Clinical Internship Program
The Clinical Internship program is a valued part of the Therapy Program at LFCS. Students help keep our professional discussions lively and productive, and they enable us to serve many people that we would not otherwise be able to help.
Our interns learn how to do psychotherapy in a challenging and supportive environment. Many go on to pursue careers as therapists. Internship candidates must be enrolled in the second year of an affiliated graduate school. There is a two-semester commitment (Fall & Spring). We begin interviews in March for the following school year. For more information on our Clinical Internship program, contact Ryan Patterson, Behavioral Health Program Manager, at 314-754-2770 or [email protected].
Experience
Interns begin working with clients in the third week of the program. Their clinical workload increases steadily during the first semester. By the holidays, students are typically seeing five to ten cases. Interns provide individual, couples and family therapy. There is also exposure to utilization of best practices, as well as research-informed interventions with clients who present a wide range of concerns.
Supervision
Peer Consultation:
Staff and the interns take turns presenting cases for discussion within a bi-weekly morning meeting.
Individual Supervision:
Each intern is matched with a supervisor (field instructor) for the academic year. Each week, interns meet individually for one hour with the supervisor. Since interns take responsibility for their own cases right away, the initial focus of supervision is on details of the varied clinical situations. As the interns progress, they take increasingly more responsibility for assessment and planning, and supervision becomes a context for conversation about their observations and their work.