RYTHER INTERNSHIPS

Outpatient services provides clinical placements for second year students in Master’s level programs. Interns have a minimum 24 hours weekly commitment for 9 months or 20 hours for 12 months. Interns will receive clinical training and hold their own caseloads. Interns must start in either June or September and will receive 12 days of time off which can be taken 2 weeks at a time. Please note this means you will not be able to take off all school breaks and Ryther is not closed on any holidays other than New years, memorial day, labor day, thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Training:  

Interns will receive training in Motivational Interviewing, CBT+, TF-CBT, professionalism, Behavior Management, using the CALOCUS and other assessment tools, opening client benefits with the county, medical record keeping and clinical writing. We hold additional trainings for many other forms of therapy that are voluntary.  

Supervision:  

Interns receive weekly individual supervision from their direct supervisor.  Monthly and as needed supervision from the intern coordinator and attend team meeting where we consult with our psychiatrists. Interns have the opportunity to drop in to many consultation groups including the PCIT consult group, the DBT consult group, CBT, Family systems, social work specific and High risk consultation group and the co-occurring consult group.  

Caseload:  

Interns are asked to carry a caseload of 7-10 clients (for general track), 4-5 (for IOP track). This will be a combination of family and individual cases with kids from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We additionally have a variety of optional groups that interns can take part in voluntarily such as the DBT skills group, 7 challenges co-occurring group, Peaceful alternatives to tough situations group, parent support group, art therapy group, etc.  

Other skills:  

Interns will be asked to keep up with clinical writing and social work for client on their caseload. Occasionally, we will assign desk tasks designed to improve clinical writing.  

Tracks:  

Ryther’s internship program has 2 tracks, IOP and OPS. Though preference will be taken into consideration, you may not receive an internship in your preferred track as this depends on the number of applicants interested and the number of spots available.
 

• The IOP track intern will gain an intimate understanding of DBT. They will attend and help facilitate DBT groups and attend DBT consult. Though IOP interns will help facilitate multiple DBT groups, they will still hold a smaller caseload of outpatient clients allowing them to learn other modalities and have a variety of youth to work with. IOP interns will have additional supervision with an IOP clinician specializing in DBT but with an understanding of other modalities. IOP interns attend at least 2 IOP groups which are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 4-7pm. 
   

• The OPS track interns will have a more general focus. They will hold a variety of clients in the outpatient program and will be responsible for facilitating behavior management groups for younger children. General track interns provide a children’s coping skills group on both Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-7pm.
   

Requirements:  

Interns are required to attend weekly staff meeting from 11-12:30pm on Wednesdays. Interns are also required to facilitate a child group during the week. These groups are offered Mondays from 5:30-7pm and Wednesdays from 5:30-7pm. DBT track interns are required to attend two  3 hour DBT groups per week. Any clinician using DBT is required to attend the DBT consult which is at 10am on Wednesdays. Interns will be afforded time off but will not be allowed to take off all school breaks as they must provide continuity of care for their caseload.