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About Our Program

Kaiser Permanente’s Pre-Master’s Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Internship Program is comprised of multiple training sites located within the northern California region. The part-time position (up to 30 hours/week) begins at various times during the calendar year and is designed to be completed in 9 to 12 months. Pre-master’s interns in placements outside of the Counseling Center who have worked a full 8 months during the training year receive an annual stipend.

Pre-Master’s Mental Health Internship Stipend $5,500

Policies and Procedures

Training Program Start/End Dates

Start and end dates vary and are based on practicum course requirements.

Program Mission and Curriculum

The mission of the program is to provide Pre-Master’s Mental Health Interns with training in mental health service delivery within an integrated and multidisciplinary health care system in order to prepare them for their future roles as licensed clinicians. The program works closely with approved graduate institutions to ensure that pre-master’s interns are able to apply their classroom learning competently in supervised clinical practice settings.

Training is site specific and can include rotations in general outpatient psychiatry and addiction medicine. Training sites provide an array of services including individual, group, and family therapy, an intensive outpatient program, crisis intervention services, and case management of chronic conditions. Pre-Master’s Interns are exposed to a diverse community of patients over the course of their training year.

The Pre-Master’s Mental Health Internship typically begins with an onboarding and shadowing process and transitions into opportunities for interns to engage in direct patient care in both individual and group settings, as well as participate in weekly supervision and didactic seminars in a supportive and structured environment. In addition to attending seminars at the local training site, interns are invited to attend a monthly virtual regional expert speaker series during the training year.

Professional Competencies, Supervision and Evaluation

Selection of clinical cases and size of the caseload are adjusted according to the Pre-Master’s Mental Health Intern’s readiness as determined by the training supervisor. Training is organized in a sequential, cumulative, and graded manner. The intern and supervisor review the intern’s progress on an ongoing basis to ensure that all training goals are met, and that the intern is sufficiently guided through the professional development process.

Pre-Master’s Mental Health Internship Supervisors, who are all licensed mental health clinicians, use a competency-based model of supervision. Each intern’s clinical and professional competencies are evaluated by the supervisor in accordance with the requirements of the intern’s graduate institution. Pre-master’s interns also have an opportunity to evaluate the training program twice a year.

Program Admission Requirements

All Pre-Master’s Mental Health Internship applicants must be currently enrolled in a practicum course in their master’s program. Preference is given to applicants in their second year of training and those who have completed prior field experience as a social work, marriage and family therapy or counseling intern delivering outpatient psychotherapy services. Pre-Master’s Interns must have received academic instruction in the following areas prior to beginning their training at Kaiser Permanente:

  • Mental Status Evaluation
  • Mandated Reporting
  • Suicide/Homicide/Danger Assessment
  • Domestic Violence
  • Professional Ethics
  • DSM Diagnoses/Psychopathology
  • Personality and Psychological Development
  • Theory and Practice of Psychotherapy
  • Chemical Dependency
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