My Experience as a Wellness Coach Intern at Calm Clinic

My internship at Calm Clinic has greatly benefitted my future career not only because it has taught me how to work with others in a physical environment, but also because it was directly connected to what I would like to pursue in my graduate studies and beyond. After having completed this internship, I have grown infinitely more comfortable working in person, something I did not have the opportunity to do before because I graduated high school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. I have also gotten the chance to connect with many of the patients that came in for their treatments, which has better prepared me for interactions involving mental health and wellness that may arise in the future. Since I want to go into counseling, the skills I observed my coworkers utilize during their treatments will only help me as well, both in my graduate studies and in my overall career path.

My internship directly ties into my major of study. I am majoring in psychology and minoring in human services, and my ultimate goal is to go to graduate school for clinical mental health counseling. Interning at a psychiatry clinic has allowed me to explore topics relating to mental health and wellness on a more personal level. I have also gotten a more hands-on experience when it comes to working with patients at a mental health clinic, which directly relates to the kind of career path I’d like to pursue in the future.

I don’t think I needed any specific educational requirements beforehand to be successful in this internship. Having prior knowledge of mental illnesses and being familiar with their symptoms was certainly very helpful, but I wouldn’t say it was required. Someone would need to be well-versed in technology and in programs such as Microsoft Office in order to work such a technology-heavy job, however. So, while I wouldn’t say there were any educational requirements required to complete this internship, I would say that being familiar with technology and being familiar with various mental health issues definitely helped me complete it more confidently.

I am very interested in pursuing a career as a counselor after completing my internship. I have grown to like the calm environment that was present in Calm Clinic’s office, and can certainly see myself working in that kind of environment in the future. I liked connecting with patients and getting to know them as they continued to come into the office, and I feel like the environment that Calm Clinic facilitated made that very easy. Furthermore, while I wasn’t able to directly see any patients, I can imagine what it would be like after having taken multiple courses dealing with mental health counseling. Overall, this internship only strengthened my passion for counseling.

Experiences like this internship would definitely be useful in securing a full-time position in this field. Before starting my internship, I also had to complete a HIPAA training to be cleared to work with the information of so many patients, as that information needed to be handled responsibly and confidentially. Skills like collaboration and communication are very important in working in a field like this, due to the counselor having to interact with so many different types of patients. When it comes to education, I believe that taking classes related to counseling and psychology will greatly benefit anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in this field.

One piece of advice I have for any incoming interns is to ask a lot of questions, and to not be afraid to ask them. I felt so supported throughout the entirety of my internship because my supervisors and coworkers were always there to help me whenever I needed it. Without the confidence to ask questions, I would not have been as successful in this internship as I was. There is no shame in asking questions so that you can make sure you get a task done correctly! That’s better than risking completing it incorrectly because no questions were asked.