Internship Story: Building a Future in Behavioral Health

"In 2016, I began my journey with AMHC as a bachelor’s level intern with the Adult Behavioral Health Home (ABHH) team. I had wonderful mentors and great direction from the trained staff members. I learned about outpatient mental health treatment, skill development, and facilitating groups. Overall, I had a well-grounded starting point for my professional career, and my interest in the ABHH program grew thanks to my internship. After I graduated in 2016 from the University of Maine at Fort Kent with a bachelor’s in Behavioral Science Program, I accepted employment at AMHC as a mobile emergency services provider. During those two years, I learned a lot about client and family systems, community resources and referrals, and co-occurring disorders, and I was able to support clients at some of their lowest points. For the past six years, I have been an ABHH worker and enjoy the clients I engage with. I have built rapport with them and helped them navigate day-to-day stressors and situational needs, acquire resources to meet their needs and achieve their goals to stabilize and thrive in their environment. In 2023, I started the MSW program at the University of Maine at Orono. I recently completed my generalist study internship through the AMHC Call Center/Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) team, engaging in macro social work for the first time. I built relationships with a team working on low-barrier access to care by filling gaps in care for those in need. I had great professional leadership and a clinical lead to support my role as an intern. I made gains in my ability to manage client systems and adapt to change, trials, and errors to support a period of new and developing endeavors for AMHC and the social work field." - Erin Madore