Internship in Applied Psychology: exciting insights and a first-hand experience report

In the Applied Psychology B.Sc. Bachelor programme, it is a fixed part of the curriculum to complete a mandatory internship between the fifth and sixth semester. During this time, students have the opportunity to gain valuable practical experiences and apply their theoretical knowledge in a real work environment. But how does such an internship take shape? What challenges and what insights does it bring?

Sophie Placht, student of Applied Psychology, successfully completed her internship and gives us exciting insights into her experiences and findings.

Sophie, where did you complete your psychology internship and what institution did you get to know? – I did my internship at Neuhland. Neuhland offers various help offerings for children and young people in crisis situations. These include a crisis flat, two therapeutic residential groups and two counselling centres. The counselling centres are aimed at young people up to age 25 who are in an acute crisis. A particular focus of Neuhland's work is on accompanying young people with suicidal thoughts or self-injurious behaviour.

Which tasks could you take on during your internship? – Throughout the entire internship period, I was active in one of the counselling centres in Friedrichshain. I was allowed to observe in initial conversations and gain insights into the work of the crisis hotline by accompanying the staff in the phone duties. I regularly took part in supervisions, intervisions and team meetings. A highlight was the Children's Rights Congress, where I could actively participate and co-design a workshop.

What was the Children's Rights Congress about? – Organised and financed by "Socius". Eight partner schools sent interested pupils, totalling around 200 pupils. Various organisations were invited that work with children and where children's rights play a central role – among them Neuhland, the counselling service "Berliner Jungs" for boys and young men who have experienced sexualised violence, and the "Network Children's Rights". These offered workshops to educate children about counselling and support offers as well as their rights.

What should one consider when planning an internship at Neuhland? – Important to note is that the focus of the counselling centres is on self-injurious behaviour and suicidality in children and young people. Although not every client comes with these topics, they make up a large part of clients. Therefore, good demarcation is important so as not to take the stressful content home. The team supports very well and accompanies closely, so you feel well supported at any time.

What did you learn in counselling children and young people, and what was the biggest challenge? – Through insights into counselling work with children and young people in crisis situations, I could gather valuable experiences in crisis intervention. It became clear to me how this special form of counselling differs from others. I developed my own therapeutic stance in dealing with suicidality and self-injurious behaviour and could reduce inhibitions about these sensitive topics. The biggest challenge was not taking the stressful topics home. It was not always easy for me to maintain my personal psychohygiene even after long working days. Nevertheless, I learned to take good care of myself and to get support when I needed to talk.

To what extent did the internship influence your professional orientation? – Because we have already had several counselling modules and have practised counselling situations in role plays, I found it particularly exciting now to experience this work in practice. Already before my internship I had the wish to work in counselling – and my experiences at Neuhland's counselling centre have further consolidated this decision. I also gained first insights into working with children and young people. Through these experiences I recognised that I can imagine a professional future more in counselling children and young people than adults.

Dear Sophie, we warmly thank you for this exciting interview. With her insights, Sophie Placht has not only provided a valuable experience report for prospective interns, but also shown what opportunities and challenges an internship in the field of psychological counselling brings. We wish Sophie continued success in her studies and on her professional path!