MSW field placement

Smokey Rock Counselling can host one MSW student for field placement, beginning January 2027, with placements available in subsequent terms.

The placement is built around practice development and the work of running an independent practice. A student looking primarily for a large direct-service caseload would be better served in a group-practice or agency setting, where the volume and the range of presentations are greater.

The work is shaped by the student's learning goals and by what the school's field office requires, so the details are settled at the outset rather than fixed in advance.

Practice development is the likely centre of it. That could mean scoping and building a group offering, taking a clinical idea from proposal through to a workable structure, developing supervision or training material, or examining how a service would actually run before it is launched. The common thread is carriage of a piece of work from an idea through to something usable.

The placement is primarily virtual, open to students at any accredited MSW program in Canada. In-person work at the Huntsville office is possible for students already in the region. Relocating is not expected.

Kristin Denault is a Registered Social Worker with eighteen years in Ontario child welfare, in management and senior management. She is a PhD candidate in social work at McGill University and holds an MSW from Dalhousie University. Since 2022 she has trained child welfare professionals in Ontario through the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies, and she provides clinical supervision to Registered Social Workers.

Field instructor eligibility is set by each school and confirmed through their field education office. If a program has particular requirements, those can be worked out early.

Start with a free 30-minute consultation to talk about what you are looking for and whether the fit is reasonable.

If it looks workable, take it back to your field education office. The school then makes contact and the formal process runs through them.

Field education staff are welcome to get in touch directly.