Clinical Internship Programs
We Are Now Accepting 2026-2027 Internship Applications
There are 2 Clinical Internship Tracks
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General Training Program
For our general training program, you will:
Have the opportunity to learn skills in individual, couples, family, and group counseling for children, adults and older adults.
You will be working in the following settings:
In-office and virtual therapy to grief clients
In-home and in-office therapy to older adults
Co-facilitation of group therapy
Phone counseling to callers of the agency’s 24-hour telephone crisis line
Therapy to school clients in the elementary, middle and high school setting
Important Dates:
The 2026-2027 internship program will start on August 28, 2026 and depending on the degree, will end May-July.
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Organizing and Responding to Crises for Alameda youth (ORCA) Program
For our suicide specific ORCA Program you will:
Become trained in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS) approach, and provide CAMS to 3-4 individual clients.
Can travel and provide services in the community
Co facilitate one 8 week therapy group
Is available to begin internship training starting in July to attend crisis line training
Support any community presentations, if needed
Attend weekly coordination meeting when possible
Important Dates:
Summer training occurs July- August. Interns receive ORCA clients in September.
General Internship Track
About the general internship
What we’re looking for
Intern Responsibilities
Our clinical training program is a comprehensive, in-person internship program for people working towards an advanced degree in the mental health field. Our program starts at the beginning of the academic year and requires a nine-month commitment. During our diverse training program, you will have the opportunity to learn skills in individual, couples, family, and group counseling for children, adults and older adults and will be working in the following settings:
In-office and virtual therapy to grief clients
In-home and in-office therapy to older adults
Co-facilitation of group therapy
Phone counseling to callers of the agency’s 24-hour telephone crisis line
Therapy to school clients in the elementary, middle and high school setting
We are looking for candidates who are interested in learning about suicide prevention, committed to personal and professional growth, take a social justice approach to the work, and are able to ask for support when needed. Interns who successfully complete our program gain valuable skills that will serve them for their entire professional lives.
Interns will have the following responsibilities:
Completion of the crisis line training
Able to provide a minimum of 6 client hours (e.g., individual, group, or family therapy)
Commitment to attending individual and group supervision, along with a weekly two hour didactic.
Able to provide services in client’s homes throughout Alameda County
Maintaining timely documentation
Please note that group supervision, crisis line training, and didactics are all in person.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The 2026-2027 internship program will start on August 28, 2026 and depending on the degree, will end May-July.
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Each year we have a cohort of 12-16 interns who are studying social work and clinical/counseling psychology. The interns are divided into 2 groups for supervision, but attend Didactics together, which is a good time to get to know the rest of the cohort.
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The Agency’s supervisors are a mix of staff members and volunteers, and come from richly varied clinical backgrounds. CSS offers ongoing training and supervision to the supervisors.
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We have supervisors who are licensed as LCSW, LMFT, PsyD and MD.
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Interns receive two stipends during the internship, one in December and one at the end of the internship, upon meeting all caseload and documentation requirements. Each stipend is $1000 each, with a possible total of $2000 for the year.
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We accept applications on a rolling basis.
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No. Didactics and group supervision take place in our offices in North Oakland and are mandatory. Some clinical services are offered to clients virtually, but most take place in our offices or at our clients’ homes.
ORCA Internship Track
About ORCA internship
What we’re looking for
Intern Responsibilities
Our ORCA track is a suicide- focused, in-person internship program for people working towards an advanced degree in the mental health field. Our program starts with intensive training sessions during the summer to prepare clinicians to provide direct care at the beginning of the academic year and requires an eleven-month commitment. Interns will be given the tools they need to learn the evidenced based framework of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), Crisis Intervention skills, and weave in practices of Narrative Therapy, Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), and Attachment Based Family Therapy (ABFT), among others. You will be working in the following settings:
In office and virtual therapy
In home and in community settings
Co-facilitation of group therapy
Phone counseling to callers of the agency’s 24-hour telephone crisis line
Therapy to school clients in the elementary, middle and high school setting
We are looking for candidates who are nearing the end of their Master’s in Social Work degree or doctoral candidates who are interested in adding suicide focused care to their current clinical experience. More specifically candidates who are interested in learning about suicide prevention, committed to personal and professional growth, take a social justice approach to the work, and are able to ask for support when needed. Interns who successfully complete our program gain valuable skills that will serve them for their entire professional lives.
Interns will have the following responsibilities:
Completion of the crisis line and clinical training starting in the summer
Able to commit to a 4 hour weekly shift on the 24/7 crisis line
Provide a minimum of 6 client hours (e.g., case management, individual, group, or family therapy)
Commitment to attending individual and group supervision, along with a weekly two hour didactic.
Able to provide services in client’s homes throughout Alameda County
Maintaining timely documentation
Please note that group supervision, crisis line training, and didactics are all in person.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The 2026-2027 internship program will start on July 16th, 2026 and depending on the degree, will end May-June 2027.
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Each year we have a limited cohort of 3 interns studying social work and clinical/counseling psychology. The ORCA interns join the general internship cohorts for didactics together, which is a good time to get to know the rest of the cohort.
-
The Agency’s supervisors are staff members who come from richly varied clinical backgrounds. CSS offers ongoing training and supervision to the supervisors.
-
We have supervisors who are licensed as LCSW, PsyD.
-
Interns receive two stipends during the internship, one in December and one at the end of the internship, upon meeting all caseload and documentation requirements. Each stipend is $1000 each, with a possible total of $2000 for the year.
-
We accept applications on a rolling basis.
-
No. Didactics and group supervision take place in our offices in North Oakland and are mandatory. Some clinical services are offered to clients virtually, but most take place in our offices or at our clients’ homes.