Wright Institute Los Angeles

March 1, 2026

Fall: Aug/Sept
Summer: May/June

2-3

The practicum traineeship is open to students currently enrolled in a mental health graduate program (MSW, MFT, MA in Counseling, Doctoral training before internship). Applicants must be in good standing and certified by their department or school as ready to begin practicum level training. Therefore, the first step toward application must always begin at the applicant’s school. Check with your Director of Clinical Training to see if there is a pre-existing relationship with WILA or if establishing one is possible. Once you receive the green light from your school, you may email us with a cover letter & your CV expressing your interest in our training program and how WILA fits with your training goals. We will respond with our timeline and availability and may request that you complete a full application which will include our application form, graduate transcripts, and three letters of recommendation. A personal interview is also required before admission.

We have two start dates for our training: July 1st and October 1st (these are not changeable and are unfortunately a obstacle to some schools being able to send trainees to WILA for practicum). Feel free to ask any questions by emailing operations@wila.org. 

Yes, hybrid based on agency/site/client need.

No, this is a volunteer trainee position.

Rocio Moran
Head of Operations
operations@wila.org 

The Wright Institute Los Angeles Practicum Traineeship is designed to develop and refine competence in the conduct of long-term psychotherapy (individual, couples, and group) and clinical assessment. It is open to students currently enrolled in a mental health graduate program (MSW, MFT, MA in Counseling, Doctoral training before internship). Trainees who successfully complete the first year of the program are invited to continue for a second year of training at WILA as a Postgraduate Fellow or Pre-doctoral Psychology Intern.

Our Traineeship includes therapy activities with an outpatient, adult caseload drawn from WILA’s Hedda Bolgar Psychotherapy Clinic, individual and group supervision for this caseload, seminars on theory and technique, and administrative and clinical case conferences.

Practicum Trainees participate in the program for 20 hours per week. They carry caseloads of approximately 8 hours of psychotherapy and receive 2 hours of individual and 2 hours of group supervision each week. An additional hour per week is dedicated to conducting clinical intake interviews with prospective clinic patients. The traineeship also includes a year-long series of seminars on theory and technique, clinical, charting and administrative conferences, program meetings and various other professional activities.

Trainees participate in WILA's didactic seminars aimed at teaching the theory and technique of working from a psychodynamic perspective. Trainees will be in class 6-8hrs/wk (scheduled Mondays & Tuesdays 10-3).

If WILA trainees continue in the program for a 2nd year, they participate in the Therapeutic Identity and Professional Development track (TIPD). WILA is one of, if not the only, program to offer students the space to not only deepen their clinical skills but also to learn in-vivo how to market their own practice and gain step-by-step guidance in building their confidence in their identity as clinicians. We believe this process will help to ensure a smooth transition into licensure and being a private practice clinician. In addition students learn more about how WILA works as an analytic clinic and training institute and support its mission as a non-profit mental health leader in the Los Angeles area.

Find more information on our Practicum webpage.