Tucked away in the sprawling green hills of a peaceful Wisconsin suburb, psychology students hold therapy sessions, sex offender counseling, and mental health consultation meetings with juvenile offenders at the Ethan Allen School (EAS). Surrounded by lush scenery on 70-acres of land, EAS is a juvenile corrections facility that allows psychology interns to live on the premises in order to gain hands-on experience.

“Hands-on development and supervision are very important for our program,” says Michael Hagan PhD, Chief Psychologist and Training Director at EAS. “We developed this internship so that our students fully understand that these juveniles have problems that can be treated and rehabilitated. Our interns get experiences in so many levels of psychology.”

The EAS Clinical Studies Internship has been acknowledged by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) as a program that provides exposure to a number of different populations and treatment options. The internship is also the only program that focuses on juveniles with accreditation from the American Psychology Association (APA). Hagan says the program was created to address a problem in the field of psychology. 

“When we started this program, we were concerned that psychology students were not well prepared to work with kids in corrections,” Hagan says. “We wanted to train psychologists to work with a particular population, and we saw that there was no other program like this around.”

Expectations and New Knowledge

Interns at EAS reside at the facility for a year, completing four three-month rotations with youths with serious mental health problems, and sex offenders or those in need of intervention for substance abuse. While interns are required to have knowledge of psychological assessment techniques before they enter the program, they are presented with the opportunity to learn about other practices, such as how to provide useful courtroom testimony.

The interns also have a number of intense responsibilities. They go through a rigorous training program that includes seminars on topics related to the field such as suicide assessment, danger diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and forensic psychology.

“The interns learn about a number of things during training,” says Hagan. “But we make sure to focus a lot of time on safety measures and precautions. They have to learn about the challenges they are going to face.”

After the training period ends, the interns begin a rotation through various aspects of psychology, treating juvenile sex offenders, juveniles with substance abuse issues and first-time offenders who have recently been placed in the facility. Juveniles at the facility are usually between 10 and 25 years-old, and have been convicted of serious delinquent or criminal acts.

“In the community, there is often a stigma about mental health services,” says Hagan. “That stigma doesn't exist here. The juveniles here are responsive to treatment that is provided. That's not to say that we don't have our difficult cases, but this experience is different for our interns because they learn how to walk a middle road. They realize that although these juveniles have done bad things and manipulated people, they also need to be rehabilitated.”

Interns learn from experience and personal supervisors that work with the program make sure each intern meets the standards and expectations of the facility. Supervisors live in closer proximity to the interns, and are available for timely help and situations that require immediate attention. According to Hagan, the students respond well to the supervisors and surroundings.

“Overall, I would characterize the student interest in this program is exceptional,” says Hagan. “Students are immersed in their surroundings, and they have easy access to supervisors for any questions they might have.”

A History of Change and a Promising Future

In the past decade, EAS has narrowed its focus to juveniles adjudicated of serious offenses and reducing recidivism for this population, which has been an important part of the internship since its inception. Hagan maintains that each intern needs to understand that rehabilitation is a crucial part of helping victims.

“One of the things that I tell people is that we are very worried about the victims of these crimes,” says Hagan. “But we cannot think of anything better than helping victims by preventing them from being victimized in the first place. There is nothing you can do after a crime that is more useful as preventing further crime. We can do that with juveniles.”

According to Hagan, the interns offer more than just counseling to the juveniles.

“I think that the interns relate really well to the kids they are working with,” Hagan says. “Over the years, we have had a very diverse group of interns, and that's been very helpful for the kids. It gives our juveniles a variety of perspectives, and expands their horizons. Some of these juveniles have what I call Tunnel Vision – they do not see that there are opportunities like this for themselves. They can only see a life of crime. Our interns help to show them that there are people who are diverse, and they can understand change is possible.”