ADULT OUTPATIENT CLINIC

*The Adult Outpatient Program will accept four second-year students for the 2023-2024 academic year

 

The Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic (AOP) offers an opportunity for interns to provide individual therapy, group therapy, assessment, and clinical case management services. The intern will have an opportunity to work with individuals suffering from a range of psychiatric disorders including mood disorders, psychotic disorders, anxiety disorders, etc.

The AOP clinic offers the opportunity to train in different evidence based treatments including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).  The AOP Clinic has a trauma team, where patients are assigned to individual Prolonged Exposure (PE) treatment or to a Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) group.   Interns may have an opportunity to carry at least one trauma case during their internship.

The intern will be able to co-facilitate one group per semester (DBT Skills Training Group or CBT Group for Anxiety).  They will be part of a multidisciplinary team, where they will do case presentations on the initial assessments they complete.

The AOP clinic has a well-established Spanish-speaking program, which allows trainees and staff to treat monolingual Spanish speaking clients in the above treatment modalities.

 POPULATION WE SERVE 

We primarily serve adults who live in the South Bay, Service Area 8 which includes Torrance, Carson, Harbor City, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Lennox, Gardena, Wilmington, Lomita, San Pedro, Palos Verdes, and the beach cities.  Many clients are low income, with approximately 40% Hispanic, 30% Caucasian, 20% African American and 10% other.

•     Our clients are 21 years and over.

•     They are referred through multiple sources such as hospitals, primary care physicians, DPSS, DCFS, self-referral and probation.

•     The clients are seen for multiple problems including, depression, trauma exposure, bipolar, psychotic disorders, anxiety, and other diagnoses.

WE ARE A SECOND-YEAR MSW Placement Only

The Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Program (AOP) only accepts second-year students or students completing their last year MSW internship.  It is a very clinically intensive placement requiring 20 clinic hours per week.  In addition, our students historically spend additional time outside of internship, reading and preparing for sessions.

TRAININGS OFFERED 

As an intern you will learn some of these treatments:

•     CBT for Anxiety and Depression

•     Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy for PTSD

•     Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

•    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

•    Clinical Case Management

•     Various Mental Health Topics at In-service Trainings/Grand Rounds

•     DMH Documentation

•     Diagnostic Assessment: DSM 5

You will participate in:

•     Individual and Group Supervision

•     Case Disposition Meetings

•     Staff Meetings

You may participate in:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Seminar
• Third Wave Behavioral Therapy Seminar

Caseload:

•     Carry 6-8 clients

•     Co-facilitate groups

•     Complete weekly initial intakes with new clients and present in multidisciplinary case disposition meeting

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN AN INTERN

•    Someone who is interested in working with adults in a community mental health clinic

•     A student who is interested in gaining clinical competence

•     A student who is an independent learner and knows when to seek assistance from a supervisor

•     A student who is available 20 hours per week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday

•     Someone who is willing to dedicate time outside of internship, as needed, in order to prepare for clinical sessions and seminars

•     A student who is willing to work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team

•     NOTE:  Although we are on the Harbor UCLA Medical Center hospital campus, AOP is not a “hospital setting” internship.  We are an outpatient adult psychiatry clinic, not part of the hospital nor medical social work at all.  An intern seeking a medical/hospital internship is not a good candidate for AOP.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR AN INTERN?

The social work student’s role and commitments will look different each internship day.  The expectation is that the student will have ten direct contact hours with clients per week (50% of their internship hours).   The student will complete documentation and participate in specified activities during the week when not providing services to clients.  Here are some examples of things you may be offered:

Monday

10:30am to 12:00pm    CBT Seminar (weekly for the length of the internship)
12:45pm to 1:30pm       DBT Skills Training Group Supervision
1:30pm to 3:00pm        DBT Team Consultation team Meeting
3:00pm to 4:30pm       Facilitate DBT Skills Training Group (3-4 month rotation)

Wednesday

9:00am to 10:30am       Complete Adult Initial Assessment (weekly for the length of the internship)
10:30am to 11:30am      Third Wave Behavioral Therapy Seminar
11:30am to 12:30pm     Spanish DBT Team Consultation Team Meeting (conducted in Spanish)
3:00pm to 4:30pm       Attend and present intakes at Team Disposition Team Meeting (for full day Wednesday students)

Friday

9:00am to 10:00am      Trauma Team Meeting (every other Friday)
11:00am to 12:00pm   Group Supervision with SW Interns placed in Adult, Child, Dual Dx, etc., 2x/month
2:30pm to 3:30pm         Attend and present intakes at Team Disposition Team Meeting (for full day Friday students)

At the time of your interview, please share which trainings are of most interest to you.  We will be providing a blend of some of the above, as available.