Clinical Intern at Institute for Health – Watertown, Massachusetts

Program/Department: Outpatient Behavioral Health Services

Position Type: Intern Role

Location: Watertown

Reports to: Director of Adult Services

The Institute for Health and Recovery (IHR) is a statewide service, research, policy, program development, and capacity building agency. IHR designs its services based on an understanding of the impact of trauma. IHR’s CARF accredited treatment programs provide holistic interventions for hard to reach and high-risk individuals and families. IHR’s mission, since our founding in 1990, has been to develop and support a comprehensive continuum of care for families, individuals, youth, and pregnant and parenting women affected by alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, violence/trauma, mental health challenges, and other health issues, while advancing principles of health equity and social justice. Our work is focused on addressing and eradicating inequities in our health care, economic, and justice systems, especially as they disproportionately affect women and people of color. We are committed to providing services and creating communities that mitigate the effects of substance use, mental illness, and trauma.

Summary Statement: The Institute for Health and Recovery seeks committed Master’s-level, second year interns for social work, mental health counseling, or related fields, to help respond to the needs of individuals and families impacted by substance use and mental health challenges, including trauma, on IHR’s Adult Outpatient Services team. Clinical interns work under IHR’s professional clinicians and collaborate with other members of IHR’s advocacy teams to assess client needs and develop and implement comprehensive service plans that promote clients’ goals.

Strong candidates will have a demonstrated commitment to working with individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds, and who are faced with a variety of clinical and socioeconomic needs. Creativity, responsibility, empathy, perseverance, and excellent written and oral communication skills are important qualities for effective interns in IHR’s setting.

The responsibilities of the clinical intern include:

• Maintaining a caseload of 4-6 clients – including youth, families, older adults, parents – providing direct clinical treatment in a home or community-based setting (i.e. homeless shelter), or virtually.
• Complete Biopsychosocial assessments for clients, including trauma, substance use and mental status exams.
• Develop service and treatment plans addressing current functioning, substance use, mental health symptoms, trauma, relapse prevention, and recovery support.
• Provide therapeutic treatment and/or clinical case management services to address a range of client needs, including but not limited to substance use, mental health needs, homelessness, medical needs, and parenting
• Provide virtual, home, and community-based outreach, engagement, and family therapy to individuals, youth, and families utilizing the approaches of Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and other evidence-based models.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date clinical and billing records and reports.
• Receive supervision once per week.
• Attend IHR agency meetings focused on clinical skill development, equity, and trends in the behavioral health field.
• Assessing Client Needs
  1. Interviewing clients and performing assessments under the supervision of professional staff to determine client needs, including psychiatric, social, emotional, educational, and vocational needs;
  2. Thorough records collection and coordination with relevant collateral providers.
  3. Developing and maintaining competency in assessing and meeting the needs of every IHR client.
  4. Providing crisis intervention to clients as needed under the supervision of professional staff.
• Developing and Implementing Service Plans
  1. Developing clinical treatment and service plans under the supervision of professional staff;
  2. Implementing treatment plans through individual and family counseling sessions utilizing a range of evidence-based interventions.
  3. Familiarizing with relevant community service providers and the range of government benefits that may be available to clients and their families, and counseling clients on accessing these benefits and services;
  4. Making referrals, finding placements, and assisting with logistics and enrollment to help clients and their families access needed services and benefits;
  5. Maintaining regular contact with programs providing services to clients, monitoring service quality and client engagement;
  6. Evaluating client progress towards treatment goals, and counseling clients to help ensure that goals are met.
• Communication, Presentation and Documentation
  1. Building and maintaining strong relationships of trust with clients.
  2. Maintaining regular contact with clients
  3. Thoroughly documenting all work and all information gathered;
  4. Performing other tasks and duties consistent with the experience and expertise of a clinical intern, as directed by the supervising clinician or by IHR’s managing director or executive director.

Clinical interns must perform all duties under the supervision of an experienced, licensed, professional clinician in accordance with applicable law, ethical rules, and the performance standards.

Clinical interns must act in accordance with the code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers and IHR. Interns will receive a minimum of one hour per week of supervision from a licensed member of the professional clinical staff, in addition to weekly group supervision and monthly training opportunities.

• Deep commitment to the IHR’s client-centered, collaborative ethic, which recognizes that all advocacy must be driven by the expressed interests of clients;
• Excellent interpersonal and clinical interviewing skills, and the ability to develop rapport with a wide range of people;
• Strong analytical ability;
• Ability to work as a member of interdisciplinary team;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Thorough understanding of social, psychological, medical, economic, and legal factors that affect human behavior;
• Interest or experience in addressing mental health and substance use disorders.
• Strong work ethic;
• Creativity and flexibility in solving problems and meeting challenges;
• Enrollment in an accredited master’s level clinical program and independent practice insurance as required by the educational institution;
• Car ownership, or daily use of a car, with a valid driver’s license and insurance;
• Willingness to submit to a background check;
• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age.

• Experience working with individuals and/or families from many cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds;
• Interest in treatment of substance use and/or trauma-related disorders;
• Familiarity with developmental psychology and mental health issues.

Competencies:

• Clear and effective communication
• Strong organizational skills
• Ability to work effectively in teams
• Self-motivated and independent
• Problem-solving skills
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Commitment to ongoing development and learning
• Dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion

Physical Requirements: The physical demands of this position include talking, hearing, sitting, standing, walking, lifting, and using hands for activities such as grasping, handling, and reaching. These physical and mental demands are essential for the successful execution of job responsibilities. Reasonable accommodation will be made for qualified individuals with disabilities.

IHR seeks to create welcoming, inclusive and accessible environments for our staff and the people we serve. We welcome and celebrate the diverse social identities of our staff. We recognize the importance of having staff who reflect the identities of the diverse communities that we serve, and we make efforts to hire from within these communities. We are proud to offer an inclusive, recovery friendly, and supportive work environment, and we welcome, and value lived experience of recovery.