Internship Opportunities

Addiction Research and Treatment Services offers internship opportunities to graduate-level students in psychology, counseling, social work, addiction counseling, and marriage & family therapy programs. Students will have opportunities to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds. They will have histories of substance abuse and other co-occurring mental health disorders. The program helps students develop proficiency in clinical evaluation and assessment, providing individual and group therapy, as well as other case management services.

If you are interested in internship opportunities at ARTS, please send a message to arts.intern@ucdenver.edu. To help expedite the process, please include the following information:

The school you are attending
The degree you are seeking
Cover letter, include the program you are interested in (see below)
Your resume/CV
Internship requirements

Adult Residential Internship Opportunities

Therapeutic Community Mental Health Counselor Internship

The Haven and Peer I Therapeutic Communities both offer internship opportunities. Students electing to undergo this internship will typically become the mental health counselor for three individual clients at a time. They will conduct all aspects of treatment including clinical assessment using a bio-psych-social framework. Students will also conduct a diagnostic interview process, co-facilitating individual therapy using live observation with a mental health clinician, and providing case-management for those clients.

Students will learn skills in addictions counseling and provide supportive counseling services to those clients. Internship students will also co-facilitate weekly group therapy using treatment models. This includes but is not limited to, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy as well as supporting other groups conducted within the treatment program. Students will also learn the Therapeutic Community treatment model and provide behavior management in the milieu setting. Supervision will be provided by a MSW, LCSW, or LPC on a daily to weekly basis, with ongoing training from milieu counselors as well.

Adolescent Program Internship Opportunities

Adolescent Milieu Drug and Alcohol Counselor Internship

Students electing to undergo this internship at Synergy will typically become the counselor for three adolescent clients at a time, conducting all aspects of case-management for those cases. Internship students will attend a weekly multidisciplinary staff meeting and monthly staffing. They will discuss their clients with staff and other outside agencies (probation, social services, Denver Juvenile TASC). Additionally, they will write a monthly report on their clients. Students will learn the group process by helping to co-facilitate groups on a weekly basis. They will learn skills in addictions counseling and provide individual counseling services as needed on a case by case basis. Students will also provide behavior management in the milieu setting. Supervision will be provided by a MSW, LCSW, or LPC on a daily to weekly basis, with ongoing training from drug/alcohol counselors as well.

Adolescent Family Therapist Internship

Students choosing this internship with Synergy would have the opportunity to provide clinic-based and/or home-based family therapy to a caseload of up to three clients and their families. This internship also includes opportunities for conducting clinical intakes or clinical pre-screenings. It also includes individual therapy with clients as needed or clinically recommended. Students will be an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team approach to client/family treatment and would thus participate in weekly staff meetings and regular case conferences. They will take a leading role in collaborating the efforts of all systemic providers (social services, TASC, probation) involved with the client. Students will facilitate a monthly staffing to discuss their clients with staff and other outside agencies, in addition to writing a monthly report on their clients. Supervision will be provided by a MSW, or LCSW, or LPC on a daily to weekly basis.

Multisystemic Family Therapist Internship

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an exciting, specific type of family therapy currently being widely used in Colorado. Therapists typically have very low caseloads, which allows them to provide intensive, home- and community-based services to families. These services include up to daily contact via individual and family counseling, case management, staffing with other services providers (Denver Juvenile TASC, social services, probation, school), advocacy, etc.

Students choosing this internship with Synergy will be paired with an experienced MST therapist. They will to help provide MST services to a caseload of up to three clients and their families. They will learn about the MST documentation and the supervision process. Students will also receive an orientation to drug and alcohol treatment principles. They will assist in providing individual substance abuse counseling to clients. Other responsibilities might include clinical intakes or clinical pre-screening. Students will typically receive one-hour of individual supervision and one-and-a-half hours of team supervision per week provided by a MSW, LCSW, or LPC.

Adult Outpatient Internships

Students interested in this internship opportunity, will be placed at one of five outpatient facilities. Students will be responsible for interviewing clients for admission to outpatient drug/alcohol treatment. They will assess the need for ongoing treatment or referral to other agencies, and recommendations for the course of action to referral sources. They will carry a small caseload and will be responsible for writing and carrying out individualized treatment plans for clients. Students will also conduct (sometimes as a co-therapist) individual, group, and family counseling sessions. They will document these sessions in progress notes. Student will be responsible for communication with family and other providers regarding aftercare planning. Student will be introduced to medication assisted therapies (methadone, Suboxone, Antabuse, Vivitrol, and Naltrexone), and will coordinate treatment with medical providers, as appropriate. Students will typically receive one-hour of individual supervision per week provided by a LCSW or LPC.