What are the responsibilities and job description for the Family Therapist Intern position at Compass Health Center?
Weekly outpatient therapy isn't always enough, and a trip to the ER isn't the only answer. Patients and their families rely on Compass Health Center when in crisis – every day, we help people overcome depression, anxiety, suicidality, obsessions/compulsions, trauma, chronic pain, and other obstacles in order for our patients to live freely.
About This Role
We are seeking motivated students looking to learn and grow their clinical skills with the help of our talented clinical supervisors. This position is only available to students in the 2026-2027 internship year of a Master level clinical program (social work, counseling, psychology).
Our internship offers an in-depth opportunity to gain clinical experience in multiple treatment modalities and theoretical frameworks with a focus on group therapy, CBT, DBT, ACT and potential additional opportunities with assessment, ERP, trauma, individual work, family, art therapy, and more. Opportunities exist across all Compass clinical programs including Child, Adolescent, Young Adult/Adult, OCD/Complex Anxiety, and Trauma.
Click HERE to watch a short video about our internship program!
Our state-of-the-art facility in Oak Brook is modern, bright, and creates an inviting therapeutic space for both patients and employees alike.
What You'll Do
Who We Are
Compass Health Center is a recognized leader in crisis-level mental health, bringing passion, connection, and patient-centered care to the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient space (PHP/IOP). Based in Chicagoland, we serve hundreds of patients every day, ranging from ages 5 through adulthood, in our onsite facilities or through our flourishing virtual programming. Compass fills a critical gap between outpatient and inpatient care through an intermediate level of Behavioral Healthcare.
A few more things we want you to know: our values are super important to us, and hopefully will be to you, too. Cultural humility, teamwork, continuous improvement, connection, patient centered care, passion, innovation, and agility should be your power sources. Joining Compass is an opportunity to feel fulfilled through a joint mission towards healing our communities.
Benefits & Perks
We know that you will be dedicated to your purpose here. We look at that investment as a two-way street. We are proud to offer plenty of space for growth, and opportunities to pursue continuous development within our organization.
For eligible positions, our other benefits include: comprehensive medical/dental/vision plans, 401k program with company matching, generous PTO (including competitive parental leave after 1 year of employment), and continuous training through CEU seminars and volunteering opportunities.
What’s Next?
Compass is committed to cultivating diverse and dynamic teams who exude passion for their craft, so whether or not you check all the boxes, we encourage you to apply – we’d be grateful to hear from you!
About This Role
We are seeking motivated students looking to learn and grow their clinical skills with the help of our talented clinical supervisors. This position is only available to students in the 2026-2027 internship year of a Master level clinical program (social work, counseling, psychology).
Our internship offers an in-depth opportunity to gain clinical experience in multiple treatment modalities and theoretical frameworks with a focus on group therapy, CBT, DBT, ACT and potential additional opportunities with assessment, ERP, trauma, individual work, family, art therapy, and more. Opportunities exist across all Compass clinical programs including Child, Adolescent, Young Adult/Adult, OCD/Complex Anxiety, and Trauma.
Click HERE to watch a short video about our internship program!
Our state-of-the-art facility in Oak Brook is modern, bright, and creates an inviting therapeutic space for both patients and employees alike.
What You'll Do
- Facilitating family sessions to a caseload of assigned patients and their loved ones in conjunction with your supervisor.
- Providing guidance and support to patients and family members to help promote goals and encourage patients progress through the program.
- Providing direction to families about effective ways of supporting patients. Discussion topics and family therapy goals include safety plans, incorporating skill implementation, improving communication, creating contracts
- Working with various presenting issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosis, substance abuse.
- Assisting in supporting families through phone coaching and follow-up calls.
- Supporting patients in crisis.
- Coordinating with the treatment team. This involves attending rounds and other program meetings regularly as well as using the electronic systems of communication.
- Communicating with outside providers conducting family therapy for continuity of care.
- Collaborating with the treatment team in assessing the patient’s progress and need for higher level of care, stepdown, or discharge.
- Helping the family to coordinate an effective discharge plan.
- Providing individual support to patients as needed in collaboration with your supervisor.
- Contributing clinical observations and insights during interdisciplinary meetings.
- Charting progress of patients appropriately in the electronic medical record.
- Participating in clinical program meetings as needed.
- Working on projects focused on program improvement and the overall growth and development of Compass.
- Participating in a weekly family therapy meeting.
- Working on projects focused on program improvement and the overall growth and development of Compass.
- Support with programmatic needs (co-facilitating various groups within program - Skills, Process, Parent Support Group).
- Ability to demonstrate soft skills
- Excellent time management skills, including the ability to juggle multiple demands simultaneously in a fast paced and challenging environment
- Ability to maintain patient privacy at all times
- Desire to work in partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient setting with focus on the family therapy modality
- Completed coursework related to treatment for children/adolescents and/or young adults/adults, group therapy, marriage and family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or dialectical behavior therapy
- Start Date: August 2026
- End Date: May 2027 / to be determined in conjunction with program
- Weekly Schedule: To be determined in conjunction with program; 20-24 hours/week
- Provided by individuals with the following credentials: LCSW, LCPC, PhD, PsyD
- There will be individual and/or group supervision weekly (1 hour total).
- Monthly group supervision will occur with all student interns, post-doctoral interns, and first-year employees.
- Interns can expect a developmental style of supervision.
- Interns will be expected to be active participants in setting goals and expectations for their internship year, as well as able to complete the training activities and job functions as listed above.
- Ongoing quality improvement and professional development opportunities, including weekly opportunities in the Summer and monthly opportunities throughout the year
- Monthly didactic trainings with subject matter experts throughout the organization
- Additional guidance and supervision from multi-disciplinary staff, including psychiatrists, teachers, group therapists, primary therapists, family therapists and directors.
- Interns demonstrating exemplary performance will be strongly considered for future employment at Compass. Benefits for full-time Compass employees (non-interns) are below for reference.
- Please note: this is an unpaid internship
Who We Are
Compass Health Center is a recognized leader in crisis-level mental health, bringing passion, connection, and patient-centered care to the Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient space (PHP/IOP). Based in Chicagoland, we serve hundreds of patients every day, ranging from ages 5 through adulthood, in our onsite facilities or through our flourishing virtual programming. Compass fills a critical gap between outpatient and inpatient care through an intermediate level of Behavioral Healthcare.
A few more things we want you to know: our values are super important to us, and hopefully will be to you, too. Cultural humility, teamwork, continuous improvement, connection, patient centered care, passion, innovation, and agility should be your power sources. Joining Compass is an opportunity to feel fulfilled through a joint mission towards healing our communities.
Benefits & Perks
We know that you will be dedicated to your purpose here. We look at that investment as a two-way street. We are proud to offer plenty of space for growth, and opportunities to pursue continuous development within our organization.
For eligible positions, our other benefits include: comprehensive medical/dental/vision plans, 401k program with company matching, generous PTO (including competitive parental leave after 1 year of employment), and continuous training through CEU seminars and volunteering opportunities.
What’s Next?
Compass is committed to cultivating diverse and dynamic teams who exude passion for their craft, so whether or not you check all the boxes, we encourage you to apply – we’d be grateful to hear from you!