Our Location

810 W. 45th Street Austin, TX 78751



Hours of Operation
Monday to Thursday — 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday — 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday — Closed.

Internships & Practicums

Graduate Internships and Practicums

Austin Child Guidance Center is one of the premier training sites in Austin for future mental health professionals and regularly accepts graduate students who are seeking field experience as part of their degree program. We accept advanced graduate students in the fields of social work, psychology, and professional counseling.

Due to the intense nature of the work at The Center and the demands of the placement, we do not currently offer undergraduate-level internships, although there are volunteer opportunities for undergraduate students who wish to gain more experience working with children and families.

Students should, at a minimum, possess the following before applying to The Center:

  • At least one course in family, individual, and group therapy; assessment experience, if applicable;
  • Some course work related to child and adolescent development.
  • Prospective students should have previous practicum or work experience using psychotherapy skills.
  • Students must commit to The Center for at least 20 hours/week for two semesters.

It should be noted that a placement at Austin Child Guidance Center is quite demanding; however, you will find the agency very supportive in terms of the supervision and training you will receive. It is recommended that you seek out other students who have completed placements at The Center to learn about their experiences before you apply.

Social Work Students, ACGC offers two clinical placements for social work students in their final year of graduate school.  The Clinical Counseling placement is an internship in which students provide individual, family and group therapy to children and their parents.  The Infant & Early Childhood (IEC) Clinical placement, involves providing consultation to childcare staff at high-needs centers in Austin as well as counseling to children and their parents.  Social Work students are accepted in the Spring and Summer for a 2-semester placement the following Fall and Spring semesters.  There is an extended internship option where students commit to a three-semester placement (Fall, Spring and Summer) with the majority of their direct hours starting in the Spring.  All students must start in the Fall, commit to a minimum of two semesters for 15-20 hours per week during their final semesters of their graduate program. 

Administrative Social Work, ACGC also offers 1-2 administrative social work internships each year, and occasionally has opportunities for graduate business students and students from other fields.  To inquire about these “macro” level internships, contact internships@austinchildguidance.org

Professional counseling, At this time, ACGC is unable to offer practicum placements for counseling students. We have offered this opportunity in the past and we may reopen the program in the future. We will update this page if/when this status changes. 

Psychology Students, At this time, ACGC is unable to offer practicum placements for master’s or doctoral level psychology students. We have had doctoral level practicum students in the past and we may reopen the program in the future. We will update this page if/when this status changes.