Preparing for Internship
For those students chosen to come to Harbor:
Congratulations on being selected to complete your social work training at Harbor-UCLA’s Department of Psychiatry! We are happy to have you on board and will work tirelessly on teaching you the necessary skills to be a competent clinical social worker. We want you to succeed at your internship placement and prepare you to be a leading clinical social worker after you receive your MSW. We recognize that it can be anxiety provoking to start a new placement and would like to provide you with information to help you prepare for your internship. Please refer to the recommendations below for your specific program.
Adult Outpatient Program (AOP)
The five books listed below will be used throughout your internship and should definitely be part of your book collection as a clinical social worker.
1. Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (1993) by Marsha Linehan (try to read as much as you can before internship)
This is a very dense book to read but it will be helpful to read as much as possible. Your reading will be complemented by the DBT training you will receive.
2. DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets Second Edition (2015) by Marsha Linehan
As an intern, you will facilitate at least one DBT Skills Training Group (two if you are Spanish speaking) during your internship and carry one to two individual DBT clients. You are not expected to know all the skills, but having some familiarity with the different modules and skills will be helpful.
3. Cognitive Behavior Therapy Basics and Beyond (2011) by Judith S. Beck
This is a textbook your practicum instructor will ask you to read. Start with the first four chapters.
As an intern, you may be part of the trauma clinic team and treat at least one client using the PE protocol. You do not need to read this book ahead of time, but you will definitely use this manual if you are providing this treatment.
5. ACT Made Simple by Russ Harris
This book is a great introduction to ACT as it provides a basic understanding of the processes used in ACT.
Podcasts
There are several podcasts that will prepare you for your internship. They can be downloaded from iTunes.
- ACT in Context is an excellent Acceptance and Commitment Therapy podcast. There are 11 podcasts on the theory and practice of ACT:
An Introduction to ACT
An Introduction to ACT, Part II
The History and Development of ACT
An Introduction to Acceptance
An Introduction to Defusion
An Introduction to Self-As-Context
An Introduction to Contact with the Present Moment
An Introduction to Values
An Introduction to Committed Action
ACT for Coping with Trauma
ACT with Adolescents - Edna Foa, Ph.D. on the Nature and treatment of PTSD. This podcast will introduce you to Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy for the treatment of PTSD.
You may also be receiving an invitation to our Harbor yahoo groups. If you do, please accept the invitations.
Note: You may be a member of one Harbor-UCLA yahoo group, Harbor DBT.
Webinars
**** Children and Adolescent Program (CAP) *** Not applicable this year because we are not taking CAP students in 2023-24
Books
We highly recommend that you purchase the following books:
1. Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder (1993) by Marsha Linehan (try to read as much as you can before internship)
2. Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder (1993) by Marsha Linehan
3. Mind Over Mood (1995) by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky
4. ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2009) by Russ Harris