Agency Description

WILA is a socially conscious nonprofit serving the diverse communities of Los Angeles by providing high quality psychotherapy to those otherwise unable to afford long-term psychological care. We see adults 18+ in long-term individual, couple, adult family, and group therapy. Our primary theoretical orientation is psychodynamic, however, we maintain a flexible approach to working with each person who comes to our clinic.

Agency Mission

WILA is at the forefront of a therapy movement, changing the ways people are treated when they need help but are held back by financial, cultural and systemic barriers. WILA serves the diverse communities of Los Angeles by providing affordable high-quality psychotherapy services while training the next generation of socially conscious mental health professionals.

Population

The clients who come to our clinic reflect the broad spectrum of cultural and ethnic diversity of the Los Angeles community. Most are financially struggling members of the working and middle class. We only see adults 18+ but we see a full spectrum of ages. 10% of clinic population are seen as couples or in adult family therapy.

Staff (#, Degree, Prof. Lic.)

# of Psychologists: 10

Required days and times

-Didactic Seminars: Monday 10AM-3:00PM, Tuesday 10AM-3PM (all interns participate in 6-8 hours of didactic seminars per week, the precise timing of classes will change each quarter but will always occur during the above time frames, unused hours within these time frames may be used as intern sees fit) -Group Supervision: Wednesday 2-3PM for Part-time interns/Thursday 3-4PM for Full-time interns -Interns who stay a 2nd year participate in our Marketing/Professional Identity Development track and meet Mondays 3-4PM -All interns must be available to see some clients during the evenings (5-8pm) -Full-time interns must be available to see clients Thursdays and Fridays

Training and Education Offered

Our internship is primarily geared toward training students in how to do long-term psychotherapy either in community mental health settings or private practice. Interns will carry a full caseload of clients to meet with weekly or sometimes 2-3x/week as needed. Interns work closely the Executive and Clinical Directors (both licensed psychologists and psychoanalysts) and with several individual supervisors each who are seasoned clinicians (see Supervision section for # of hours of supervision). Interns also participate in weekly group supervision in order to learn from and support one another as a cohort. We encourage and facilitate a supportive and warm cohort experience. Interns participate in a weekly Intake Meeting with the Clinical Director where they learn how to assess a client's fit for therapy and begin to conceptualize and formulate a diagnosis. Seminars on Theory and Technique include: Assessment; Clinical use of Dreams; Core Issues in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy; Couples Treatment; Object Relations Theories; Treatment of Eating Disorders; Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders; Treatment of Primitive Mental States; Treatment of Trauma; Theory specific courses including Kohut, Winnicott, Klein are offered variably. 6-8 hours of seminars weekly.

X-Cultural Training

Responsibilities

Interns are expected to set and manage their weekly schedule of clients while also regularly attending all required meetings (supervisions, seminars, intake meeting, etc.) Interns are expected to follow all policies clearly laid out WILA's training manual and those of the CA Board of Psychology. Interns are expected to communicate openly with WILA Supervisors and staff when any concerns or needs arise. WILA is committed to helping students perform successfully during internship.

Prerequisites

Application Procedures

Additional Comments

We really enjoy this process and want to genuinely begin to get to know you. Of course interviews are always anxiety provoking, but we hope you will be able to be yourself and let your personality shine through in addition to your professional preparedness!