“Learning in More Ways Than I Could Have Hoped For”

I’m a student at Boise State University and they have a program where you can apply to an internship for school credit at various businesses around the Boise community. As I’m getting my degree in psychology, Sunderlin Behavioral Intervention looked like it would be a great fit for me. After applying and getting accepted, I didn’t know much of what to expect from the experience but was excited to learn about ABA and what behavioral therapy would look like. After starting my internship at Sunderlin, I quickly realized how much care and effort the staff puts into their work with the kids and with showing me, as an intern, the ways in which they approach the clients needs. I’m grateful for such an open and supportive supervisor and staff here at Sunderlin where I feel that I can always ask questions and learn more about behavioral intervention.

As an intern here, I’ve had the opportunity to do a variety of tasks that give me a good idea of what working in this field would look like. I shadow the behavioral therapists which gives me a good chance to practice collecting data and asking questions about the different skills they’re working on with the client. As well as seeing different approaches the therapists take for different clients. I also work closely with another Boise State Intern, Grace, and we plan fun activities weekly to engage the clients in and practice a variety of things like social skills. Another piece of the internship that’s been fundamental in learning the skills of a behavioral therapist is the Registered Behavioral Technician training Grace and I are taking online that’ll lead to a certification. The topics covered in the online training have been extremely applicable to what I’ve experienced in the clinic. Learning about the tools and skills in the training and seeing them executed in the clinic has been really valuable in the learning process.

After being here for about half the semester now, I have really enjoyed how much I’ve been able to learn and take away from this environment. With more projects and time in the clinic ahead, I am eager to see what more I can learn and how to apply myself in new ways to make a difference in the clients lives.