Clinical Intern

Child and Family Services of Erie County, Inc. • Town of Cheektowaga, NY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Clinical Intern at C+FS Family Mental Health Clinic, you will develop skills and knowledge in providing counseling and mental health services to children, adults, and families. You will work with licensed counselors and psychiatric providers and may gain experience with trauma-informed modalities, including play therapy, TF-CBT, MI, EMDR, PC, and DBT, as well as clinic programs such as Anger Management and the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program.

Interns receive weekly individual supervision from an assigned supervisor and may participate in group supervision, specialty consultations, in-house training, and monthly clinic meetings. The internship includes a gradual training and onboarding process covering EMR systems, clinic protocols, and agency procedures. Interns initially observe psychotherapy services, then provide interventions under supervision. As the internship progresses, they may independently provide assessments, diagnoses, treatment planning, and psychotherapy to a small caseload.

The role also offers experience in client advocacy, linkage, and referrals to community resources, as well as exposure to regulatory oversight and quality assurance practices at a NYS Office of Mental Health clinic. Interns may have opportunities to shadow other clinical programs and gain experience in settings such as in-home services. This is an unpaid internship. The opportunity is onsite, with remote options available as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and current enrollment in an accredited master’s-level program in Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, or Marriage and Family Therapy that will qualify the intern for a NYS Education Department license to practice counseling upon graduation.
• Must receive school credit for internship hours.
• Ability to demonstrate cultural competence working with disadvantaged and minority populations in community-based programs in urban and suburban settings.
• Must be able to complete a minimum four-hour shift per workday.
• Schedule must be flexible to accommodate client needs, including evening availability, and ideally align with the assigned supervisor’s schedule; availability during clinic operating hours is required.
• Reliable transportation.
• Computer literacy and excellent written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Observe client psychotherapy services during the initial training period.
• Provide client interventions under the supervision of agency clinicians and clinical supervisors.
• As the internship progresses, provide mental health assessments, diagnoses, treatment planning, and psychotherapy services to a small caseload of clients.
• Provide client advocacy, linkage, and referral services to community resources.
• Participate in supervision, specialty consultations, in-house training, and monthly clinic meetings.
• Potentially shadow other clinical programs and gain experience in settings such as in-home services.

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern