Advanced Internship Training Components
Josselyn’s Advanced Internship is for second-year MSW students and practicum/internship counseling students.
This program provides graduate students with meaningful clinical experience, dedicated supervision, professional development opportunities, and hands-on training designed to prepare future mental health professionals for successful clinical careers.
What Can a Graduate Student Expect from a Josselyn Clinical Internship?
At Josselyn, our internship program is designed to help graduate students develop into confident, ethical, and effective mental health professionals.
Through meaningful clinical work, strong supervision, and a supportive learning environment, interns gain the experience needed to meet academic requirements while making a difference in the lives of clients and communities.
Josselyn partners with graduate programs throughout Illinois and across the United States, providing training opportunities for students pursuing counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, psychology, and related disciplines.
Meaningful Therapy Experience
- Build a caseload of up to 10 clients throughout the internship.
- Provide individual, family, and group therapy services.
- Work with children, adolescents, adults, and families.
- Gain exposure to a wide variety of presenting concerns within a community mental health setting.
- Help expand access to quality mental health care for underserved communities.
Interns are also trained to complete comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments using the IM+CANS assessment tool. Assessment experience often helps interns build their therapy caseload, as clients frequently request to continue treatment with the intern who completed their initial assessment.
Strong Clinical Supervision and Support
Supervision is the foundation of the internship experience at Josselyn. Interns receive ongoing support, consultation, and mentorship from experienced clinicians who are invested in their development. Each intern receives:
- Weekly individual supervision with a dedicated supervisor.
- One hour of weekly administrative group supervision.
- One hour of weekly clinical group supervision.
- Access to consultation and guidance from supervisors and clinical leadership.
- Opportunities to learn alongside a cohort of fellow interns.
Group supervision is currently offered virtually on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Interns are never expected to navigate challenging clinical situations alone. Supervisors provide real-time support, consultation, and feedback to support professional growth and clinical decision-making.
Direct and Indirect Clinical Hours
Josselyn’s internship structure is designed to help students meet their academic program requirements, including CACREP, CSWE, and other graduate program standards.
Most interns complete between 600 and 900 internship hours, depending on their graduate program requirements. Supervisors work closely with students to support the successful completion of practicum, direct-hour, and indirect-hour requirements.
Direct Hours May Include:
- Individual therapy
- Family therapy
- Group therapy
- Biopsychosocial assessments
- Intake and diagnostic evaluations
Indirect Hours May Include:
- Individual supervision
- Group supervision
- Clinical consultation
- Treatment planning
- Documentation and case notes
- Staff meetings
- Professional training opportunities
- Professional development activities
Professional Development Opportunities
Interns are encouraged to expand their knowledge beyond direct clinical work through a variety of training and consultation experiences. Learning opportunities may include:
- Weekly consultation groups on topics such as child and adolescent treatment, multicultural factors in therapy, and substance use concerns.
- Monthly virtual continuing education programs.
- Exposure to topics such as EMDR, narrative therapy, ethics, psychopharmacology, and emerging clinical practices.
- Collaboration with multidisciplinary professionals across the organization.
Crisis Prevention and Ethical Practice
Interns receive training in crisis prevention, risk assessment, safety planning, and mandated reporting responsibilities. At Josselyn:
- Interns are never expected to manage crisis situations independently.
- Supervisors and clinical leadership provide immediate support when safety concerns arise.
- Training includes mandated reporting procedures, documentation requirements, and ethical decision-making.
- Interns develop confidence responding to complex clinical situations while maintaining professional and legal standards.
Internship Structure & Schedule
- Commitment to two evening shifts per week, when most clients seek services.
- Approximately 20 hours per week for most internship placements.
- Primarily in-person work, as assessments and most clinical services occur on site.
- Optional Saturday opportunities that may be available based on program needs but are not required.
- Limited remote opportunities that may be considered after three months, based on supervisor discretion and client needs.
Established Partnerships with Leading Universities
Josselyn is proud to serve as a training site for students from leading graduate programs throughout the region and across the country, including:
- Adler University
- Aurora University
- Bradley University
- Concordia University
- Chicago DePaul University
- Dominican University
- Erikson Institute
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Illinois State University
- Loyola University Chicago
- National Louis University
- Marquette University
- Northeastern Illinois University
- Northwestern University
- Northern Illinois University
- Rosalind Franklin University
- Roosevelt University
- School of the Art Institute
- Smith College of Social Work
- The Chicago School
- The University of Chicago
- University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Wake Forest University
- Yeshiva University
- And many others
Why Choose Josselyn?
Josselyn offers more than just internship hours.
We provide a structured, supportive training experience where interns develop strong clinical skills, receive meaningful supervision, and gain confidence as emerging professionals.
Through direct client care, mentorship, consultation, and professional development, interns leave prepared for the next stage of their clinical careers while helping advance Josselyn’s vision of Mental health for all.
Have Questions?
Choosing the right internship is a big decision. Browse answers to common questions about the experience, expectations, and support you’ll receive at Josselyn.