A Practitioner Model Informed by Theory and Research guides the SHaW – Mental Health Training Program. Social work interns are trained to ground their practice of social work in theory and research. This model is principally accomplished in an intensive, supervised university counseling center experience working with a multicultural group of interdisciplinary professionals. Imbued in this model are service provision, didactic and experiential instruction, and the use of social work and psychology theories/research.

SHaW – Mental Health provides a setting in which social work interns increase and strengthen their abilities to practice clinical social work throughout their year with the agency. Training involves developing both core skills and positive professional identity essential for the work of an entry-level social worker providing services in:

• Brief model counseling
• Crisis intervention
• Diagnostic assessment

SHaW – Mental Health recruits students who come with a foundation of clinical skills with the capacity to engage in theoretical and research-based inquiry, and with a readiness for intensive training in practice. SHaW – Mental Health continues a student’s training through:

• Developing critical thinking to guide the use of research to inform clinical practice
• Generating clinical hypotheses to explore in supervision
• Learning the empirical bases that guide the use of comprehensive assessment
• Participating in seminar training programs on best current practices in clinical practice.

The work environment in which this model of training occurs is designed to provide a collaborative milieu for training. To accomplish this, SHaW – Mental Health provides a Mentor/Apprenticeship Environment. This is operationalized in a variety of ways including:

• Staff provide clinical and professional identity role modeling.
• Staff collaborate with social work interns.
• Staff create a milieu respectful of social work interns: honoring their cultural identities, valuing their positive self-growth, and establishing a strong work ethic.

This is the basic model and setting for the SHaW – Mental Health Training Program. This model and setting are further guided by seven philosophical tenets which describe in more detail the basic values of the SHaW – Mental Health Training Program.

Trainees Are Primarily In Training.
The primary purpose of the social work internship is to train interns to practice clinical social work. Intensive supervision and didactic instruction are the primary vehicles for training and evaluating interns.

Mentorship Is The Cornerstone Of Professional Development.
Interns are always under the direct supervision and guidance of several staff members. SHaW – Mental Health Training Program is founded on the belief that individuals grow primarily as the product of significant relationships. The Intern-Supervisor relationship provides the foundation for growth in core skill areas and in professional identity development.

Social Work Interns Are in Training to Develop Professional Identities.
SHaW – Mental Health staff provides opportunities for interns to work with culturally diverse professionals from various disciplines (e.g., clinical and counseling psychology, social work, student services, psychiatry, assessment, medicine, and nursing). Interns are provided time to process and reflect on their experiences in order to promote growth and integration of their professional confidence.

The Growth Of A Professional Identity Occurs Developmentally.
SHaW – Mental Health Training Program provides higher levels of direction and structure initially, with movement towards greater autonomy and responsibility. High levels of structure assist transition into a new system by providing guidance and direction. Interns have multiple opportunities to be increasingly autonomous in all aspects of their functioning at SHaW – Mental Health.

Training Needs Are Met Through the Expertise of SHaW – Mental Health Staff and Other Campus Professionals.
SHaW – Mental Health provides exposure to a broad range of experiences and theoretical perspectives during the year, both internally and externally. This allows interns to seek their own areas of interest within different venues such as clinical intervention, programming, consultation, psychopharmacology, alcohol and other drug usage, assessment, multiculturalism, didactics, case presentation, and scholarly inquiry.

Individuals Learn In Individual Ways.
SHaW – Mental Health Training Program uses various learning methods including practical experiences, modeling, process-based activities, group, didactic, experiential, and self-guided learning. SHaW – Mental Health provides an environment that is supportive and challenging and based in part on interns’ self-assessments. Time is spent initially working with interns to assist them in defining their goals and desires for training.

Social Workers Are Informed Through the Integration of Science And Practice.
Theory, research, and practice mutually inform each other. Interns are guided and encouraged in their pursuit of observing, inferring, formulating, and evaluating clinical hypotheses. Interns generate clinical hypotheses based on theory and research.

Social work interns are expected to achieve the follow goals over the course of their internship experience at SHaW – Mental Health:

• Social work interns will grow in their competency as general clinical social work practitioners.
• Social work interns will increase their awareness and education about a variety of clinical issues.
• Social work interns will increase their awareness of aspects of diversity.
• Social work interns will develop increased ability to assess and case conceptualize.

Additionally:

• Social work interns may have experience in group therapy.
• Social work interns may have experience in crisis evaluation.

Direct Services:

Individual Therapy: Social work interns engage in individual therapy seeing students in brief model therapy. Individual therapy involves assessing and conceptualizing from a theoretical frame-of-reference, presenting problems, providing disposition on cases, and formalized treatment planning and implementation.

Group Therapy: Social work interns are often involved with co-leading one or more of the various types of groups that are facilitated through SHaW Mental Health. Most groups are co-ed general therapy groups but there may be opportunities to participate in thematic groups if resources are available. Group therapy opportunities are contingent on schedules of both the trainee and available co-facilitator.

Crisis Evaluation and Intervention: Social work interns may participate with increasing responsibility and autonomy over time in the day on-call rotations at SHaW providing emergency assessments to clients who present to SHaW Mental Health on a walk-in basis or after-hours. Interns may have an opportunity to shadow senior staff as they conduct crisis assessments and interns may later take on more responsibility conducting crisis assessments either as co-clinicians or independently with supervision.

Training Activities:

Individual and Group Supervision: Supervision of social work interns is conducted on a regularly scheduled, individual basis by licensed professional staff and doctoral psychology interns. Interns have two individual supervisors during the time they are with SHaW Mental Health as well as one group supervisor if co-leading a group. Interns are expected to be prepared each week for supervision. Preparation can involve reviewing audio and video recordings, organizing cases, preparing questions, and reviewing set goals for supervision to set directions for each session of supervision.

Seminars: Social work interns will participate in educational seminars designed to complement the experiential learning during the internship year. These may be on a wide variety of relevant clinical issues.

Case Conference: Social work interns will participate in case conference activities with other social work and psychology trainees as a form of group supervision as well as to provide an opportunity to develop and hone clinical presentation skills.

Administrative Activities:

Case Management: Social work interns are responsible for managing their own caseloads so that they have continually and consistently have enough clients, but do not have too many. In addition to this, administrative time is provided each week so that interns can also write up client reports/case notes/process recordings, write business/ professional letters and e-mails, return telephone calls, consult with supervisors and other staff, and do general planning.

Social Work Internship Activities at the UConn Regional Campuses: Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury.

Brief Treatment Intervention: Social work interns provide mental health assessments and case conceptualization from a theoretical frame-of-reference, presenting problems, and providing disposition on cases. Engage students in brief intervention by using strength based and problem-solving model to support students’ wellbeing.

Clinical Case Management & Advocacy: Involves connecting students to a higher level of care as needed. Providing bridge care for students while waiting for next steps. Establishing and maintaining community partnerships while connecting students with resources.

Psychoeducational Programming and Outreach: SHaW engages in a wide range of programming and outreach including invited presentations to departments and classes.

Supervision: Supervision of social work interns is conducted on a regularly scheduled, individual basis by licensed professional staff. Interns are expected to be prepared each week for supervision. Preparation can involve reviewing audio and video recordings, organizing cases, preparing questions, and reviewing set goals for supervision to set directions for each session of supervision.

Case Conference: Social work interns will participate in case conference activities with other social work and psychology trainees as a form of group supervision as well as to provide an opportunity to develop and hone clinical presentation skills.

Seminar: Social work interns will participate in educational seminars designed to complement the experiential learning during the internship year. These may be on a wide variety of relevant clinical issues.

Placement begins in August the week prior to classes beginning at the UConn-Storrs campus with a full week (approx. 40 hours) orientation and continuing at 20 hours a week through the end of the academic year (typically the full week after final exams, usually mid-May). Students do not typically work during the winter academic term break.

Academic year: 20 hours per week

Evaluation Procedures: Each semester SHaW – Mental Health Staff who are serving in the capacity of supervisor are responsible for evaluating their supervisees. Evaluations are completed by supervisors and reviewed with supervisees who are given opportunity to formally respond to each evaluation. In addition, supervisees complete an evaluation for their supervisors. The Director of Training collects evaluations after they have been reviewed. Supervisor evaluations by supervisees are given to the Director of Training for filing. Supervisee evaluations are filed in their files. SHaW – Mental Health will also complete evaluations for home departments.

Evaluation occurs two times during the course of the training year, once during:

• December at the mid-way point of the year. This is a group evaluation with all of the supervisee’s supervisors. The supervisee receives feedback, reviews Fall goals and sets/reaffirms final Spring goals, and is assisted in generating methods by which to meet the training goals.
• May to assess at the end of the regular academic year to address progress. This is a group evaluation with all of the supervisee’s supervisors. The supervisee receives feedback and reviews regular academic year goals for progress for the year and unfinished goals for continued training after SHaW – Mental Health.

Trainees are required to video record all sessions for the purposes of supervision and training at SHaW – Mental Health. However, no digital recordings or clinical materials are allowed to leave the agency. It is the student’s responsibility to discuss SHaW – Mental Health’s requirements with their academic programs and discuss with the Coordinator of Training ways in which SHaW – Mental Health can support any academic department requirements.

In order to be eligible for a placement at SHaW – Mental Health, students must:

• Be currently enrolled in a MSW program.
• Be a second year student in good standing at the beginning of the placement.
• Have completed at least one clinical placement. Preference is given to applicants who have had placements with relevant experience conducting individual therapy with adults or adolescents.

A stipend is offered for these positions.

Applications for social work internship for the next academic year are accepted beginning in January and ends on 1/24/2025. Once we have begun interviewing, we will continue to accept applications but may wait to offer an interview to applications that continue to arrive after that point.

To apply:

Submit via email:

• A cover letter stating your interest in the position and how a placement at SHaW – Mental Health may best meet your training goals for the coming year.
• Current curriculum vitae/resume