment Stage. 11. Breaking Through Barriers: The Confrontation Stage. SECTION FOUR: GOING THE DISTANCE. 12. Riding High: The Competence Stage. 13. Considering the Issues: Professional, Ethical, and Legal. 14. Traveling the Last Mile: The Culmination Stage.