Internship Starter Kit Blog Series #3: Sustainability for Long-Term Success
By Chris Campassi
Now that you have your internship program up and running, and the initial logistics and systems worked out, it is time to start working on how to sustain a successful program over the long term. Having managed an Internship program at a Community Mental Health Center with many programs for 2 years, as well as most recently developing an internship program in private practice, I have learned that each site is unique and requires a customized approach to developing an internship program.
The most important factor in sustaining an internship program over the long term is to first provide a high-quality experience to your interns. Your interns will look to you for guidance, teaching, mentoring, and support. This is a stressful time for an intern, and your presence with them will be critical in how they evaluate their relationship with them.
And interns will talk to other students in their programs, so a happy intern will likely lead to increased applicants in future semesters, and an opportunity to be strategic in finding more qualified and experienced interns in the future.
Know the Different Supervision Roles
Understanding the different roles you will take on as an intern supervisor is important in providing the support that your interns need. While it is important to ensure that they meet their hours, hit their benchmarks required by their program, and learn the skills that are important to becoming a sound therapist, the interns will also need mentoring, support, and some sense of autonomy to develop their own personal style and a sense of confidence in their abilities.
The Intern Supervisor in a Teacher Role
The first role of an internship supervisor is that of an educator or teacher. In many ways, you are an extension of their academic education and will provide feedback as they transition from the knowledge-based teaching they have already received into their practical education and development.
In this role, it is important to give direct and tangible feedback as to how the intern can improve their basic skills, while also helping them discern orientations and skills that fit their natural style. It is important to recognize that your orientation will not necessarily be the one that they gravitate towards, and being able to help them learn basic skills while also supporting some level of autonomy in learning the skills that fit their authentic self best.
The Intern Supervisor in a Mentor Role
In my opinion, this is the most critical role you will take on as an internship supervisor. While the teaching role is very important, the development of skills will inevitably take much longer than you will have with the intern during internship, as they will continue that growth process as they work on their pre-licensure hours. Providing supportive mentorship during internship can facilitate a lifelong interest in learning, growing, and seeking out feedback if done right.
Being a mentor to interns is not as simple as it seems, as you will have to at times allow them to make mistakes, and help them grow through those mistakes. Being too didactic in supervision will give the impression that there is a right way and a wrong way, and will nurture a dynamic in which the intern may try to avoid conflict with you or avoid taking risks for fear of failure and admonishment.
Creating a safe environment in which the intern can ask questions, take chances with new ideas and feel comfortable making mistakes will lead to a much more fruitful development process. Remember, your job is not to make them work the way you do, but rather to find their own way and develop their own style.
The Intern Supervisor in a Consultant Role
As you near the end of the internship, you will want to provide the intern more autonomy in working through the issues coming up with their clients. You may feel compelled to always provide direct feedback regarding an approach you might take, but this will likely cause an impasse within the relationship. The intern will begin to feel that their perspective is not valued, despite the fact that they are the one in the room with the client.
Allowing the intern to exhaust their internal resources to problem-solve while adding in some perspective when asked, will enhance their sense of autonomy and confidence with the client.
Create a Intern to Therapist Path
As has been mentioned in my previous blogs, you may have different goals for why you want to have an intern. For some, it may be to increase revenue, and for others, it may be to have a “year-long interview” for a new employee or contractor. But why not have both?
If you are able to bring an intern on as an employee, contractor, or new therapist at your practice, create a list of expectations you will have for them during the internship, and provide evaluations and feedback along the way, so that they are clear on what would be expected to be hired, and you can be evaluated if they meet the expectations you have for an employee.
Creating a clear path and having ongoing conversations about this will provide the intern with the feedback they need and also show that you are invested in them beyond internship. Once again, an intern who has a good experience and is hired at your practice will tell others, and your program will become a desired placement, offering your more applicants and choices in selecting your interns and future employees.
Maintain Good Relationships with the University Program
It is critical that you maintain strong relationships with the programs and faculty of the universities from which you accept interns. They will be evaluating you as a site and, if satisfied, they will recommend other students to your practice.
Having an organized system from the application process to communication during the internship to evaluation of the interns at the completion of internship will show that you run a stable program that enhances the education and experience their students receive, which again will lead to more, and better, applicants.
You do not want to be a practice that has the reputation of not being well organized or supportive, else you will likely only get the applicants that are having trouble finding internships, and you may be greatly disappointed with the quality of applicants you receive in the future.
Attend Internship Fairs and Offer Informational Interviews
One way to maintain strong relationships with the programs you work with is to attend their annual internship fair. By attending, you can talk about your program, meet potential applicants and develop relationships with the faculty.
Another idea is to offer short informational interviews to students in the program you work with. In doing these two things, you are marketing your program, developing a strong relationship with the program, and you are able to “pre-screen” some future applicants.
Create a Stable Flow of Clients for Your Interns
Another important factor in sustaining your program is to have a steady flow of client referrals so that you can continue to fill caseloads for your interns. You may want to consider creating an affordable therapy program that markets to a price rate that your practice might not be able to offer without an intern.
This will increase the volume of inquiries, allow your practice to serve clients that may not be able to afford your licensed therapist rates, and will provide your interns ongoing intakes. This can be a tricky dynamic to maintain, as you will need interns to provide these services before you can market, but will need client inquiries to fill caseloads. Consider marketing to this population and your interns specifically, as you may not receive many inquiries for this level of therapy if your marketing is geared towards a higher rate.
Provide a Quality Experience
As you consider all of the factors that will contribute to the sustainability of your program, I believe that providing a quality experience for your interns will prove to be most fruitful. While it will always be important to generate some revenue from the internship program, as it does need to be financially sustainable as well, be careful not to sacrifice the experience for increased revenue.
Providing a quality experience should pay dividends in the long run, as it will enhance the commitment the intern has to the practice, which will lead to more quality work as well as the potential for a long-term employee, which will then lead to increased revenue for the long-term.
Start Building your Internship Program
As I conclude this blog series on how to start an internship, I want to share that supervising interns, watching them grow and develop and sending them off, as sad as it is, is an incredibly rewarding experience. You will feel gratified in the mentorship you provided and the relationships you develop. They will also challenge you to keep up with multiple modalities and new research, which will enhance your skills not only as a supervisor but also as a therapist.
As you begin the process of bringing on an intern, I encourage you to spend some time creating your vision and your goals. While these will change as you face barriers and need to re-evaluate, this vision will provide you a roadmap to follow.
I would also recommend getting consultation so that you have support as you navigate each stage that I have discussed; Your “Why”, How to develop your systems, and How to Sustain an ongoing program. Here at Firelight Supervision, we offer one-time clinical consultation on how to get your program started and how to sustain the program. Reach out if we can be of help…and Good Luck!
How we can help
We have 2 FREE webinars coming up!
Sign up for our Burnout Prevention Check-List Email Series. You can also sign up for a free phone consultation to discuss options and learn more about us!
Author Bio
Chris Campassi is an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) and Program Coordinator of Firelight Supervision. He is a licensed psychotherapist in Colorado and North Carolina, blogger, and clinical supervisor for provisionally-licensed and independently licensed therapists. Chris enjoys helping men, medical professionals, and former athletes manage their anxiety and stress so they can live fulfilled and balanced lives. Follow Firelight Supervision on Instagram.
