Internship- Masters – Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health

Thank you for inquiring about our Masters Internship Program. After reviewing our website and interviewing with our staff, I am confident you will find C&A a premier site at which to complete your internship. If you are truly interested in helping children and families with serious emotional and behavioral problems, you will not find a better place to receive your training and prepare you for working in the mental health field. Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health is a community-based children’s mental health center serving Stark County for more than 45 years. We have in excess of 130 staff providing services to both an urban and a rural population, including more than 17 school districts.

Internships are challenging and rewarding, but you will be surrounded by experienced and supportive supervisors and staff. Please feel free to scan the rest of our website, including the Doctoral Internship Program, to learn more about C&A and future opportunities.

Susan Brown, MA, LPCC-s

Clinician Supervisor, NextGen Trainer

Master’s Internship Program Coordinator

1. INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health’s (C&A) Counselor, Social Worker, Marriage, and Family Internship Program is designed in accordance with the Ohio Laws and Rules governing the practice of Counseling and Social Work. C&A is accredited in the State of Ohio by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OMHAS), and nationally by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. (COA). C&A has also received the Ohio Awards for Excellence (OAE).

The purpose of the Counselor and Social Worker Internship Program is to prepare the Intern for practice as a licensed counselor or social worker in the mental health (or related) field. The expectations of the Intern will be similar to those of a clinician currently practicing at C&A, and will include goals established in the learning contract. Interns are expected to be available on site at least 20 hours per week.

The Intern can expect to develop competence and skills in assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning, and intervention strategies, including those identified as evidence-based and evidence-informed practices. Interns will be expected to provide both individual and family therapy. Typically, there will be an opportunity to provide group therapy.

The Intern can also expect to work with children, adolescents, and their families in both an outpatient and community-based (home, school, etc.) setting. Further opportunities may include involvement with special populations, e.g., victims of sexual abuse, children with sexual behavior problems and preschool children. Exposure to specialized programs such as Adventure Therapy, School-based Services, Early Childhood Services, Transitional Services (older adolescents/young adults) and Trauma Focused Day Treatment are also possible.

An Intern may express a preference in an area of interest at the time of interview in order that a plan may be developed to meet a training need, desire, or goal of the particular intern.

For additional information about the agency and internships, refer to other links on this web site including that of the Doctoral Internship. The MA Internship is patterned after the Doctoral Internship and mirrors it closely.

2. TRAINING and SUPERVISION

The Counselor and Social Worker Internship Program incorporates both intensive supervision and opportunities to enhance knowledge and skills from participation in C&A sponsored trainings.

Supervision is provided in accordance with the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist Board standards for interns in training, in addition to those established by the respective graduate program. C&A is fully staffed with credentialed, licensed independent professional clinical counselors and social worker supervisors (PCC-S or LISW-S). Each Intern is assigned a primary supervisor where the focus will be on developing expertise with respect to clinical conceptualization, diagnosis, treatment planning, and professional, legal, cultural and ethical issues. Interns will have the opportunity to meet and be encouraged to consult with other supervisors and experienced direct care staff.

Interns will have the opportunity to participate in various continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities, such as multi-disciplinary treatment teams for the purposes of consultation, problem-solving, and peer review, and clinical staff meetings. Most C&A trainings are approved for C.E.U.’s by the Ohio Counselor and Social Worker Board and provided throughout the course of the year. C&A has an extensive clinical training program developed to comply with accrediting organization standards. Typically, these trainings will include a focus on diagnosing, assessing and treating special populations and disorders serviced at C&A. Wherever possible, the trainings will include current best practices and evidenced-based practices. C&A also offers ongoing training in the areas of cultural diversity. A sample of trainings is listed below.

For a more comprehensive list of trainings, see the Doctoral Internship section of this website. Many of those trainings are available to Masters Interns.

Sample of Trainings/Seminars

Training in clinical documentation
Trauma treatment
Family Therapy
Sexually Inappropriate Behavior Remediation
Early Childhood Disorders
Psychopharmacology/Role of Medication in Treatment
Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
Anxiety Disorders
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (assessment and treatment)
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Group Therapy and Adventure Therapy
Dealing with Resistance in Treatment
Parenting Skills
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Ethnic and Cultural Diversity

Qualifications and Submissions

The student must be enrolled in an accredited counseling or social work graduate program, and have achieved the minimum amount of credit hours necessary to be placed in an internship program.

Social workers must have an LSW to be eligible to provide counseling and therapy services.

The student must have a desire to develop expertise in working with children, adolescents, young adults and their families, and have a fundamental knowledge of the DSM-IV (TR).

3. APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply for the Counselor and Social Worker Internship Program position, an applicant must submit the following:
A resume of education and professional experiences;
Transcripts covering all graduate and undergraduate courses taken to date;
Three letters of recommendation from any of the following:
Practicum supervisor (required if student participated in a practicum);
Academic and/or internship/ field placement advisor;
Professor(s) familiar with student’s potential to complete the expectations of an internship;
A cover letter stating student’s reasons for seeking an internship at C&A. Also, the cover letter should include those courses taken or to be taken which are not included on the graduate transcript.
Licensure verification for Social Workers.

MASTER'S INTERNSHIP

COUNSELOR AND SOCIAL WORKER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

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