OT Fieldwork Internship: Child Adolescent Mental Health

Opportunity Time Frame

• For OT fieldwork rotations this is a 12-week internship consisting of 40 hours per week beginning in January and running for 12 consecutive weeks. The start date is flexible.
• For OTA fieldwork rotations this is an 8 week internship consisting of 40 hours per week beginning in January and running for 8 consecutive weeks. The start date is flexible.

• Current student of an accredited Occupational Therapy Institution
• OT students are Master’s or Doctoral degree level and OTA students are Associates degree level
• Student must be enrolled at an academic Institution that has an existing contract with Sheppard Pratt.
• Students applying to this rotation will need a strong foundation in child/adolescent mental health theory and related OT theory and practice, clinical reasoning, foundations of evidence-based practice, group theory and application, and teaching/learning concepts and applications related to staff, client, and caregiver education.

Supervision to student ratio is group of students (6-10): 3 Clinical instructors (2 onsite, 1 off-site faculty). The educational philosophy of the OT program at the Residential Treatment Centers is based on an adult learning/self-reflective, group supervision model as a guide for these learning experiences. Personal and group supervision, both with on-site staff and with university faculty members via video-conferencing help to ensure that each individual’s learning needs can be met fully and in an individual manner.

Self-reflection, self-evaluation, and peer critique help to keep these fieldwork experiences focused on learning, not on teaching.

Student expectations include self-directed learning; independently seeking learning opportunities and feedback, flexible thinking and adaptability. Readiness to learn from all experiences. Patience and compassion when working with this challenging patient population.