The Valencia College Psychology Department is dedicated to educating and preparing Valencia students for Central Florida’s dynamic job market. In doing so, the Psychology Department has developed community opportunities for students to gain work experience in the field of psychology. These programs are called – Student Service Learning and Internship Opportunities.
Student Service Learning integrates meaningful community service at the Coalition for the Homeless with individualized instruction and reflection to enrich your experience. If you choose to participate in this opportunity, you will enroll in Developmental Psychology (DEP 2004), with a Service Learning component. You will see the Service Learning designation below the course number.
Description: Our Student Service Learning experience will provide students a forum for understanding how poverty impacts human development through immersive and meaningful involvement with both the staff and residents at the Coalition for the Homeless.
Service Learning Location: 639 W Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801
Requirements: In order to enroll, students must complete the following:
Contact Information: For further information, please contact Professor Tony Philcox at jphilcox@valenciacollege.edu
If you prefer to work in an actual position that relates to being a psychology major while earning college credit, then we encourage you to explore our internship opportunities. To become enrolled in an internship you will complete the following steps:
The Psychology Department offers various internship opportunities at the Coalition for the Homeless, Florida Hospital, Advanced Behavioral Academy, and the Central Florida Mental Health Association. For more information on each of these opportunities and a link to the application, please click the “Internship” links below.
This Internship is a planned work-based experience at the Coalition for the Homeless in downtown Orlando that provides students with the opportunity to fine-tune their skill set, learned in class, in preparation for employment. Under the supervision of the Volunteer Coordinator at the Coalition, the student will perform a variety of tasks meant to enhance and enrich the internship experience. College credit is awarded for the Internship. Each internship period is one full term in length and each credit earned requires 80 hours of work.
In order to apply, students must possess the following:
For further information, please contact Professor Tony Philcox at jphilcox@valenciacollege.edu
This internship opportunity will provide supplemental support services to the patients of Florida Hospital by orienting them on the use of the GetWellNetwork® through the television system in each patient room. This system is an interactive patient care system with which the patient accesses hospital information, places requests for services, participates in individualized patient education, accesses on-demand entertainment, and provides direct feedback to hospital leadership. College credit is awarded for the internship. Each internship period is one full term in length. The student will be awarded 2 credit hours for 160 hours of work.
In order to apply, students must possess the following:
For further information, please contact Professor Tony Philcox at jphilcox@valenciacollege.edu
Advance Learning Academy is a private school in Maitland that values the uniqueness of all children. They are dedicated to creating a diverse community of learners by providing innovative, effective instruction that promotes academic excellence and social growth. The Advance Behavioral Academy Internship will educate students on the use of behavioral principles in the learning of new skills and reduction of problematic behavior. Students will directly interface with a mental health population and work under the supervision of a psychological professional. Upon completion, students will achieve a certificate as a registered behavioral technician.
For further information and application requirements, please contact Dr. Judi Addelston at jaddelston@valenciacollege.edu
There are no requirements or application needed for this internship.
The Mission of The Central Florida Mental Health Association is “To provide mental health services, support, and information to the members of our Central Florida community.” Services have been in place in Central Florida since 1946. We offer a free Mental Health Connections program for individuals seeking information for themselves, family, or friends.
The Mental Health Connections Specialist internship is a six-month internship and there are two sessions per year. The first is from January until July, and the second runs from July until January. We typically choose around 16 to 20 students per six-month session. We will be recruiting and interviewing potential interns beginning in October for our next session in January. This internship requires two, four-hour shifts per week where they would come into our office and run the referral system that we have. This referral system is a way for us to connect people of the community that need mental health help with services and specific providers in their area. We like to say that we take the hard work out of finding services by doing all of that for the consumer. All they need to do is answer the questions on our referral and we do all of the research and send it back to them. Daily tasks may include general offices tasks, screening for our Outlook Clinic and other things of that nature. Overall, it is a great program for students who are interested in working in the mental health field because it gives them a great chance to get some hands-on experience working with consumers and finding them help.
The Guardian Advocate Program has volunteers who respond to requests for temporary guardianship of involuntarily committed clients from local behavioral hospitals. When persons are involuntarily hospitalized under the Baker Act and have no family members to act on their behalf, volunteers are appointed to help encourage treatment for the clients. Volunteers advocate for the rights of the patient and act as a safety net to ensure that the patient is being treated properly and fairly in the facility. Volunteers meet with the patient 2-3 times per week and get to know them as best they can so they can make decisions using substituted judgment.
Responsibilities for this position include but are not limited to:
1525 East Robinson Street,
Orlando, Fl 32801
For further information, please contact Professor Tony Philcox at jphilcox@valenciacollege.edu