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Counselor internship skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen,

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical counselor internship skills. We ranked the top skills for counselor interns based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.1% of counselor internship resumes contained crisis intervention as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a counselor internship needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 counselor internship skills for your resume and career

1. Crisis Intervention

Here's how counselor interns use crisis intervention:

Experience in cognitive/behavioral/crisis interventions, family system dynamics, educational issues, case management, laws and ethics and clinical presentations.
Provided crisis interventions, community resource referrals, prevention presentations, psychological assessments and ensured principles and practices of confidentiality.

2. Intake Assessments

Here's how counselor interns use intake assessments:

Performed intake assessments for adolescent clients and led individual and group counseling sessions focused on drug and alcohol recovery.
Conducted thorough intake assessments and weekly individual therapy sessions for children and adults diagnosed with behavioral disorders.

3. Substance Abuse Issues

Here's how counselor interns use substance abuse issues:

Performed individual counseling services to adults with substance abuse issues through predetermined treatment programs.
Provided counseling for children and adolescents in crisis with mental/emotional/substance abuse issues.

4. Mental Health Issues

Here's how counselor interns use mental health issues:

Facilitated individual, group and family sessions for individuals with addiction and co-occurring mental health issues.
Developed and presented weekly psycho-educational presentations on substance abuse and mental health issues.

5. Group Therapy Sessions

Here's how counselor interns use group therapy sessions:

Conducted individual intake and group therapy sessions in Intensive Outpatient Treatment program with adults diagnosed with a variety of addiction disorders.
Assisted counselors in group therapy sessions and facilitated educational/information and process groups as well as individual motivational interviewing.

6. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how counselor interns use community resources:

Coordinated and facilitated use of departmental and community service resources and referred clients to community resources or to specialists as necessary.
Learned state government documentation standards, coordinated with psychiatrist and ensured case management needs were met through accessing community resources.

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7. Family Therapy

Here's how counselor interns use family therapy:

Received training to provide marriage and family therapy * Observed and participated in supervised counseling sessions * Maintained clerical work and filing
Provide counseling service in clinical psychology, counseling psychology, community psychology, and marriage and family therapy.

8. Anger Management

Anger management is a program that helps with anger prevention and control. The process involves identifying signs of anger and learning how to prevent outbursts or destructive behavior.

Here's how counselor interns use anger management:

Implemented cognitive-behavioral therapy, play therapy, art therapy, anger management, and conflict resolution approaches to children and adolescents.
Conducted parenting groups Facilitated youth anger management groups Prepared client charts Conducted individual sessions Interfaced with DYFS and the Family Court System

9. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Here's how counselor interns use cognitive behavioral therapy:

Conduct therapeutic sessions and co- facilitate group sessions using Reality Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing Techniques.
Developed customized treatment plans for adults dealing with moderate to severe substance and alcohol abuse by providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

10. Psychosocial Assessments

Here's how counselor interns use psychosocial assessments:

Performed intakes, psychosocial assessments, and individual and family counseling utilizing art therapy techniques for children, adolescents, and adults
Provide psychosocial assessments utilizing an ecological framework; facilitate groups using cultural competent approach and provide advocacy services for diverse clients.

11. Relapse Prevention

Relapse prevention is a therapy, derived by Marlatt and Donovan in 2005, that targets the cognitive behavior of participants. The therapy is conducted to prevent relapses in patients, by helping them understand and predict those circumstances that trigger a relapse. The therapy facilitates people in developing behavioral strategies, also known as relapse prevention plan, which deals with relapse-oriented situations in advance.

Here's how counselor interns use relapse prevention:

2013Facilitated Didactic / substance abuse education GroupFacilitated Anger Management GroupFacilitated COD -12 Step GroupFacilitated Relapse Prevention GroupFacilitated Family addiction education GroupCompleted Internship
Conducted group and individual counseling sessions for adults with emotional and behavioral disorders, including substance abuse and relapse prevention.

12. Intake Interviews

Here's how counselor interns use intake interviews:

Implemented cognitive-behavioral therapy for children and adult clients Conducted intake interviews with clients Attended weekly supervision with other Interns and LPCI's
Provided screenings and intake interviews for 40+ families and victims of domestic violence for emergency transportation and temporary emergency sanctuary.

13. Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is a pattern of violent, intimidating, or abusive behavior in any relationship committed by someone within the victim's circle - partner, ex-partner, parents, family, and friends, to gain or maintain power and control over the victim. This can be emotional, sexual, social, financial, economic, psychological, spiritual, and/or physical abuse.

Here's how counselor interns use domestic violence:

Provided risk assessment, counseling, case-management, crisis intervention and in-depth safety planning with women and teens experiencing domestic violence.
Provided individual counseling to for domestic violence survivors and responded to crisis calls, referring clientele to appropriate resources when necessary.

14. Discharge Planning

Here's how counselor interns use discharge planning:

Conducted one-on-one and group counseling sessions *Performed assessment, treatment and discharge planning *Worked with adolescent and adult clients
Completed discharge planning with families to ensure resiliency and independence by family translated assessments and interviews in Spanish.

15. Mental Illness

Here's how counselor interns use mental illness:

Dedicated psychological interventions with clients who have served long prison sentences with debilitating substance abuse and cognitive mental illness case management.
Facilitated Psycho educational groups on mental illness symptom management for clients who suffered from bipolar disorder, Depression and personality Disorder.

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What skills help Counselor Interns find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on counselor internship resumes?

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Associate Professor, Augustana University

In Mental Health Counseling, the ability to work with people from various cultural backgrounds is paramount. Training in multicultural psychology, diversity, and inclusion are all essential in our pluralistic society. I would also emphasize training in empirically supported treatments and a clear theoretical orientation grounded in scientific literature. Finally, the recent pandemic has accelerated the use of teletherapy and remote counseling--effectiveness in connecting with people through technology and making the most of an adapted model for therapy will be very important.

What soft skills should all counselor internships possess?

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Associate Professor, Augustana University

Cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills are important, including openness to work with people with varying religious views. The ability to easily connect with others and put people at ease in your presence is valuable in working with clients and collaborating with a treatment team. As more and more agencies interact with the medical field, spiritual leaders, and other holistic approaches to health, counselors need to see their role in an interdisciplinary approach to healing and work effectively with other departments. With teletherapy/virtual therapy, just the simple difficulty of creating eye contact when one's camera is not directly aligned with their viewscreen can complicate important connections in the therapeutic relationship. Learning to effectively connect through screens is essential.

What hard/technical skills are most important for counselor internships?

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Associate Professor, Augustana University

Obviously, mastering the technology used in teletherapy and virtual counseling is essential. Further, the use of computer programs for therapy notes, documentation, and diagnosis is also important. Assessment and psychometric abilities are also important as psychotherapy research has been very clear about the important role of outcome measurement and objective assessment in psychotherapy. When prospective clinicians demonstrate the ability to work with numbers (and the software needed to make them useful), they show an openness to the objective assessment of their work.

What counselor internship skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Melissa Boas

Director of Professional School Counseling, Assistant Professor, Lancaster Bible College

I believe the most important skill to enhance if taking a gap year is self-awareness. Understanding oneself and why and how self-awareness directly relates to future career decision making is instrumental in ensuring the right decisions are made. Self-awareness is extremely beneficial in all areas of life not just in choosing a career pathway.

What type of skills will young counselor internships need?

Chris Hennington Ph.D.

School Counseling Program Coordinator, Lubbock Christian University

School counselors will be tasked with the usual school counseling responsibilities while also encountering trauma that students experience outside of school and in school. Being well versed in trauma response is going to be a vital aspect of being a school counselor. Kids are experiencing more trauma, but we are getting better at recognizing and treating trauma as well.

What technical skills for a counselor internship stand out to employers?

Madeline Lee Ph.D.

Associate Professor, California State University San Marcos

There are technical skills that may stand out to employers, but as social workers, I think those technical skills together with "soft skills," can make an applicant really stand out to employers; social workers can combine their research skills with evidence-informed care and organizational quality improvement efforts, while being able to lead, build relationships, and think critically. In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, our graduates will need to be able to fluidly navigate between employing telehealth methods to performing their work safely in-person when engaging and helping clients. To be effective, social workers will also need to understand the reverberating effects of the deep-seated roots of racism in our country and be willing to honestly confront and address those issues in whatever role they assume. Social workers are needed now more than ever.

Do you want to know more?

List of counselor internship skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a counselor internship resume and required skills for a counselor internship to have include:

Crisis Intervention
Intake Assessments
Substance Abuse Issues
Mental Health Issues
Group Therapy Sessions
Community Resources
Family Therapy
Anger Management
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Psychosocial Assessments
Relapse Prevention
Intake Interviews
Domestic Violence
Discharge Planning
Mental Illness
Individual Therapy Sessions
Conflict Resolution

LPC
Art Therapy
Core Functions
Co-Lead
Behavioral Issues
IEP
Group Supervision
Discharge Summaries
Clinical Assessments
Sexual Abuse
Individual Supervision
at-Risk Youth
Individual Clients
ADHD
Stress Management
DBT
PTSD

Eating Disorders
Behavioral Problems
Sexual Assault
Dual Diagnosis
Bipolar Disorder
Community Agencies
Career Development
Adult Clients
Personality Disorders
Academic Performance
Family Sessions
Crisis Situations
Anxiety Disorders
Mood Disorders
Healthy Relationships

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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