Internship Sites

Description of Agency:
A locked-down residential facility for persons with severe chronic mental illness, often referrals from the state hospital. Treatment is long-term until the patient is able to function in a less-structured setting.

Procedure for applying:
Call and set up an appointment for an interview with Sandra Mitchell.

Contact Person for Site:
Sandra Mitchell, M.A., L.P.C., Executive Director

Requirements:
Interns must be caring and willing to work with this population of seriously disturbed inviduals. The intern should be more relaxed and casual in personal style--not overly fastidious. Some patients are very hostile and aggressive, therefore interns need to be able to handle conflict well, with minimal defensiveness.

Specific Schedule Requirements?
Interns are requested to work shifts of either 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Any days of the week are acceptable, including weekends.

Stressors at this Site:
There is a strong potential for physical violence and assaultive behavior on the part of patients. Many patients have serious illnesses, including HIV, STDs, and hepatitis, therefore universal precautions are essential. Staff are encouraged to be responsive to patient requests, therefore events often do not start on-time and there are many patient requests and interruptions to activities.

Summary Comments:
Staff at the site are committed to providing excellent care to chronically mentally ill patients. They desire to help interns develop a passion for meeting the needs of this population. Interns would, however, be incurring personal safety risk in working at the site. Interns would have the opportunity to become knowledgeable about treatment of severe diagnoses, medication, and multidisciplinary approaches.