At Walker I learned how to help children with lifelong challenges. But I also learned a lot about myself. Working there was the best decision I ever made.
Internship Opportunities
Since Walker was created in 1960, interns from nearby colleges, universities, and partner agencies have enriched the quality of our programs and helped to improve the lives of generations of children struggling with severe challenges. Our unique milieu offers a continuously evolving, state-of-the-art training program with a wide range of learning opportunities through graduate and undergraduate internships.
Graduate-Level Internships
At the graduate level, internship opportunities representing the fields of social work, psychology (doctoral level practicum), child study (master’s level LMHC and child development), nursing (MSN), and psychiatry (fellowships) are all available for the academic year.
Trainees participate in clinical work with children and families, including individual and family therapy, clinical assessment, social skills and issue-oriented group therapy, and milieu consultation. Several seminars are held weekly to expose trainees to the range of theoretical, multidisciplinary approaches offered at Walker.
Application requirements vary according to field of study, but candidates typically must submit their curriculum vitae, three letters of reference, and a writing sample. For more information about graduate level positions and specific application requirements, please contact Madeline Steinberg, Psy.D., Director of Professional Development, by e-mail or by telephone at 781-292-2104.
Undergraduate-Level Internships
For undergraduates, internships for college and university credit are available in:
- The Walker Day School Program
- The Walker Intensive Residential Treatment Program
- The Walker Intensive Community-Based Acute Treatment program (ICBAT)
Internship possibilities include co-leading activity-based groups for small numbers of children, working one-on-one with a child or group of children toward improvement of academic skills, and helping facilitate developmentally appropriate and normalizing experiences for children (such as reading before bedtime, simple cooking projects, etc.). All internships are supervised by senior child care workers or supervisory staff.
Walker day school program interns participate as members of treatment team in a school program for children with serious emotional and behavioral difficulties. They focus on social, recreational, and behavioral needs of children and participate in the planning and implementing of developmentally appropriate activities and programming for the children in their assigned classroom. Interns also attend to administrative functions of childcare, including actively participating in supervision and professional development opportunities offered at Walker.
Walker residential treatment interns and ICBAT program interns participate as members of a treatment team in Walker’s residential program to meet the social, recreational, behavioral, and educational needs of children exhibiting severe emotional and behavioral difficulties. Interns are part of the planning and implementation of social and recreational activities for children, helping to provide a safe and therapeutic milieu that meets the physical and emotional needs of children at Walker. Interns also assist with the implementation of treatment protocols established by a multi-disciplinary team, actively participating in supervision and professional development opportunities offered at Walker.
Some additional information about undergraduate internships:
- All interns will be required to work a minimum of 8 hours per week
- Internships are only offered for fall/spring semesters and must be at least one semester long. This allows for less disruption to the children in our programs.
- All interns interested in a fall internship must apply by the first week of March.
- All interns interested in a spring internship must apply by the first week of October.
- In addition all undergraduate interns will be invited to attend all of our monthly curriculum trainings designed for our child care workers
- Currently, all undergraduate internships are based on our campus in Needham, Massachusetts, which is not “T” accessible. Prospective internship candidates should plan their transportation arrangements accordingly.
For more information on internship opportunities at Walker, contact Anne McGrath to be directed to the appropriate person. Please note that all undergraduate internships for summer and fall 2013 have been filled. Please contact Anne in October if interested in an internship for spring 2014.
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