Practicum hour categories, defined
Which category does this hour go in? Each one explained in plain words, with the source linked and the date we last checked it. Free to read, no account. For the reasoning behind the tricky ones, read the direct vs indirect hours guide.
Doctoral psychology practicum, September 2026 categories
The categories from the practicum hours tracking guide published in September 2026 for the psychology internship application: intervention, assessment, integrated reports, supervision and support, with client age groups, treatment settings and supervisor credentials where the guide asks for them.
Last reviewed 25 September 2026 against:
- AAPI Practicum Hours Tracking Guide, Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, Version 1.0, last revised September 2026 (announced 11 September 2026). Used for: The category tree, the age groups, the settings, the supervisor credentials, the rounding rule and the general rules.
- AAPI Hours Tracking Guide Now Available (announcement), Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, 11 September 2026. Used for: The publication date and where the guide lives.
Every definition below is our own summary. Read the source for the authoritative wording, and ask your program when an activity is unclear.
Where does this activity go?
29 common situations.
| Activity | Log it as |
|---|---|
| My supervisor watched my therapy session live | Intervention, Individual therapy Live supervision is logged as the clinical work itself, and not again as supervision. |
| Shadowing or observing a session without an active role | Support, Support hours Watching without delivering treatment or assessment is support. |
| Co-therapy with one client where I was actively treating | Intervention, Individual therapy Active co-therapy with one client counts as individual therapy. |
| Crisis session with my own ongoing therapy client | Intervention, Individual therapy Crisis work for your own client belongs with their therapy. |
| Crisis work with someone who is not my therapy client | Intervention, Other psychological interventions, Other interventions It is direct intervention that fits no named category. |
| Caregiver and child together, teaching the child a skill | Intervention, Individual therapy The focus is the child, so it is individual therapy at the child's age group. |
| Caregiver alone, working on the child's behalf | Intervention, Other psychological interventions, Other interventions Caregiver based work without the child is other intervention. |
| Caregiver and child together, working on how they interact | Intervention, Family therapy The focus is the relationship, so it is family therapy. |
| Intake interview before therapy | Intervention, Other psychological interventions, Intake interview Intakes that lead into therapy are intervention. |
| Clinical interview as part of a testing battery | Assessment, Other psychological assessment An interview inside an assessment is assessment. |
| Feedback session on test results | Assessment, Other psychological assessment Going over results with the client is logged as other psychological assessment. |
| Scoring, interpreting or writing up tests | Support, Support hours Assessment work without the client present is support. |
| Client filled in a self report questionnaire on their own | Support, Support hours You were not administering it. If you read the items aloud to the client, that time is assessment. |
| Structured behavioral observation with a formal rating procedure | Assessment, Other psychological assessment Systematic observation with a formal procedure is assessment. Watching a client during treatment is not. |
| Gave only some subtests of a psychodiagnostic measure | Assessment, Psychodiagnostic test administration Log the subtests you gave and their time as psychodiagnostic test administration, never the full measure. |
| Gave only some subtests of a neuropsychological measure | Assessment, Neuropsychological assessment Log the subtests you gave and their time as neuropsychological assessment, never the full measure. |
| Practice assessment for a class, with no real client | Not logged as practicum Class practice with no real clinical service is not practicum and is not logged. |
| Phone call to schedule an appointment | Support, Support hours Calls that deliver no clinical service are support. |
| Therapy or coaching by telephone | Intervention, Telephone intervention Clinical service by phone has its own category. |
| Therapy by video | Intervention, Individual therapy Video sessions count as face to face, in the therapy category that fits. |
| Therapy or assessment by text message | Support, Support hours Text based clinical work is placed in support. |
| Talking to a client's psychiatrist to coordinate care, client not present | Support, Support hours Coordination between professionals without the client is support. |
| Consulting with a client's teacher about the client | Intervention, Other psychological interventions, Consultation Consultation with someone acting for the client is intervention. In a school counseling role, use school consultation. |
| Supervising a junior student live, with my supervision itself supervised | Intervention, Other psychological experience with students or organizations, Supervision of other students Real time, supervised supervision of another student counts as intervention. |
| Reviewing a junior student's notes or sending written feedback | Support, Support hours Indirect supervision work is support. |
| Planning an outreach workshop | Support, Support hours Preparation is support; only delivering it is program development. |
| A stress management group | Intervention, Group counseling It could be group counseling or medical and health related intervention. Choose one, never both. |
| Writing an integrated report | Support, Support hours Writing time is support. Also log the finished report once as an integrated report. |
| Case conference or didactic seminar | Support, Support hours Training and case discussion without clients are support. |
General rules
- Your program approves what counts
- Only experiences your director of clinical training accepts as program sanctioned practicum go in these categories. Ask before you start anything unusual, such as clinical work inside a research study or staying on at a site after the placement ends. Clinical work that is not approved practicum has its own non practicum section in the application instead.
- Hours up to 30 September of the year you apply
- Hours accrued up to and including 30 September of your application year are the ones you report. Hours you expect to earn after that are described separately as anticipated experience. The totals page splits your log at that date once you enter your application year.
- Record the setting for intervention and assessment
- For every intervention or assessment activity, note the kind of treatment setting it happened in as well as what you did.
- Paid or unpaid both count
- A practicum can be paid or unpaid. What matters is the training and the supervision, not the pay.
- Clock hours, rounded up to the quarter hour
- A practicum hour is a clock hour, not a credit hour. Each activity is rounded up to the next 15 minutes: 1 to 15 minutes is 0.25 hours, 16 to 30 is 0.50, and so on. You log the actual minutes; the totals apply the rounding to each entry.
- One category per activity
- Each hour goes in exactly one category. When an activity could fit two, pick the one that describes it best and ask your supervisor or director of clinical training if unsure. Work done while a supervisor watches live is logged as the work itself, not as supervision.
- Doctoral hours and terminal master's hours
- A master's degree earned inside your doctoral program is part of the doctorate, so those hours are doctoral. Hours from a separate, stand alone master's program are reported in their own columns. Choose the level on each entry.
The categories
Intervention
Direct clinical service to clients in person or by video. Telephone work has its own category below. For each intervention category the application asks for hours and for the number of different clients.
Direct contact.
Individual therapy
One to one psychotherapy, reported by the client's age group. Co-therapy with one client counts here when you are actively treating, not watching. Crisis work with your own ongoing therapy client also counts here.
- A weekly session with an adult client
- A session where a child learns a skill while the caregiver sits in to learn it too
Recorded with: client age group, treatment setting, number of different clients.
Group counseling
Therapy with several clients at once who share a concern or are learning skills, with one or more therapists. A group counts as one unit in the number of different groups however many people attend, and hours are the time spent, not time multiplied by attendees.
- Co-leading a weekly skills group for adolescents
Recorded with: group age group, treatment setting, number of different groups.
Career counseling
Helping a client weigh interests, values and skills to make career or education decisions, reported for adults or adolescents only.
Recorded with: client age group, treatment setting, number of different clients.
Family therapy
Therapy with several family members together where the focus is how they interact, including when you work from behind a one way mirror.
- A caregiver and child together, with the work aimed at their interaction
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different families.
Couples therapy
Therapy with both partners together, as a couple.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different couples.
School counseling interventions
School based work aimed at a student's learning, behavior and adjustment at school. Mental health therapy that simply happens in a school building belongs in the therapy categories instead.
School consultation
Giving psychological advice to the adults around a student, such as a teacher, to help that student.
- Suggesting classroom strategies to a teacher for a student's attention difficulties
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
School direct intervention
Working with the student yourself on academic, behavioral, social or emotional needs.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Other school intervention
School counseling intervention that is neither consultation nor direct work with the student.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Other psychological interventions
Named intervention types that are not therapy with an individual, group, family or couple.
Intake interview
An intake that leads into therapy, whether or not you go on to treat the client yourself. A clinical interview that is part of a testing battery is assessment instead.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Substance use intervention
Work on the psychological and behavioral side of substance use: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and relapse prevention.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Sport psychology or performance enhancement
Building mental skills, motivation and well-being to improve athletic or other performance.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Medical or health related intervention
Psychological intervention aimed at a health or medical concern. The guide names this category in its example of choosing one category, without a section of its own.
- A stress management group, if you log it here rather than as group counseling
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Consultation
Clinical consultation that involves the client or someone acting for the client, such as a teacher. Talking with other professionals only to coordinate care, without the client, is support.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Other interventions
Direct client contact that fits no other intervention category. Count only the time with the client. You can describe these in the application's free text box.
- Case management with the client present
- Milieu work in a residential program
- Treatment planning with an inpatient present
- Working with a caregiver alone on the child's behalf
- Crisis work with someone who is not your therapy client
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Other psychological experience with students or organizations
Client facing work with students, groups or organizations rather than a single client. In every category here, only the time face to face with the people involved counts; research, planning and preparation are support.
Supervision of other students
Supervising other students' intervention or assessment work in real time, in person, by phone or by video, while your own supervision of them is itself supervised. Peer consultation between trainees at the same level is not this. Reviewing notes or giving written feedback afterwards is support.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Program development or outreach
Delivering program development or outreach while in contact with the people it serves.
- Leading a focus group
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Outcome assessment of programs or projects
Face to face work that evaluates whether a psychological program or project works, such as a feedback session with participants.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Systems intervention, organizational consultation or performance improvement
The client facing part of systems level, organizational or performance improvement work.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Other work with students or organizations
Client facing psychological work with students or organizations that fits none of the above.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Telephone intervention
Clinical intervention delivered by phone: therapy, skills coaching, crisis work, case management, phone screens and intakes. Calls that deliver no clinical service, such as scheduling, are support.
Recorded with: treatment setting, number of different clients.
Assessment
Time spent giving an assessment to a client, or giving them feedback on it, in person or by video, during an approved practicum with real clients. Scoring, interpreting and writing without the client present are support. Record whether each assessment was for clinical care or for research, by its main purpose.
Direct contact.
Psychodiagnostic test administration
Testing mainly about psychological functioning, symptoms, personality, behavior or a diagnostic question, used to guide diagnosis and treatment.
Recorded with: treatment setting, clinical or research purpose, number of different clients.
Neuropsychological assessment
Assessment of cognitive, behavioral and emotional functioning in a neuropsychological frame, covering areas such as attention, memory, executive function, language and processing speed.
Recorded with: treatment setting, clinical or research purpose, number of different clients.
Other psychological assessment
Assessment that is mainly neither psychodiagnostic nor neuropsychological, usually for a specialised referral question. Also where feedback sessions, formal behavioral observation and the clinical interview inside a testing battery go.
- Forensic, capacity, custody, vocational or fitness for duty evaluations
- Disability, risk, malingering, treatment progress or pre-surgical evaluations
- Talking a client through their results
- A structured behavioral observation with a formal rating procedure
Recorded with: treatment setting, clinical or research purpose, number of different clients.
Telephone assessment
Assessment done by phone. Calls that are not clinical assessment, such as scheduling, are support.
Recorded with: treatment setting, clinical or research purpose, number of different clients.
Integrated reports
A count of reports, not hours. A report counts once, whatever its length, when it brings together history, interview findings and at least two psychological tests of personality, intellectual, cognitive or neuropsychological functioning, for a real client or research participant in an approved practicum. Symptom checklists and rating scales alone do not meet the test requirement. Co-written reports count when you contributed meaningfully to scoring, interpretation or writing. The time spent writing is support.
A tally.
Integrated report
One completed report that meets the integrated report definition: history, interview findings and at least two qualifying psychological tests. Log it on the day you finished your part, with the number of reports.
Recorded with: a count of reports, not hours.
Supervision
Supervision you receive, split into individual and group and reported by your supervisor's credential. Live supervision of your clinical work is not logged here: log the clinical work itself.
Supervision received.
Individual supervision
One to one supervision you receive, counted by the supervisor's credential.
Recorded with: supervisor credential.
Group supervision
Supervision you receive with other trainees present, counted by the supervisor's credential.
Recorded with: supervisor credential.
Support
Practicum work that is not intervention, assessment or supervision. The application asks for one total plus a short description of the kinds of support work you did, so there is no need to split it further.
Indirect time.
Support hours
Indirect practicum work, and a few kinds of direct contact the guide places here.
- Chart review and clinical notes
- Scoring, interpreting and writing reports
- Case conferences and didactic training
- Reviewing recordings of sessions
- Case management without the client present
- Coordinating care with other professionals without the client
- Scheduling calls and other non clinical contact
- Text based intervention or assessment
- Shadowing or observing without an active role
Age groups
Client age group, for individual therapy
- Older adults, 65 and over
- Adults, 18 to 64
- Adolescents, 13 to 17
- School age, 6 to 12
- Preschool, 3 to 5
- Infants and toddlers, 0 to 2
Group age group, for group counseling
- Adults, 18 and over
- Adolescents, 13 to 17
- Children, 0 to 12
Client age group, for career counseling
- Adults, 18 and over
- Adolescents, 13 to 17
Treatment settings
- Child guidance clinic
- Community mental health
- Department clinic: A clinic run by your department or school.
- Forensic or justice setting: Such as a jail or prison.
- Inpatient psychiatric hospital
- Medical clinic or hospital
- Outpatient psychiatric clinic or hospital
- Partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient program
- Private practice
- Residential or group home
- School
- University counseling or student mental health center
- Veterans medical center
- Other setting
Supervisor credentials
- Licensed psychologist
- Licensed allied mental health professional: A licensed mental health professional who is not a psychologist.
- Other supervisor: Someone not yet licensed whose supervision of you is itself supervised by a licensed psychologist, such as a postdoctoral fellow or an advanced student.
Program level
- Doctoral: Includes a master's earned inside your doctoral program.
- Terminal master's: A separate, stand alone master's program.
Rounding each activity
| Actual minutes | Reported hours |
|---|---|
| 1 to 15 | 0.25 |
| 16 to 30 | 0.50 |
| 31 to 45 | 0.75 |
| 46 to 60 | 1.00 |
| 61 to 75 | 1.25 |
| 76 to 90 | 1.50 |
| 91 to 105 | 1.75 |
| 106 to 120 | 2.00 |
The pattern continues in the same steps. The log stores your actual minutes and rounds each entry for the totals.
Speech language pathology graduate clock hours, 2027 standards
The clinical clock hour categories of the 2027 speech language pathology certification standards: graduate in-person direct contact, telepractice, clinical simulation, guided observation, undergraduate practicum and non-clinical care management, with each optional activity capped as the standard states.
Last reviewed 25 September 2026 against:
- 2027 SLP Certification Standards, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Standards effective 1 August 2027, page read 2026-09-25. Used for: Standard V-C (the 400 hours, the 250 hour core and Table 1.A caps), V-D (325 hours while enrolled) and V-E (supervision).
- 2020 to 2027 SLP Certification Standards Crosswalk, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Linked from the standards page. Used for: Background on what changed from the 2020 standards. Not used for any number.
Every definition below is our own summary. Read the source for the authoritative wording, and ask your program when an activity is unclear.
Where does this activity go?
8 common situations.
| Activity | Log it as |
|---|---|
| Session by video with the client at home | Telepractice, Telepractice treatment Remote delivery is telepractice, which is capped, not in-person contact. |
| Writing the session note afterwards | Non-clinical care management, Care management tasks Indirect work without the person present is non-clinical care management. |
| Debrief after a simulation | Not logged as practicum Simulation debriefing does not count as clock hours. |
| Debrief after an observation, held later | Not logged as practicum Only a debrief during the observation counts toward observation time. |
| Watching a recorded session, then a guided debrief | Guided clinical observation, Guided observation, graduate Recorded services can be observed; use the undergraduate leaf if it was before graduate study. |
| Co-treating a session with one other student clinician | Graduate in-person direct contact, Treatment Up to two active student clinicians can each count the whole session. |
| Counseling a care partner in person | Graduate in-person direct contact, Prevention and counseling Direct care includes counseling of care partners in person. |
| Hours from my SLPA program | Undergraduate practicum, SLPA program practicum Assistant program practicum shares the 50 hour undergraduate ceiling. |
General rules
- Actual time only
- Only the time actually spent in the session counts, and it is never rounded up to the next quarter hour. Log real minutes.
- Two student clinicians can share a session
- Up to two graduate student clinicians who both take an active part in a session can each count the whole session.
- At least 250 hours graduate, on-site, in person
- The core of the 400 hours is graduate level direct contact where you, the person you serve and your clinical educator are all in the same place.
- Up to 150 hours from the optional activities
- Telepractice, simulation, guided observation, undergraduate practicum and non-clinical care management can together supply at most 150 of the 400 hours, and each has its own ceiling. Hours over a ceiling stay in your log but are shown as not counting toward the 400.
- 325 hours while enrolled in graduate study
- At least 325 of the 400 hours must be earned while you are enrolled in an accredited graduate program. Undergraduate practicum and undergraduate observation do not count toward this.
- Direct supervision of at least a quarter
- Your clinical educator must directly supervise at least 25 percent of your contact with each person you serve, in real time. Record supervised minutes on each entry if you want to keep an eye on it; the check itself is per person and per placement.
- Your program decides
- Every optional activity is counted at the discretion of your graduate program, which verifies your hours.
The categories
Graduate in-person direct contact
Graduate level evaluation, treatment, prevention or counseling delivered on site, in person, with the person served or their care partners present and your clinical educator in the same location.
Direct contact.
Evaluation
Screening and assessment in person.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
Treatment
Intervention sessions in person.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
Prevention and counseling
Prevention work and counseling of the person served or their care partners, in person.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
Telepractice
Direct clinical services delivered remotely, with a clinical educator available virtually or in person. Up to 125 hours count.
Direct contact. Counts up to 125 hours.
Telepractice evaluation
Screening and assessment by telepractice.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
Telepractice treatment
Intervention and counseling by telepractice.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
Clinical simulation
Time actively engaged in clinical simulation. Debriefing afterwards does not count. Up to 75 hours count.
Direct contact. Counts up to 75 hours.
Clinical simulation
Active engagement with a simulated case.
Guided clinical observation
Watching speech language pathology services, live or recorded, followed by a guided debrief with a qualified clinical educator. A debrief during the observation counts; one afterwards does not. Up to 25 hours count, undergraduate and graduate together.
Indirect time. Counts up to 25 hours.
Guided observation, graduate
Guided observation done while enrolled in graduate study.
Guided observation, undergraduate
Guided observation done before graduate study.
Undergraduate practicum
On-site, in-person direct contact earned at undergraduate level, in a communication sciences and disorders program or a speech language pathology assistant program. Up to 50 hours count, both programs together.
Direct contact. Counts up to 50 hours.
Undergraduate CSD practicum
Practicum in an undergraduate communication sciences and disorders program.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
SLPA program practicum
Practicum in a speech language pathology assistant program.
Recorded with: age of the person served, number of different people served.
Non-clinical care management
Work tied to your own clinical services done without the person or their care partners present. Up to 50 hours count.
Indirect time. Counts up to 50 hours.
Care management tasks
Indirect work linked to sessions you provided.
- Writing notes and reports
- Scoring and interpreting tests
- Reviewing charts
- Interprofessional care conferences
- Programming an AAC device
Age groups
Age of the person served, for evaluation, treatment, prevention and counseling, telepractice evaluation, telepractice treatment, undergraduate csd practicum, slpa program practicum. The standard asks for experience across the life span but sets no bands. This two way tag is ours, for your own record of breadth.
- Child, under 18
- Adult, 18 and over
Supervisor credentials
- Certified clinical educator: Holds certification in the profession, has at least 9 months of full time clinical experience since certification, and has completed at least 2 hours of professional development in supervision.
- Other or not yet confirmed
Before you rely on it
Your program decides what is approved practicum and verifies your hours, and the official application is the only record that counts. Nothing here is advice about your eligibility. Practicum Ledger is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to APPIC, ASHA, any match service, any application portal, or any other association or board.
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