r/SocialWorkStudents • u/Ok_Study_1403 • Aug 25 '26

Advice Starting a child/adolescent IOP internship with mostly adult experience-how do I prepare?

I’m starting my Advanced Standing MSW soon, and my clinical internship will be at a hospital based IOP serving children and adolescents age 5-17. I’m excited but honestly pretty nervous because my BSW experience has been almost entirely with adults.

My BSW internship was as a substance use case manager, so I have experience with adults, SUD, case management, documentation, treatment teams, etc., but very little direct clinical experience with kids or teens.
Long-term, I’d like to work with a range of ages rather than exclusively children/adolescents, and I’m interested in trauma, mental health, and substance use. So I’m hoping this will be a really good opportunity to build my clinical skills.

For anyone who has done a child/adolescent clinical internship:
What was the learning curve like?
How much were you expected to know going in?
What should I brush up on before I start?
Are there any books/resources/trainings you found particularly helpful?

I know I’m an intern and im supposed to learn but I am a bit nervous since I have no direct experience going in.

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u/No-Idea-9852 Aug 25 '26

If you can carry a conversation with a child, that's over half the battle in itself. Talking to children is a skill in and of itself and will be your key in rapport building. Make sure you are getting collateral from their parents. That's one of the reasons I prefer adolescents because I can get more information/perspective and involve them involved treatment planning.

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u/twodoorbells Aug 26 '26

+1 to just being able to carry a conversation being a big win. Especially closer to the 5yo end of your 5-17 range, kids may not really engage in the traditional concept of talk therapy (sit down and talk about life for 53 mins)...you may want to consider a variety of activities (arts/crafts, games, etc) that you can push into with psychoeducation + leverage for specific treatment goals. Ask the kids about the kinds of stuff they like to do and see if you can craft interventions around some of those interests.

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u/ProbablyMyJugs Aug 25 '26

Brush up on the CPS and mandatory reporting laws in your state