Verified by 
Since most states require mental health professionals to complete a clinical internship as part of their graduate degree, chances are good that you could be faced with the question, “Are you okay with having an intern?” While there are many advantages to having an intern as a therapist, there are also some significant disadvantages to consider. Here are a few points to consider before you agree to have an intern counsel your child.
Less Experience
The most obvious disadvantage of having an intern counsel your child is that interns have little or no experience providing mental health counseling. This means that it could take longer to arrive at an accurate diagnosis or that there will be some trial and error in finding treatment interventions that are effective for your child.
It may also take longer for an intern to establish a therapeutic relationship with your child, although interns with prior experience working with children (such as babysitting, volunteer work, or childcare jobs) may have little to no difficulty in this area.
Additionally, you are more likely to have a lengthy intake session and receive a few extra calls asking for further information as your child’s counselor learns how to conduct a full intake assessment and complete all paperwork necessary for the agency they are interning at.
Limited Specialty Training
Because interns are still learning the basics of mental health counseling, they typically do not receive advanced training in specialized forms of therapy, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, and dialectical behavior therapy, unless their internship site specifically offers it.
If it is important to you that your child receives a specific type of therapy, you should ask about the school of therapy your clinical intern is training in (called a “therapeutic approach”) before you accept an intern as a therapist. Keep in mind, however, that some therapeutic approaches are quite similar, and that a significant portion of the effectiveness of therapy comes from the strength of the relationship between a client and their clinician, regardless of the type of therapy being practiced.
Less Familiar with Local Resources
Many students leave their hometowns to attend graduate school, and may not be familiar with the resources available to members of the community in which they are interning. This means that if you choose to have an intern counsel your child, you may need to do your own homework on local food banks, crisis shelters, therapeutic after-school programs, reduced cost summer camps, financial assistance programs, or supplementary mental health services offered at your child’s counseling agency, such as case management, in-home therapy and respite care.
Some communities have resource hotlines, such as 211, or walk-in resource centers where you can get this type of information. Or, if you have a case manager, you can ask him or her. Your clinical intern can, of course, look up local resources for you by your next session if you ask, but they are less likely than a clinician with more experience in your area to spontaneously recommend a local resource that your child or family might benefit from.
Juggling More Commitments
Although interns typically have a caseload that is a fraction of the size of a full-time clinician’s, they often must balance their internship hours with school and paid work obligations. This means that some clinical interns will be more exhausted than their paid counterparts, who have less on their plates outside of work.
It may help to keep the college school year calendar in mind when scheduling an intake with a clinical intern. Avoid late May, mid-December, and mid-August—the typical seasons for graduate school final exams—when an intern is most likely to be exhausted and distracted.
Additionally, a clinical intern may not be available for sessions during their school’s winter and spring breaks, depending on the terms of their internship. If scheduling during these times is a concern for you, you should ask about your clinician’s availability before agreeing to have an intern as a counselor.
Although there are some disadvantages to having an intern counsel your child, there are also several advantages you should consider. If you have a flexible schedule, are familiar with your local resources, and are not seeking a specialized form of therapy for your child, choosing to receive counseling from a clinical intern can be a great way to skip an agency’s waitlist or receive counseling for free.
Only you can weigh the pros and cons to decide whether or not having an intern as a counselor is the right choice for your child. Whether you choose an intern or a more seasoned clinician, the most important thing is that your child’s counselor is someone you can trust and be open with as you work together to meet your child’s needs.
LinkedIn Image Credit: Photographee.eu/Shutterstock
