5 Best Places to Do a 240‑Hour Psychology Internship

A 240-hour internship in psychology is a crucial phase in one’s academic and career development. With well-known credentials, government and private institutions offer extensive clinical, research, and community exposure. Online or in-person, private internships through Utsaah Psychological Services provide flexible, mentor-driven experiences that are in line with IGNOU requirements.

These internships are intended to help people bridge theory and practice, get them ready for more senior positions in psychology, and give credibility through certification, regardless of the route people choose. Therefore, it is advised to take the time to investigate deadlines, application periods, and eligibility in order to determine which option best fits your academic path and professional goals.

The top 5 places where students can gain valuable experience in the field of psychology are as follows:

Read More: What Is IGNOU’s 240-Hour Internship and Why It Matters for Psychology Students

1. National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru

Type: Government

India’s premier mental health facility, NIMHANS, provides exposure to a wide variety of clinical and research environments. It provides a highly structured training program with opportunities for both inpatient and outpatient care, as well as community initiatives, and a multidisciplinary setting with skilled psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, and neuroscientists.

What all do you learn or do?

• Clinical Exposure: Children work with patients of all ages, including those with mood, anxiety, psychosis, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Assessments and Treatments: They conduct psychological tests (projective, personality, and IQ) and support behaviour therapy, family therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy.
• Writing reports: Preparing treatment plans, diagnostic reports, and summaries that are essential to patient care.
• Case Discussions: Take part in senior faculty’s grand rounds and frequent multidisciplinary meetings where they discuss different cases and also clear any doubts regarding the case.
• Supervision/Mentorship: They get direction from academic specialists and work under certified clinical psychologists.

Opportunities in community mental health, addiction clinics, neurorehabilitation, and child psychiatry are examples of specialised fields.

Additional information

The internship is offline and begins on the first and sixteenth of each month. Only post-graduation students are eligible for training or observation in the NIMHANS Department of Neurology, and the minimum training period is one month. Undergraduate students in the Speech Pathology and Audiology department must complete their training for a minimum of two months. It is also good for  IGNOU students as it offers recognised clinical exposure and credits.

Registration link- https://training.nimhans.ac.in/Training/reg.jsp

I2. Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi

Type: Government

With clinical psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery all under one roof, IHBAS is one of India’s top government mental health facilities, which provides psychology students, particularly those from IGNOU and Delhi University, with a variety of case exposure opportunities, active clinical departments, and accredited internship programs. There is a wide range of cases seen in the hospital, which enhances the practical exposure for the students who work under RCI-licensed clinical psychologists.

What all you learn or do?

• Clinical Exposure: Work with and observe patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anxiety in both OPD and IPD settings.
• Assessments/Therapies: Under supervision, help administer tests such as the WAIS, Binet-Kamat, and MMPI as well as therapies such as CBT, REBT, and group therapy.
• Case Discussions: Take part in weekly case presentations with social workers, psychiatrists, and clinical psychologists.
• Learn how to write structured diagnostic reports, case histories, mental status exams, and assessment interpretations.

Working under RCI-licensed clinical psychologists, supervision and mentoring include academic sessions to discuss real-world issues.

Additional information

IHBAS provides an offline internship for a duration of 1 month, with working days from Monday- Saturday(9 am-4 pm). An official internship certificate is issued by IHBAS, which is acceptable to IGNOU and other universities. Therefore, it is widely accepted by IGNOU due to its recognised clinical training and reporting structure.

3. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML Hospital), New Delhi

Type of Institution: Government

RML Hospital is one of the apex Trauma centres of the country, being run by the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The hospital also has a department of psychiatry where clinical services, diagnostic assessments and psychiatric interventions are carried out. It is associated with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences (ABVIMS), so facilities for academics and supervision by experienced mental health professionals are available.

What all do you learn or do?

• Clinical Exposure: Patients with all types of disorders- schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, anxiety disorders, substance use. They are observed by the interns. It includes the OPD and IPD patients. 
• Assessments/Therapies: Interns might do hands-on training and carry out psychological evaluations, such as IQ tests, mental intervention and also practice CB, supportive psychotherapy, etc.
• Report Writing: Interns are frequently asked to do case histories, session summaries and psychological report writing under supervision. 
• Case Discussions: Social workers, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists regularly take part in case review meetings, interdisciplinary discussions, and case presentations.
• Mentoring and supervision: The psychiatry and psychology departments provide organised feedback. Mentoring is provided to interns in the areas of professional communication, diagnostic formulation, and clinical ethics. 
• Specialised Areas: Interns may be exposed to the following, contingent on availability: Psychiatry of children and adolescents, De-addiction programs and Psychiatric emergency rooms.

Additional information

The internship at RML is completely offline (in-person, hospital-based). It spans over 6–8 weeks on average (for 240 hours) with working days from Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. To recognise your clinical training and the quantity of hours you have completed, the Department of Psychiatry or the hospital administration issues a completion certificate, and because RML Hospital is a reputable government establishment, this is where many students from IGNOU, Delhi University, and IP University finish their internships for their MA in psychology. For IGNOU’s MAPC internship requirements, the certificate is typically accepted.

4. Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (VIMHANS), Delhi

Type of Institution: Private

A reputable multispecialty mental health facility, VIMHANS, is well-known for its organised internship programs. Particularly in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry, interns gain from a clinical environment, knowledgeable faculty, and a healthy mix of psychotherapy and diagnostic training..

What all do you learn or do?

• Clinical Exposure: Work with a variety of clients who have substance use, personality, trauma, anxiety, and mood disorders.
• Evaluations and Treatments: Take part in therapy sessions such as cognitive, behavioural, and mindfulness therapy, as well as psychological tests (projective, cognitive, and personality).
• Report Writing: Develop your ability to write treatment planning documents, therapy progress notes, and psychological evaluations.
• Case Discussions: To develop your diagnostic reasoning skills, take part in departmental review sessions and clinical case discussions.
• Specialised Areas: Marital/relationship therapy, addiction recovery, and neuropsychological cases are frequently covered in training.
• Under the guidance of RCI-registered professionals, daily supervision is provided, along with ethical and performance feedback.

Additional information

The internship is completely offline. It is usually a 240-hour, 6–8 week intensive program; there may be flexible part-time options. After completion, VIMHANS provides a recognised certificate to the students and is also it is appropriate for MA Psychology students at IGNOU, particularly those pursuing clinical specialisation.

5. Utsaah Psychological Services (UPS Education) – 240-Hour Online Internship

Why is Utsaah a great choice?

Students don’t have to move or travel to attend sessions; they can do so from the comfort of their homes. It is especially made for MA Psychology students, especially those attending Amity, Delhi University, and IGNOU. Under the supervision of clinical psychologists with RCI licenses, professional mentoring and adherence to clinical standards are guaranteed. Upon successful completion of the internship, a certificate of completion is granted, which enables it to be submitted to universities for academic credit.

What Students Will Learn/Do

In this 240-hour internship at Utsaah, students will be equipped with core concepts and knowledge and trained by getting involved in key areas of clinical psychology, with the following activities:

1. Report Writing and Psychological Testing

Students will obtain skills in the administration, interpretation, and report writing of major psychological assessments (e.g., intelligence measures, screening instruments, and personality inventories).

2. History Taking and MSE

Students will practice taking standardised background, family and behavioural information that can be used to generate professional clinical case presentation summaries.

3. CBT, REBT, and Counselling Skills

The program introduces learners to fundamental psychotherapeutic models, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT). The process of building rapport, the concepts of structuring sessions and questioning methods will also be used throughout the course.

4. Ethics and Real Case Programming

As part of the internship, a.) the impact of confidentiality and boundary considerations, both in individual relationships and as a professional working within an organisation, and b.) the informed consent process will be taught in conjunction with the analysis of real client cases presented in a supervised academic context

Why choose Utsaah

• Best for students seeking flexible learning: Students who are unable to travel for offline training but still want to gain professional clinical experience will find this internship to be perfect.
• Expert advice without having to move: There is no need to make travel or lodging arrangements because all sessions are conducted live on Zoom by certified clinical psychologists. 
• Full clinical work foundation: To prepare students for future clinical practice or advanced study, the program offers training in psychological assessments, therapy techniques, ethics, and report writing.

Additional information

It is completely online (including resource materials and Zoom classes) and it is usually carried out over 3 months, with three sessions per week lasting 1.5 hours each. After completing 240 hours successfully, a certificate is awarded, which is accepted by DU, IGNOU, Amity, and other organisations and is especially designed to satisfy the requirements of the IGNOU MA Psychology internship.

Conclusion

A 240-hour psychology internship is more than a requirement that is done by university students. It is a real step in the developmental change that allows students to manipulate theoretical material and use it in a clinical way. The internship could take place in high-profile government places such as NIMHANS, IHBAS, and RML Hospital, or reputable private places like VIMHANS and Utsaah Psychological Services, with both for-profit and non-profit models all having their benefits.

Government institutes might provide high-volume clinical exposure and case discussions, while private institutions provide a setting that is more student-friendly, with proper mentoring and more flexibility. As with many organisations, those hosting the students for an internship have been rewarded by their universities with credits or acknowledgement of some sort, while for the psychology student at IGNOU, this provides a boost to confidence, competence, and professionalism expected in a clinical environment.

In selecting the internship, the considerations that come into play are: the location (online versus offline), the specialisation of the institution, the quality of supervision, administrative recognition of professional supervision, certification from the institution overall, and alignment with university internship specifications. With thoughtful planning and preparation, for some students, this internship holds promising career development in support of specialisation training, or even as an entry to the field of mental health.