Psychology and Social Work internships in New Zealand

We arrange your Psychology and Social Work internships in New Zealand in various fields. Described below are the most common types of psychology and social work internships we organise and some of the tasks you can expect to be asked of you. All internships provide a high level of work experience with the aim to increase your skills within the area. The examples below are just a guideline and each internship role will be developed individually according to the organisation/company and the candidate.

Criminology 
Our criminology internships are often hosted by academic institutes and the tasks may include:​
  • Clinical, forensic and theoretical criminology research.
  • Analysis of data.
  • Working on theoretical projects around restorative justice, evolutionary criminology, offender rehabilitation, and neuro-ethics in the forensic area.​
  • Researching and writing articles.

Counselling 

 
Counselling internships are possible in many different fields and with different clientele. Some tasks may include:
  • ​Listening to clients and their problems and concerns.
  • Providing a safe, confidential and encouraging environment.
  • Showing empathy, patience and respect.
  • Empowering clients to make their own decisions.
  • Showing people a structured and focused way of addressing problems.
  • Helping people with substance abuse, health issues, post-traumatic stress and relationship problems.
  • Maintaining records of the progress of service users.
Please note, that while we do arrange internships in client facing roles. Client facing time is NOT GUARANTEED as the client must give permission at the session. We cannot accept applications that have any requirements regarding hours spent in one to one sessions or hours spent in group sessions with clients

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The Kiwi people are so friendly and welcoming - I was utterly charmed by how nicely they treated me and how willing they were to help me find my way around living in New Zealand.

Brye (USA)

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I had an amazing internship that I would do over again in a heartbeat! I was happy to have the first weekend to get settled in Wellington, and to have someone to go through a short orientation about the best sights and parts of the city. 

Mackenzie (USA)

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Psychology 
Tasks you might be asked to do during a psychology internship are:
  • Participating in therapeutic group work.
  • Participating in, and supporting young people to engage in physical activities, for example, hiking, swimming and ice skating.
  • Providing support and guidance to young people to develop general safe living skills, for example, cooking healthy meals.
  • Working with people on returning home, returning to school or with re-integration into the community.
  • Research.
  • Possibly conducting assessments of clients, including:  interviews, collateral contacts, file reviews, consideration of psycho-social history, mental status examination, and risk to self/others.
  • Developing sound psychological formulations, based on assessment, 
  • Analysing client behaviours identified as problematic to develop programmes for changing specific behaviours.
​Please note, that while we do arrange internships in client facing roles. Client facing time is NOT GUARANTEED as the client must give permission at the session. We cannot accept applications that have any requirements regarding hours spent in one to one sessions or hours spent in group sessions with clients

Social Work (you may be eligible for the sponsored internship programme)
​Doing a social work internship means working with people from different age groups and backgrounds, and with different needs. This makes the work very interesting and you may be asked to:
  • Respond to crisis, support the needs of clients, and provide support or referrals where appropriate.
  • Provide advocacy on behalf of clients and/or their friends and family.
  • Maintain documentation for all clients that you work with.
  • Work with community groups to win support for improved provision and act as an advocate for young people’s interests, with particular regard to bullying.
  • Participate in, and support young people to engage in physical activities, for example, hiking, swimming or ice skating.
  • Provide direct support and guidance to young people to develop general safe living skills, for example, cooking healthy meals.
  • Work with people on returning home, returning to school or re-integration into the community.
  • Research.

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I met the most amazing people, I saw the most beautiful things in the world, I've learned more than I thought I would. It's different from my home country, and that is what makes it so good. I'm already planning to travel more. Once you go travelling, you will get travelling fever. :) It's amazing. I don't want to go back anymore. I've learned more than I thought I would and I actually have a second home.

Delilah (The Netherlands)

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My internship has been more than I could have ever hoped for. My boss was amazing and my co-workers were fantastic. I had opportunities for a variety of experiences ranging from networking at Parliament events, conducting research, building policy proposals, managing a team, and meeting with women in prison. I have been very fortunate to have this experience! I have learned so much about the social work industry.  

Emily (USA)

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Organisational Psychology
 
By doing a psychology internship in a company, your tasks may include:​
  • Coordination and delivery of psychometric testing.
  • 360 feedback surveys.
  • Marketing activities.
  • Qualitative analysis.
  • Research projects.
  • Organising client meetings/events.
  • Developing online psychometric tools and maintaining their in-site platform.
If you can't find the internship you're looking for