Description of Internship
Five interns will be accepted and placed into four clinical tracks. All of the tracks -- Adult, Family & Child, and Life Span -- are based in Kingston. All tracks involve conducting intake interviews, ongoing clinical assessments, treatment planning, and individual therapy as well as attending weekly unit staff meetings. Interns also have the opportunity, on a limited basis, to conduct individual or group therapy with client populations residing in units other than that of their assigned track.
Family & Child Track (Two Interns)
The Family & Child Unit internship opportunity consists of two components: one located in the main clinic, the other located at the county Department of Social Services building. This latter branch has been established to work more efficiently with clients referred from that agency. One intern will be assigned to each location with the specific site selection based upon the interest and abilities of the interns selected and the needs of the agency. Candidates seeking this placement must have substantial experience working with this population.
Family & Child Unit - The intern on this unit works with children, their parents, and families doing individual, family, or couples therapy. Group therapy experience is also available. Past therapy groups have addressed teen issues and social skills, mentally ill chemically addicted teens, survivors of abuse, adolescent sex offenders, developmental play, parenting skills, and many other topics. The intern coordinates activities with schools, other agencies, and outside professionals as necessary. The Family and Child Unit staff consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and case managers. The Unit serves middle and lower income families and referrals are made to the unit primarily by parents, schools, physicians, the juvenile justice system, and the Department of Social Services.
DSS - The Family and Child intern placed on the DSS (Department of Social Services) Mental Health Unit has the unique opportunity to work with children and families referred by DSS for mental health services. This intern will work in the innovative and research based NEXIS Program which assists clients in progressing from in-home services to office services to more independent functioning. Typically, these families and children have open service cases with Child Protective, Preventive, and foster care DSS services. Many have experienced psychological and physical trauma that is the result of neglect, abuse, domestic violence, and/or economic hardship. These families and children receive clinical services to help them deal with the pain of past and present traumas and make the transition to more adaptive and functional lifestyles. The intern closely consults with a multidisciplinary team and DSS social service workers/case managers to provide intensive clinical intervention to and advocacy for these children and families. The intern provides play therapy, family therapy, and marital therapy to clients. The intern also has the opportunity to explore new or creative approaches to intervention while using more traditional clinical methods.
Adult Track (Two Interns: one on the Adult unit and one on the CSS unit)
This intern will work with adults, ages eighteen and older, doing individual, group, or couples therapy. This client population includes both long- and short-term conditions for those who have a variety of emotional difficulties, ranging from anxiety and depression to personality and dissociative disorders. Referrals to the Adult Unit are generally from middle and lower income groups and most often result from the individuals themselves, although referrals from physicians, local hospitals, the justice system, and the Department of Social Services also occur. Therapy interventions allow a variety of approaches to client treatment to provide for intern clinical growth and refinement of a variety of therapy techniques. The Adult Unit employs staff consisting of psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists, counselors, and a psychiatric nurse. Candidates selecting this placement must have had more than minimal experience working with this type of population.
Community Support Services (Adult/CSS)
CSS clients are at least 18 years of age, have a major psychiatric diagnosis, and have some functional impairment plus at least one of the following: 1) some type of past psychiatric hospitalization; 2) receive Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability (SSD); or 3) live in a community-based residence. CSS clients are typically diagnosed with mood disorders, anxiety disorders (including agoraphobia, OCD, and PTSD), dissociative disorders, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, concurrent substance-related disorders, and/or personality disorders. A majority of these clients, regardless of diagnosis, have a history of childhood trauma. All clients are assigned to an interdisciplinary treatment team, which includes the client�s primary clinician, the clinical supervisor, and a psychiatrist. The CSS intern is presented with several opportunities for group therapy experience. There are multiple groups offered under each of the following programs: trauma track, MICA (mentally ill/chemical abuser) program, medication management, sex offender treatment, and skills training groups using the Linehan model (Dialectic Behavioral Therapy). While case management may be a component of any client�s treatment in this unit, cases assigned to interns are selected based upon predominance of therapeutic (versus case management) issues. Candidates selecting this placement must have had more than minimal experience working with the seriously and persistently mentally ill.
Life Span Track (One Intern)
This is a general experience track serving children, adolescents, and adults and represents a combination of the Family & Child Track and the Adult Track with a client load drawn equally from each unit. There is the additional opportunity to work with drug and alcohol abusers, geriatric clients, and the chronically mentally ill, based upon the needs and interests of the intern. The Generalist Intern is exposed to a broad range of diagnoses and treatment approaches, working and collaborating with several different psychiatrists. This intern may provide individual and family therapy and also has the opportunity for group therapy experience. Applicants applying for this position should have experience working with both child/adolescent and adult populations.
