About Me
My name is Chelsea Washington and I am an intern here at the Counseling Center Group. I am currently in my second year of my MSW program at NYU Silver School of Social Work. In the Social Work program, the first year is our generalist practice and second year is specialized practice. Last year, I was placed in PATH Crisis Respite program and Brooks community residence. In this placement I interacted with guests/ residents who have been struggling to manage their mental health symptoms. After my experience at this facility, I grew to be further invested in gaining more clinical experience by working in a more clinical role to help those who are struggling to manage mental health symptoms. While searching for my next placement, my employer (clinical psychologist Dr. Joanna Fava) provided assistance in finding the Counseling Center Group. While doing research on CCG and their core values, I found their mission statement and core values to align with my own. Additionally, as an intern, I find that most of the work we do often goes unnoticed so I appreciated that CCG placed a spotlight on all of their interns and give them a chance to shine and showcase their achievements.
The CCG Experience
Upon first entering CCG, interns are at the start of acclimating to their new environment, responsibilities, and any surge of emotions that comes with it. It is certainly a dialectic of balancing both the excitement and nervousness. Anticipating the future, while also staying grounded in the present. It was also a relief to hear the shared sentiments of others at CCG and learn from their experiences and current challenges. What’s most comforting as being an intern here at CCG is that we have an exceeding amount of support from a handful of clinicians to assist us in this adjustment. A part of growing within this environment is having the courage to not only advocate for your clients, but for yourself as well. Within the several meeting interns are expected to attend, we have the opportunity and are encouraged to voice both our concerns AND our opinions. It is an environment for us to practice exercising empathy and validation with the other clinicians’. It is relieving to have a support system around us that understands the challenges of balancing practicum duties, school assignments, and outside jobs. Here at CCG, us interns are in the caring hands of a village of authentic and genuine clinicians.
Benefits of CCG
For any future interns or licensed clinicians interested in joining the CCG team, I lend to you my experience and journey as an intern and student. As you may know internships are a necessary component towards licensure. The advantages of joining CCG in this case is that not only are you gaining clinical hours, but you are also in the perfect position for referrals. By being around clinicians with such a wide range of specialities, there are a plethora of resources at your fingertips. Here at CCG, everyone has an equal opportunity to not only grow, but flourish as a clinician
