Internship Opportunities

Contra Costa Behavioral Health provides an array of integrated mental health programs and services for children, adolescents, young adults, adults and older adults with severe and persistent mental illness. Residents of Contra Costa County served by the Behavioral Health Division belong to a variety of cultural/ethnic backgrounds as well as socioeconomic strata. The programs and services provided by the division are offered through a system of care that includes Mental Health staff, Alcohol and Other Drug Services, Community Based Organizations, and a network of private providers.

Intern and Trainee placement opportunities are available in the adult, older adult and children's programs serving a geographical area within the county. These opportunities are for individuals as part of their graduate school curriculum. Each placement site that is currently available is described in detail below. Students accepted to the program may be eligible to be hired as Student Interns and receive an hourly pay.

Training

The Contra Costa Behavioral Health intern and trainee program is geared towards preparing clinicians to practice in the public mental health system. We enroll and train approximately 25-30 doctoral and masters-level psychology interns and trainees each year. We provide one didactic seminar each month on specialized mental health topics in which all interns/trainees attend together (Third Wednesday 9am-12pm). Weekly didactic trainings and/or group supervision focused on specific populations served at each site takes place as well. All interns/trainees are provided at least one hour of individual supervision each week. Trainings related to working with diverse populations while practicing cultural humility are incorporated throughout our curriculum.

How to apply

Please check the following listings for detailed information about the available placement sites and the application procedure. Contact the Intern Coordinators at each site directly for questions related to that placement site. Beginning in January 2023, we will accept applications for placements from September 2023 to June 2024. At this time, we are able to accept applicants who are currently enrolled in a graduate program or those graduating after May/June 2023. If you have graduated or will graduate prior to May/June 2023, we encourage you to apply for full-time employment with the county under the Mental Health Clinical Specialist classification.

Note: We accept interns/trainees from many graduate programs in the Bay Area, but no online programs. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that the clinical placement in Contra Costa Behavioral Health meets the requirements of the academic program and their respective licensing board.

For General Information

Erika Arevalo, LMFT
Mental Health Program Supervisor
Countywide Intern Training Coordinator
Contra Costa County Behavioral Health
2425 Bisso Lane, Suite 200
Concord, CA 94520
Phone: 925-348-0846
Email: erika.sanchez@cchealth.org