Local Psychology Internships

Internships with the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles provide direct services to patients, offering comfort and support.

Activity:
Possibilities include escorting patients to hospital appointments, playing with patients in waiting rooms, assisting in hospital playrooms and sometimes at the bedside (requires additional training), and reading to children (requires additional training).

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 7:30 PM
Saturday: 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM
Shifts are offered in two - four hour blocks. One-hundred hours are available over the course of one year.

Requirements:
Interns must be 18 or older, in good physical and mental health; able to communicate well in English; Personal interview, 4 hours of orientation; health clearance that includes 2 recent TB tests, full immunization records, drug and alcohol screening, flu shot; competency test completion; background clearance; receive CHLA volunteer ID, parking permit, and purchase volunteer uniform.

Join Habitat for Humanity in helping families in need of affordable housing build their own home. Students may also join the Pepperdine Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter that meets monthly and has an active leadership role in Habitat activities.

Activity:
Varies based on internship.

Schedule: 
Flexible Monday - Friday

Based in Los Angeles, the Student Task Force is a Human Rights Watch-sponsored youth leadership-training program that brings together high school students from around Los Angeles County and empowers them to advocate for the rights of children. HRW interns and STF teachers work in partnership to mentor students in leadership skills and activism, fostering confidence and maturity among students and enabling them to become effective voices for change and social justice within their communities. Each STF intern has many opportunities for substantive responsibility and to learn about human rights education, which makes the STF internship a rewarding and uplifting learning experience.

Activity:
Each intern will be responsible for supporting and guiding special projects in the areas of advocacy, education, outreach and development for the Los Angeles office of Human Rights Watch. Interns will establish and maintain communication with HRW constituents - and occasionally with HRW researchers and East Coast based staff - and participate in HRW Los Angeles' special events (class/work schedule permitting). Each intern will be assigned to support several main projects and events.

Past intern projects include creating human rights materials for the Student Task Force and presenting them at local high schools; working with LA Network; assisting the Women’s Rights Committee in the planning of their spring fundraiser; organizing advocacy campaigns and events at local Student Task Force schools and helping to plan the Annual Dinners in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

Schedule: 
Monday - Friday 9 AM - 6 PM

Jumpstart focuses on enriching the education of preschool students from disadvantaged communities, Jumpstart is a national nonprofit dedicated to inspiring children to learn, adults to teach, families to get involved, and communities to progress together.

Activity:
Data management, volunteer management, excel, general office experience. If involved in Jumpstart on campus, would work with students then.

Schedule: 
Monday - Friday, Flexible
Students go twice a week for four hours at a time.

Requirements: 
Students must be interested in learning more about Jumpstart or about early education. Prefers interns that are already involved in an early childhood related development program. Must be interested in education and advocacy regardless of career goals.

Prepare and serve meals to the homeless and urban poor at L.A. Mission. The organization, located in downtown L.A., offers numerous services to the homeless of Skid Row, including meals, clothing, and long-term rehabilitation and transition programs.

Activity:
TBD upon application.

Schedule:
Flexible

Union Rescue Mission (URM) is dedicated to serving men, women, and children experiencing homelessness. Provide comprehensive emergency and long-term services to our guests to help them escape the dangerous streets of Skid Row.

Activity:
TBD by the volunteer department.

Schedule:
TBD by the volunteer department.

The Boys and Girls Club Malibu is an after school program for teens.

Activity:
Students will provide individualized homework help to club members during the PowerHour program. By providing such assistance, volunteers will help members gain a sense of mastery and accomplishment, vital to success in school. 

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 3 PM until early evening

Requirements:
None, however to arrange transportation through the Volunteer Center you must complete an online form.

Build relationships with and tutor teens and elementary school students in your own backyard at the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu Teen Center. Help create curriculum for core programs for Drug and alcohol prevention club,  S.M.A.R.T Allies (girls small group) and S.M.A.R.T Pathways (boys small group). 

Activity:
Assist teens with homework in various subjects and spend meaningful time with them through art projects, games, and recreation. Help teens develop healthy habits, assist first-generation high school students with college applications, make arts and crafts, music, or conduct administrative work.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 10 AM - 2:45 PM
Monday - Friday, 3 PM - 6:30 PM

Requirements:
Interested students should enjoy working with children and want to make a difference. Background checks are required and Spanish-speaking interns are preferred.

The overall goals program are to provide our clients, mainly adults with autism and other developmental disabilities, with the opportunities to increase their ability to exert control over their lives.  

Activity:
Interns would be involved in helping assist clients during various activities such as golf, swimming, day outings, and other various activities. 

Schedule:
9 AM - 3:00 PM

Requirements:
Interview and a quick introduction and safety training; contact office to set up an appoint for an in-office application. Background checks are required.

Gan Malibu Preschool is a community preschool for children of the ages three months to five years.

Activity:
Classroom assistant or shadow a student with a certain disability.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 8:45 AM - 5:00 PM
Flexible

Requirements:
A background check is required, but fingerprinting is preferred.

Hand in Hand is an afterschool social program that pairs teens and young adults with disabilities with their peers without disabilities 

Activity:
Interns will assist with cooking, singing, dancing, arts and crafts projects, yoga, community service projects and more.

Schedule:
Thursday 4 PM - 5:30 PM (September - May)

Requirements:
Students should be willing to hang out with and help teens and young adults with special needs and mentor peer buddies without special needs.

The Language Connection helps equip Spanish-speakers at the Malibu Labor Exchange with basic English conversation skills that will benefit them in their daily life and work. Volunteers do not need to know Spanish.

Activity:
Help Spanish speakers improve their English, through conversation and assisting with ESL classes.

Schedule:
Monday - Saturday, 8 AM - 10 PM

Requirements:
Contact the Malibu Labor Exchange for additional information.

Creative Steps is an adult community integration program for adults with disabilities.

Activity:
The interns would be helping our adults with different activities on site: vocational activities, functional academics, art projects, or going out into the community with our clients and their coaches.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 3 PM

Requirements:
Volunteers are required to have a current TB test/health screening. A passion and patience for working with young adults and adults with special needs is preferred.

One of Los Angeles County’s largest social services agencies, The People Concern was formed in 2016 in a merger of two trusted social service organizations based in Los Angeles County, OPCC and Lamp Community. Informed by more than fifty years of work in the community, The People Concern is a leading provider of, and advocate for, evidence-based solutions to the multi-faceted challenges inherent in homelessness and domestic violence.  With compassion and profound respect for those we serve, we provide a fully integrated system of care – including outreach,  interim housing, mental and medical health care, substance abuse services, domestic violence services, lifeskills & wellness programs, and permanent supportive housing – tailored to the unique needs of homeless individuals, survivors of domestic violence, challenged youth, and others who have nowhere else to turn. 

The People Concern’s model of integrated and comprehensive care empowers our participants to navigate the multi-faceted obstacles in their lives, become their best selves, and ultimately, connect with and contribute to their communities. 

Activity:

• Dependent on location, large portion of clinical work with therapy
• In development of virtual clinical assessment
• A lot heavier on clinical work 
• Bachelor’s students will still be trained in clinical work even though they will not be able to apply it
• Can collaborate with psychiatrists, consultations
• More exposure than application
• Can help support with goal planning

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM

Requirements:
Interested students are encouraged to complete an application, attend orientation, and submit paperwork. Paperwork includes TB test results from within the past year and a background check.

Best Years Preschool is a Christian preschool in Woodland Hills, CA.

Activity:
Volunteers will serve as classroom assistants.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 9 AM - 11 AM

Requirements:
Interns must complete a background check, fingerprinting, and a TB test.

Internships with Color Esperanza will work with students at Art Haycox Elementary School in Oxnard, CA.

Activity:
Help students with reading, comprehension, pronunciation in English, math, and other subjects or projects. 

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 2:30 PM

Requirements:
Pepperdine University student ID card is required.

El Nido Family Center provides counseling, family life education, and service coordination to children, adolescents & families in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles County.

Activity:
Explore available volunteer opportunities on the website.

Schedule:
Tuesday, Thursday: 3:30 PM - 6 PM

Requirements:
Resume, driver's license, insurance, TB test, and fingerprints are required.

Haven Hills Shelter offers group facilitation for children from abused homes while their mothers attend support group meetings. Transitional housing for battered women and children is also offered.

Activity:
Interns will assist with child care and arts and crafts needs.

Schedule:
Call for details.

Requirements:
Interested interns will need to complete 40 hours of domestic violence training. Application and interview are required.  Volunteers must sign a confidentiality agreement, submit fingerprinting, and have a TB test. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. Clinical Supervision hours can be provided by a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

Interface Children Family Services was founded as a response to the growing destruction of children and families caused by drug usage. It provides prevention, intervention, counseling, shelter and treatment services to abused children, battered women, and their children, high risk and homeless youth and individuals in family crisis.

Activity:
Interns will serve as personal safety educators. They will teach the three-part skill sequence of personal safety in classroom and community settings. Additionally, they will work with staff to file a child abuse report as needed.

Schedule:
Flexible schedule.

Requirements:
Bilingual volunteers are not required, but are highly desired. Students should have reliable transportation and must complete 15 hours of training. Interns must commit to one school year of service. Additionally, proof of a valid California drivers license, automobile insurance, and a successful background check are required.

Food Share is a non profit food bank dedicated to feeding, nourishing, and educating the hungry of Ventura County. The organization educates the community on those who are hungry and why, and advocates a reduction of the root causes of hunger.

Activity:
TBD upon application.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 4 PM
Some evening and weekend shifts are also available. Shift times and locations vary depending on the opportunity.

Requirements:
Orientation

Volunteer Brochure:
https://foodshare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Volunteer-Program-Brochure_PRINTER-READY_newlogo.pdf

No Limits for Deaf Children makes a difference in the life of an at-risk youth with hearing loss. The mission of No Limits is to meet the auditory, speech and language needs of deaf children and enhance their confidence through the theatrical arts and individual therapy as well as provide family support and community awareness on the needs and talents of deaf children who are learning to speak.

Activity:
Interns are invited to be an inspiration when that child gets discouraged. In a fun and social environment, students will meet with their mentee one to two times per month starting at No Limits, and with permission by family, take them out and help them learn about the world around them.

Schedule:
One - two times per month.
Visits will be arranged with mentee and volunteer coordinator. Visits will initially start in Culver Cit and later will meet off-site.

Requirements:
Interns must be older than 20, be a positive person, and have a specialty or interest to share with mentee.

Richstone Family Center is a treatment and prevention center for child abuse.

Activity:
Interns will assist in Richstone's after school program, Additional special programs are available, including helping with special events.

Schedule:
Afternoon and some weekends.

Requirements:
Varies depending upon placement, however a TB test and fingerprinting are required.

School on Wheels is a non-profit organization that serves to assist in the education of children of homeless families through a tutoring program.  Tutors provide services to homeless children from a variety of locations including Ventura County and Central Los Angeles. Students stay in touch with these homeless children, provide weekly tutoring, and serve as advocates for these children in the public schools.

Activity:
Interns will travel with others to various shelters in Santa Monica and Los Angeles and provide tutoring and friendship to children at the shelters.

Schedule:
Regular business hours.

Requirements:
Volunteers must sign up on the School On Wheels website and watch an orientation video before attending the program, training depends on position.

Senior Connection serves people 50+ who suffer from Alzheimer's or other dementias.

Activity:
Interns will assist in activities and programs to connect with the seniors on a more personal level.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday

Requirements:
Orientation is required. Interested students can complete the volunteer interest form.

The Boulevard School is a private preschool in Woodland Hills, California.

Activity:
Interns will serve as a classroom assistant.

Schedule:
Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM

Requirements:
Interns must submit a TB test and their student ID. Students must also submit a copy of the syllabus of an early child development course they have taken or are currently taking.

The Kingdom Center is a "Christ Centered Transitional Living Center" serving the homeless in Ventura County. They provide holistic care to the homeless by providing food, shelter, spiritual care, and recovery resources.

Activity:
TBD upon application.

Schedule:
TBD upon application.

Requirements:
Complete interest form.