Operation Jump Start ("OJS") is seeking MSW Interns, in either their first or second year of their MSW Program, who need to complete their practicum/internship hours.
Our MSW interns are assigned primarily to our 1-1 counseling program, meeting with a caseload of clients (ages 13-22) anywhere from once per week to once per month, with frequency of sessions decided depending on the severity of their mental health issues. Sometimes we bring in parents, siblings, spouses, etc. to do group sessions with a client if appropriate and client agrees. Caseloads typically range from 10-20 clients per MSW intern, depending on the number of MSW interns we have at a time. We typically have about 300 clients at OJS and typically have anywhere from 8-15 MSW interns. OJS also has staff that works with clients when we don't have our maximum number of MSW interns.
Clients have mental health issues that range pretty widely, but here are some common ones: Anxiety, depression (including suicidality), eating disorders, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, ODD, CD, and the occasional personality disorder. Some have extensive trauma histories, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, child abuse, and domestic violence.
Each year, our MSW interns are given their caseload for the year, they schedule initial sessions with clients, and they first go over consents with clients (and their parents if client is under age 18). Then, parents leave session and a comprehensive psychosocial assessment is done to gather information, build rapport, and help to identify treatment goals. MSW interns work collaboratively with clients to come up with treatment goals. MSW interns must do both case notes (to document contacts/contact attempts) and clinical notes (to document sessions). We provide training on all of the disorders listed above, including signs, symptoms, assessment tools by disorder, criteria for diagnosis, and common treatment modalities for each disorder. In terms of treatment modalities, we most often use CBT and DBT, but often weave in things like Solution-Focused Therapy and strengths-based perspectives, along with motivational interviewing, etc., which we also provide training on. We have a number of assessments for the various disorders, all the free ones we've been able to amass, which MSW interns are able to use and can be trained to use (GAD-7, SCAARED, PHQ-9, SCOFF, Yale-Brown OCD Scale, UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, ACES, Safe-T Suicide Assessment, CSSR, ASQ Suicide Risk Screening Tool, etc.).
MSW interns meet with the MSW Internship Field Instructor, Tara Buckley, for individual supervision for one hour per week and are able to call anytime if something comes up. (Ms. Buckley is always on-call). They also attend group supervision one hour per week, alternating each week between Ms. Buckley and the Program Manager, Maria Alvarez. We also provide training for our MSW interns on things like child abuse & neglect, communication, family dynamics, domestic violence, grief & loss, critical race theory, LGBTQ+ allyship, common issues for clinicians (transference, countertransference, etc.), schizophrenia & delusions, mental health stigma, bullying/friendships, substance abuse, trauma-informed care, and termination with clients. Training is usually done in individual supervision and sometimes in group supervision, if there's time.
MSW interns have the opportunity to do other things at the agency if they are interested in macro work (fund development & grant writing, planning/holding community events, building resources, psychoeducational groups with juniors and seniors in high school, mental health workshops for clients and their families, etc.), but their focus is primarily on clinical mental health work. The agency also offers mentoring, tutoring, etc. for clients, but our MSW interns are not typically part of those programs, although they may interact with them if their clients do.
The goal of the agency is to provide prospective first-generation college students with wraparound services (mentoring, tutoring, counseling, groups, workshops, events, etc.) to help them get through high school, get into college, and get through their bachelor's degree. Clients are usually with us from high school through their first degree in college.