Mental Health Intern

Job Title:  Mental Health Intern       

Department/Program: Outpatient (OP)      

Reports to: OP Clinical Supervisor       

Work location: Gresham (In- Person)  

FLSA status: (non-exempt/hourly)      

Pay Rate: $20,000 (dispersed through the duration of the internship)      

Overview:       

Morrison Child & Family Services:       

Morrison Child and Family Services is a non-profit organization that provides a comprehensive array of services to children, adolescents, and their families.   As an agency, Morrison, its team members, and clients commit to the following values of trauma-informed care:         

• Nonviolence - being safe and doing the right thing  
• Emotional Intelligence - managing our feelings so we don’t hurt ourselves or others   
• Social Learning - respecting and sharing ideas of our teams  
• Democracy - shared decision making whenever possible  
• Open Communication - saying what we mean and not being mean when we say it  
• Social Responsibility - everyone makes a contribution to the organizational culture  
• Growth and Change - creating hope for our clients and ourselves  
• Equity - Assuring all can survive and thrive  
    

Visit our website to learn more about our mission and history  and our strategy  for accomplishing our goal of achieving significant, positive, and long-term clinical outcomes for the clients we serve.        

At Morrison we celebrate diversity. Through our commitment to equity and inclusion, we support our communities to move beyond disparity and oppression and work with compassion, integrity, and dedication to social justice through the implementation of goals and policies. We strive to create an inclusive and anti-racist organization by ensuring that racial identity will not determine or predict the quality of trauma-informed care a child receives; to that effect, we’re looking for candidates who can provide culturally appropriate care or possess the ability to hold each other and yourself accountable to the diversity and uniqueness of all individuals within Morrison, our clients, and our community stakeholders.        

 We strive to create a diverse and inclusive work environment to better serve our clients, and we are an Equal Opportunity Employer.        

Outpatient:       

Morrison Child and Family Services delivers outpatient mental health services to children, ages 2 through 18. At the core of our work is a belief in the importance of acknowledging strengths and creating resilience in each child.  Our skilled therapists collaborate with each child and their support system to identify a treatment approach that addresses the child’s mental health symptoms and leads to improved functioning in all areas of the child’s life.  We strive to provide culturally responsive services and respect the values and unique perspectives of all our clients.       

Position/Job Summary:       

Through our paid internship program, we hope to increase availability/access for, and meet the needs of, our culturally, racially, and/or linguistically marginalized clients and their families. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of and experience with culturally, racially, and/or linguistically marginalized communities.  This would be demonstrated by understanding and supporting cultural considerations that impact marginalized communities. Specifically knowing the marginalized community, historical and current barriers to mental health services and having knowledge of the traditions, values, and customs.       

Master’s Level Mental Health Student Interns at Morrison Child & Family Services will be provided with supervision and oversight so they can develop the knowledge and skills for a profession in the behavioral health field. The Internship Program is designed to serve as a bridge between the knowledge they gain in completing required coursework and applying that knowledge to clinical client services. It is expected that student interns will maintain ethical standards and follow all of Morrison Child & Family Services’ policies and procedures as well as State and Federal regulations throughout the program to guide their development into professional clinicians. The following represents the primary opportunities and responsibilities that a Student Intern may expect during the internship.       

Position/Job Duties and Responsibilities:        

• The Student Intern can expect to work in a clinical setting with a diverse population of youth (ages 2 to 18) with mental health disorders and their families, who are experiencing a variety of hardships, social determinants of health.  
• At the beginning of the internship, the Student Intern will receive and complete required/assigned training as well as a site-specific orientation. 
• A qualified, designated clinical supervisor will serve as a Clinical Supervisor and resource, and will be responsible to provide all necessary documentation and coordination with the affiliated university in a timely manner. The Clinical Supervisor will meet all requirements under OAR 309-019-0125. 
• The Student Intern and Clinical Supervisor will develop goals for the internship (Student Scope of Practice and Education Agreement), identifying areas of particular interest to the intern, as well as goals related to the competencies of the profession. Goals will be reviewed and updated throughout the internship, at least every 3 months, to evaluate progress and identify deficiencies. 
• The Student Intern will participate in a variety of shadowing opportunities with the entire outpatient team. This will include mental health assessments, treatment planning, individual therapy, and family therapy. It may also include case management, psychiatric services, group therapy, skills training, and substance use/integrated therapy services. 
• After completing the shadowing opportunities and being approved by the Clinical Supervisor, the Student Intern will begin practicing therapy conjointly with their supervisor and/or lead therapist, and when ready, will provide therapy on their own for a small caseload, under continuing supervision. 

Competencies:       

• The Student Interns will be provided with weekly individual supervision, as well as group supervision with the clinical team. Weekly, 1-hour, individual supervision will include but is not limited to the review of cases relating to the: 
• Assessment, diagnosis, and making appropriate treatment recommendations. 
• Developing treatment plans and setting goals/objectives for treatment 
• Case conceptualization and effective use of evidence-based treatment interventions 
• Cultural responsiveness, ethical decision-making, and trauma informed care practices 
• Risk assessment, safety planning, and crisis management 
• Coordination of care and termination of therapy services 
•  Review of clinical documentation to ensure appropriate, thorough and accurate documentation practices, and coding of services. 
• Opportunities for observation through provision of direct client services, under supervision. 
• Opportunities to learn about other aspects of their profession including, but not limited to, burnout and compassion fatigue, theoretical orientations/interventions, proper documentation in EHR (Electronic Health Records), transference and countertransference, boundaries, legal considerations and testifying in court, etc. 

Required Position Qualifications:       

Applicants must be currently enrolled in their second year in an accredited university, master’s degree program in social work, psychology, counseling, or marriage and family counseling. In addition, students must have:       

• A signed, collaborative educational agreement between the Morrison Child & Family Services Treatment Services and the graduate program for the student. 
• Minimum commitment for duration of internship as agreed upon in the Collaborative Educational Agreement. 
• Minimum number of hours per week as determined by the Collaborative Educational Agreement, with a stable and reliable schedule to be coordinated and designated with the onsite clinical supervisor. 
• Demonstrated ability to learn the skillset to conduct basic competence in the following essential job functions: facilitation of mental health assessment, completion of treatment plans, facilitation of mental health treatment for youth and their families. 
• Demonstrated cultural responsiveness, effective communication and competence in care coordination, development of working alliances with individuals, inter- and intra-agency collaboration, and the rendering of services and supports within their scope and in accordance with the treatment plan, including transition planning; and 
• Demonstrated basic clinical competency in the following areas: assessment/diagnostics, outcomes-based care, trauma informed care, foundational knowledge in mental health disorders, and suicide risk assessment and safety planning. If topic areas have not been trained up in, willingness to participate in designated training to scale up skills is recommended. This should be discussed with the clinical supervisor at start of internship for learning plan clarity. 
• Ability to develop strong collaborative relationships with the clinical team, willingness to participate in a variety of shadowing opportunities with the outpatient teams. 
• Ability to work within the scope of practice and competencies identified by the collaborative educational agreement and the policies and procedures for the credentialing of clinical staff as established by the provider and the graduate program. 
• Ability to show openness in the learning space, with compassionate and respectful communication with receiving and giving feedback in all contexts of the role. 
• Adherence to program policies and procedures for client documentation within designated electronic medical record. This also includes adhering to completion of documentation as based on guidelines for the program. Completing assessments and treatment plans within one week, and all other MH service notes within 48 hours is the expectation. 
• Follow and adhere to Morrison’s confidentiality requirements, including the federal Health Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Morrison’s client confidentiality policies, and Oregon laws that support client confidentiality. 
• Demonstrate a commitment to helping underserved or marginalized members of our communities. 
• Pass a criminal background check through Oregon’s Department of Human Services (at no cost to the student). Placement at Morrison is contingent upon this background check. Prior to receiving the results of the background check, interns might still participate in orientation, training, and work activities that do not include unsupervised contact with those receiving services.  

Preferred Position Qualifications:       

• OP experience
• Knowledge of Federal, State and agency regulations.
• Knowledge of adolescent developmental issues, trauma, abuse and neglect, substance abuse and dependence, delinquency, peer influence, and related group and individual interventions.

 Other Requirements:       

• Able to work shift hours and days, as assigned. Position may require work outside of usual work hours on occasion.
• Position may require working at multiple OP Program sites
• Current CPR and Standard First Aid, preferred

Physical demands and work environment:      .

• Ability to provide visual and auditory supervision of youth
• Manual dexterity allowing for operation of routine office equipment (computers, telephone, fax, copy machine, typewriter, calculator, etc.)
• Physical dexterity allowing for reaching, stooping, and repetitive motion of wrist, hand or fingers.
• Ability to remain calm and emotionally available in an environment serving youth who have experienced trauma.

 **The Mental Health Internship application will be open until 11:59pm on Sunday, January 26, 2025**