Oaklawn Mental Health Internship Program

Big Picture. Real Impact.

Oaklawn interns have a unique opportunity to gain comprehensive experience at an award-winning mental health center.

Applications for the fall 2026 semester are closed. Check back this fall to apply for spring 2027 internships.

About Our Oaklawn Counseling Intern Program

Whether you’re completing your graduate work with a chosen specialty or you’re a bachelor-level student still searching for the right fit, Oaklawn’s internship program provides invaluable experience that supports your professional goals.

We’ll take you from the 30,000-foot view of social systems, policy-making and funding all the way to providing direct services to clients under the supervision of our expert clinical staff. We do this in three ways:

Get an up-close look at mental health and addiction services:

  • Skills training, care facilitation and therapy, in-office and community-based
  • Group therapy
  • Family therapy, family support groups
  • Peer navigation, peer support groups, consumer advisory boards
  • Tours of inpatient and residential services
  • Access Center intakes
  • Multi-disciplinary staffings
  • Assessments at community hospitals
  • Prevention services in camps, schools and youth organizations
  • Child and family service planning
  • Community meetings with criminal/juvenile justice, Department of Child Services, vocational rehabilitation, landlords, schools, etc.

Learn about health administration,  operations and systems work:

  • Meet with Oaklawn’s senior leaders to learn about governance, organizational structure, funding, partners, advocacy and more
  • Attend Oaklawn committees on regulatory standards, policy development, program development, clinical practice review, safety, trauma-informed care, etc.
  • Attend community meetings on issues such as criminal justice diversion, integrated care, emergency room overcrowding, Medication Assisted Treatment, drug courts, access to mental health care, etc.
  • Attend state-level meetings with advocates and government leaders

You’ll work alongside our expert staff to develop skills in:

  • Care facilitation
  • Skills training
  • Therapy

You’ll also gain experience in:

  • Evidence-based practices
  • Risk assessments
  • Safety planning
  • Progression of care (screening, assessment, treatment, termination)
  • Person-centered treatment planning and treatment plan review process
  • Documentation of services
  • Community resources
  • Psychotropic medications
  • Engaging families
  • Cultural competency
  • Professionalism
  • Developing and tracking outcomes
  • Clinical supervision, ethics, boundaries, best practices, quality

You’ll participate in robust training on real-world topics, including:

  • Community-wide trainings hosted by Oaklawn featuring local and national leaders on a variety of topics.
  • Oaklawn new-hire training on topics such as treatment planning, confidentiality, trauma-informed care, common diagnoses, clinical documentation, de-escalation techniques and more.
  • Hundreds of online learning courses on mental health and addiction available through Relias Learning.