Clinical Intern

Job Title: Clinical Intern

Program/Department: YESS/Youth and Young Adult Services

Position Type: Intern Role

Location: Worcester

Reports to: Clinical Supervisor

About IHR: 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 people 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 Youth and Young Adult Services team. Clinical interns work in home and community-based settings 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 youth and families from diverse cultures and backgrounds, and who are faced with a variety of clinical and socioeconomic needs. Creativity, responsibility, empathy, perseverance, and willingness and ability to provide home and community-based services are important qualities for effective interns in IHR’s setting.

The responsibilities of clinical interns include:

• Assessing Client Needs
  1. Actively engaging in outreach to increase awareness of prevention, intervention, and treatment services for youth impacted by substance use
  2. Interviewing clients and performing assessments under the supervision of professional staff to determine client needs, including psychiatric, social, emotional, and educational needs;
  3. Thorough records collection and collateral interviews (with family, providers, schools, and more) to gather and analyze information relevant to assessing client needs;
  4. Developing and maintaining competency in assessing and meeting the needs of every IHR client, particularly for clients with identities who have been historically marginalized;
  5. 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, including the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (ACRA);
  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 and their families;
  2. Maintaining regular contact with clients
  3. Thoroughly documenting all work and all information gathered (including completing data collection required by grant);
  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.
• Professional Development
  1. Participate in the process to become certified in the evidence-based Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (ACRA).

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.

Required Qualifications/Requirements:

• 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 ability to develop rapport with a wide range of people;
• Strong analytical ability;
• Ability to work as a member of interdisciplinary teams;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills;
• Understanding of social, psychological, medical, economic, and legal factors that affect human behavior;
• Interest or experience in working with adolescents;
• 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.

Preferred Qualifications/Requirements:

• 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, inclusion and justice

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.