As a retired social work educator and practicing clinician I have clear ideas about the intended goal of the educational experience for persons preparing for human service professions and the goal of supervised practice toward licensure/certification.

As preparation for practice, human service professionals of any discipline successfully complete an academic program, overseen by each professional's certifying organization which is designed to provide students with a background in the history of the discipline, the context and systems in which services are provided, the systems impacting potential clients, their unique qualities, strengths, and challenges along with a theoretical understanding of helping within that discipline. Students focus on learning all aspects of service provision from engagement to intervention to termination utilizing one or more theories. Internship in the academic program challenges the student to integrate the didactic learning with the applied skills required to successfully meet their learning goals. Students work each week toward the development of and improvement in learning objectives toward their goals. Learning in internship, as in any learning environment is uneven. Confidence builds slowly as well. Internship, at its most successful prepares the student to begin to engage consumers under supervision beyond the shadowing or close supervision of internship.  

Internship's goals are educational and developmental. They are not synonymous with practice, even beginning practice. Any blurring of the boundary of education and practice shortchanges not only the student's opportunity to learn but most especially the clients served. For this reason I would not suggest internship hours be credited toward contact hours for licensure or certification.