Learn about student intern program
The mission of the Student Intern Program is to bring in a future workforce with diverse backgrounds, provide enriched clinical training and experiences, and retain trained interns in the public behavioral health system to serve our community.
The County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department’s Student Intern Program is a 9-month cohort-based program starts in Aug/Sep and ends in May/June. Each student will be placed at a desired clinic/program and receive individual supervision from their site supervisor while gaining clinical/field experience. The intern cohort will receive comprehensive training, group supervision/consultation and career guidance during the internship.
Graduate level internships are available for students enrolled in MSW, MFT/PCC programs contracted with the department. BASW internship opportunities are also available. All the applicants must be enrolled in BHSD affiliated program.
How to Apply
Recruitment for potential interns begins at the end of January each year. The Student Intern Program accepts qualified students enrolled in an accredited university/college training program currently affiliated with Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department.
Applications must be completed and submitted to the BHSD Student Intern Program with the requested documents. If selected, you will be invited for interviews.
Please join us to learn about the rewards and benefits of interning for the County of Santa Clara at our virtual Open House on January 17, 2025, 1pm-3pm.
Initial application deadline is 5 PM on February 5, 2025. Any applications submitted after this date will only be reviewed if a placement has availability. Recommendation letters can be submitted by March 14th, 2025.
- Be enrolled as a MSW, MFT, or PCC graduate level student or as a BASW student in a university that holds a current Affiliate Agreement with Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Department for the entire academic year.
- Commit to an intern/trainee placement for the entire academic year from September through May.
- Commit to attend the weekly Thursday seminar/training.
- Be in “good academic standing” with the university.
- A minimum of 16 hours per week are required for 1st year graduate students and BASW student. (total 480 hours for the academic year)
- A minimum of 20-24 hours per week are required for final year graduate students. (total 720 hours for the academic year)
- Identify top 2 placement choices by attending BHSD Open House and/or tabling events.
- Submit completed application packet.
- Initial Interview with Student Intern Program.
- If selected, site specific interview(s) with potential clinic/program.
- After the interviews, notify Intern Program of preference. A placement offer is made by the BHSD Intern Program, and not clinics.
Documents
FAQs
Q: What documents do I need to submit?
A: 1. Cover Letter (3-page limit)
A letter including reasons for applying, (e.g., personal interest, academic interest), areas of specialization and expertise and any other pertinent information in such a manner that proposal evaluators may reasonably formulate an opinion about the level of interest in providing services by Intern applicant. Please include your name, email, mailing address, telephone number, name of the school & program enrolled and your signature.
2. BHSD Student Intern Program Application Form
Please make sure all the items are answered on the application form. Incomplete application won’t be considered.
3. Resume (2-page limit)
A description of the intern applicant including skills, areas of specialization and expertise, and any other pertinent information related to the Intern applicant’s qualifications in providing services.
4. Letters of Recommendation (2 letters)
Two (2) letters of recommendation. Include the name and address of the organization, the name, email and telephone number of a contact person, and a description of the relationship with the applicant. One (1) letter shall be academic and one (1) shall be non-academic professional. These letters need to be sent to [email protected] by either directly from referees or a student applicant.
5. Fall Semester Field Evaluation
For all the final year MSW students must submit a copy of the evaluation when available. This document may come after the interviewing process as it may not be available at the time of application.
This may not apply to some MFT students if there is no field experience during the first year.
Q: I want to schedule an interview. What is the next step?
A: Please first complete the BHSD Application packet and send it to [email protected]. We will send you a link to sign up for an initial interview with the intern program. Please do not email resume without completed application.
Q: I am interested in applying for the Stipend Program. What is the qualification and how do I apply?
A: Requirements:
- Final-year master’s students graduating in May/June.
- Complete 720 hours of internship.
- Commit to work full-time in the Public Behavioral Health System in Santa Clara County for a minimum of 1 year after graduation.
- Possess personal or professional background to serve diverse populations.
Please indicate during the interview if you want to apply for the Stipend Program.
Q: What internship placement are available within BHSD?
A: We have various internship sites throughout the BHSD, including Adult Outpatient Clinics, Children Youth Family Outpatient Clinics, criminal justice involved programs, Mobile Crisis Program, and more. Specific programs/sites will be introduced during the recruitment process.
Q: How many direct client hours can I gain through a BHSD internship? Do you have a placement for PCC/MFT Dual Track Student who require 280 direct client hours?
A: All the BHSD internship sites are comfortable meeting standard MFT requirements (150 direct client hours plus 75 client advocacy hours). Meeting PCC requirement or requirements of 280 direct client hours has been a challenge. Many of our BHSD internship sites cannot meet these requirements, and we do not allow multiple site internships. Please email us at [email protected] to see if your preferred site can accommodate a 280 direct hour requirement.
Q: Can I choose which site/program to be placed, or do you assign me?
A: Through the Open House and initial interview, you will identify 1-2 preferred placements to interview. Then after the site interview, you will report back to BHSD Intern Program with ranking/preference of your placement. We won’t place you in a program without your agreement.
Q: What is the schedule requirement for the internship program?
A: For the final year master’s student, 720 total hours (20-24 hours a week for 9 months) is required. For the BASW student and the first-year MSW student, 480 total hours is required. You will have to be available on Thursdays and some other days for required training and group supervision/consultation. Most of the BHSD program hours are Monday - Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. We do not have evening/weekend only placement.
Q: Do you have a remote/virtual internship available?
A: No. All our clinics/programs are in person. You will have to report to our clinic/program site in person.
Q: What does the supervision look like?
A: You will have at least one hour of individual supervision from your site supervisor who is a licensed clinician. You will also receive periodical group supervision/consultation with other student interns placed throughout the BHSD programs.
Q: How many interns do you take every cohort/year?
A: We plan to have 10 to 15 student interns throughout the BHSD department.
Q: Can I do an internship at more than one site/program/agency?
A: No. In order for us to train you for a future clinician in BHSD system, we need you to dedicate your effort in one program. We do not do “dual sites” or “split internship”.
Student internship compensation
The Behavioral Health Services Department (BHSD) offers WET (Workforce, Education and Training) stipends for qualified interns. We hope to expand number of BHSD clinicians to help diverse, unserved, and underserved populations of Santa Clara County.
All final year MSW/MFT/PCC students are encouraged to apply. According to the Board of Behavioral Science (BBS) rule, MFT students can only get paid "stipend designed to encourage demographically underrepresented groups to enter the MFT profession or improve recruitment and retention in underserved region or settings. These stipends maybe paid to the trainee through a 1099."
Click here for Student Stipend flyer
Successful applicants for the training stipends must meet criteria 1, 2, 3, and at least one of the other listed criteria below:
- Must meet the Internship Eligibility Criteria. Please review those criteria.
- Commit to working in a public behavioral health agency in County of Santa Clara for one year after graduation.*
- Be in “good academic standing” and maintain “good academic standing” at the college/university degree program enrolled.
- Applicants who are bi-lingual or bi-lingual and bi-cultural and whose cultural background and experience are from one of the threshold languages (Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Farsi, and Tagalog) or other identified emerging language of clients served by the public mental health system.
- Applicants who have experience with diverse backgrounds, but provide no language (foster care, youth, transition aged youth, older adults, developmentally challenged etc…).
- Applicants with at least 1-2 years of working or lived personal experience with populations that are considered underserved by our mental health system. Examples of these populations might include LGBTQ+ clients, homeless or physically disabled clients with serious mental illness.
- Applicants’ current knowledge or study of unserved and underserved cultural and linguistic populations. If you were previously awarded a training stipend for one full year, you are not eligible for another stipend. Additionally, a student who is receiving another type of stipend from a different funding source is not eligible to receive this WET stipend.
*Qualifying programs include both county BHSD and agencies that receive BHSD county funds to provide behavioral health services. Look at link below to see list of qualifying programs. This excludes any services in correctional facilities. If a student demonstrates due diligence in searching for employment in a public behavioral health entity and is unable to secure employment within the guidelines of the commitment, an appeal process is available.
Check here for Qualifying Agencies.