If you are thinking about taking classes to earn your master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling, you should also consider an internship to help you gain practical skills and experience before graduation. While you are required to gain many hours of counseling experience after graduation before you can be a fully licensed clinical mental health counselor, the more experience you gain beforehand, the better.
An internship can make a huge difference in your educational and professional experience. Here are a few of the advantages of an internship.
Exposure to diverse client populations
It is important to learn as much as you can about different groups of people so that you can offer them the highest level of mental healthcare. With some internships, you can make sure that you get experience working with diverse or disadvantaged populations.
If you want to specialize, this is a good time to try out the working environment before you earn your degree and license. Perhaps you want to help urban youth? In this case, applying for an internship in a big city could offer you first-hand experience.
Working with diverse populations means that you are far more culturally aware when you are counseling clients in the future. This awareness will help you to establish a higher level of trust between yourself and some patients. Connections will happen more quickly because you will know how to offer them support and guidance in the most comfortable environment possible.
Immersing yourself in another culture is also a good way to practice any foreign language skills you might be acquiring or that need some work. Being a multilingual counselor will help you land jobs and give you more opportunities to help others.
Better diagnostic skills
The more real-world counseling and mental health experience you have, the better you will be when you are licensed. Being able to quickly diagnose mental disorders means that you can help people more quickly. This does not mean that you should rush a patient assessment; rather, you just need to gain the experience you need to process the information you gather and form a diagnosis. These are skills that are developed over time. There is no substitute for this in-person experience. If you see a common mental disorder enough in patients of all ages, then you will get better at identifying the problem quickly.
Knowing the right types of open-ended questions to ask is also important. It takes some time to change the way that you ask questions to prevent implied bias or misunderstandings. When someone is in a delicate mental state, they are easier to unknowingly offend. People often feel judged when they are going through a lot. Practicing asking questions and exhibiting the right cues and body language is invaluable for when you are practicing as an independent counselor.
Professional networking opportunities
Networking is important in any profession. By doing an internship, you can meet a lot of fellow mental health professionals. Having a network means that you can learn from and support each other. Also, by getting to know other people, you can be among the first to hear about great job opportunities. Networking can also alleviate some of the stress of pursuing a degree and helping people get through difficult problems.
While a LinkedIn profile is a great start, attending conferences and seminars online and in person, and taking part in forums, is even better.
You get to put theory into practice
It is one thing to read about something and another to put it into practice. It is important to be able to practice your skills and techniques. This way, you can take on challenges better when you are working.
During an internship, you’ll be working with people who are experienced, and you can learn a lot from paying attention to them and asking the right advice and questions.
Ethical and legal knowledge
It is important to have a personal code of ethics, but you also need to know the professional ethics that you are bound to follow. Learning these ethics early on is important because you can use them as guidelines when offering advice and helping others.
Knowing some of the laws pertaining to victims of crimes and disasters is also valuable. During the course of your career, you may be offering counseling and advice to victims of violent acts, including domestic violence, sexual assault, robbery and more. Knowing some of the laws and resources available to these individuals and their families can help you be a better advocate and provide better support for them.
Ethics and legalities are also important because you need to know what the legal bounds are of the advice you give and also the legal bounds of patient confidentiality. In general, you have to keep what is said between you and your clients private, but there are rules for special situations. For example, you cannot ethically withhold information from the police if you believe that a patient is harming a child or involved in some type of criminal activity. Orders from judges and court systems can also make it impossible to maintain client confidentiality.
During an internship, you can learn and ask questions about the ethics and legalities of providing counseling services and how to handle delicate situations.
You learn about discharging patients and follow-up care
It is important for mental health counselors to understand what the criteria are for safely discharging patients who are under care. As a clinical mental health counselor, you might one day work at a facility where patients are kept until they are deemed safe to discharge. This could be a mental health facility or a hospital. It is important to remember that clinical mental health counselors may be tasked with helping patients who are hospitalized due to a physical injury or illness, or who are in a recovery facility so that they can learn to be mobile again.
In short, there are many different types of patient discharges you should be familiar with. Knowing if a patient is mentally fit to be independent or if they are in need of follow-up mental health care is important. Of course, as a counselor, you have to be prepared for patients who do not think that they need follow-up counseling or psychiatric care. If they do not wish to follow the professional opinion of a counselor, there is not a lot that can be done unless care is court-ordered.
As a clinical mental health counselor, your job is to make sure that patients are aware of the options that are open to them after they are discharged. Just because they don’t think that they need care now does not mean that they will feel the same way a few days, a week or a month down the road.
During an internship, you can learn what types of follow-up care and referrals are the most common and how to determine what follow-up care you should recommend in certain situations.
You can discover your strengths and weaknesses
Regardless of the field you are in, it is a good idea to take the time to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. During an internship, you can also ask more experienced and already licensed counselors to offer you constructive criticism. This allows you to play to your strengths but discover your weaknesses so that you can work on them and improve before you become a licensed counselor.
One area that is sometimes overlooked that everyone needs to be aware of is their own personal bias. Everyone has a background that shapes the way that they interpret things. A personal opinion or impression is natural and nothing to be ashamed of. However, when it comes to being a counselor, it is important to work on the ability to overcome your own bias so that you can take a non-judgmental and open-minded stance toward your patients.
Sometimes, it takes another person to point out your own bias, but it is possible to come to an understanding of it on your own. It can help to clear your mind before a counseling session by meditating for five minutes, or to look over any notes you have about a case and try to see the positives and negatives of the situation from an outsider’s perspective.
Practicing is the best way to go into counseling sessions with an open and clear mind.
Unpaid internships can lead to a paid position
Although a lot of internships do not offer any pay, they are worth it for the experience. If you put in time as an intern at a facility, then you are one of the first people they will consider if they are hiring. In fact, sometimes facilities have internship programs specifically to try out talent before offering them future employment.
At the very least, working at different locations can help you expand your credentials and gain friends and experience.
Treat any internship like a real job
Regardless of any potential for employment or compensation, you should treat an internship just as seriously as you would a real job. This will allow you to get the most out of your time and make it possible to get a good reference or two.
Just because you are an intern doesn’t mean that you can be late or not perform to specific standards. Your place of work can terminate your internship just like a real job.
Ask a lot of questions at the right time so that you can clarify anything you do not understand well.
Choose the right degree program to pursue
Clinical mental health counseling internships require that you are enrolled or already have a degree. There are many colleges that offer clinical mental health counseling degree programs, but they are not all the same. You can earn your Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling online from St. Bonaventure University, for example, and if you already have a bachelor’s degree, you can earn your master’s in less than 20 months, developing skills such as counseling competencies and research evaluation, and be on your way to an exciting new career. Gaining a counseling degree is a fantastic way to take the next step in your career and qualify for more advanced positions. St. Bonaventure’s program teaches you multicultural counseling skills and psychotherapeutic techniques. You will learn to thoroughly assess and diagnose patients for a variety of mental health disorders.
Clinical mental health counselors work at many types of facilities and collaborate widely with medical and mental health professionals to heal and support the whole patient.
How to find clinical mental health counseling internships
Counseling centers, medical facilities and social service groups are all places that may offer internships. Websites that advertise jobs can be helpful places to look. Indeed.com often has a lot of internship opportunities. Each place will have its own application process and requirements.
Some internships may be highly competitive, so it is important to apply for multiple internships if you are serious about pursuing one. Your academic advisor or mentor in your degree program may be available to offer advice and look over applications for you so that you have the greatest chance of success.
Conclusion
Clinical mental health counseling is a rewarding and in-demand career choice. An internship while you are studying can enhance your educational experience while you gain valuable credentials for your resume. An internship can open the door to more opportunities later in your career and help you discover what aspects of counseling you enjoy the most.
