Residency Program

Program overview

Residency Program Duration & Schedule

The road from graduate school to licensure is long, and many new clinicians never finish it. Our Residency Program gives you a clear structure, guaranteed supervision, and a community of peers for the full two years. You practice as a Backpack Healthcare clinician while you train, so every lesson connects to your real caseload.

Weekly individual supervision.

One hour, one-on-one, with a fully licensed, board-approved supervisor.

Weekly group supervision.

Small groups of up to six, built on a two-year didactic curriculum.

Supervision hours tracking.

Every session is documented and logged toward your state's licensure requirements.

Licensure exam preparation.

Practice exam questions every week, plus dedicated exam prep time.

Live session observation.

At least two observed sessions a year, each followed by a structured debrief.

Quarterly evaluations.

Written feedback and goals you set together with your supervisor.

Support after licensure.

A consultation group, one-on-one Clinical Manager support, and pathways into supervision and leadership.

A Community of Peers

You won't go through this alone. Residents train alongside other early-career clinicians in a supportive, collaborative setting. Peer and professional consultation is built into the program, so you always have people to learn from and lean on.

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The Curriculum

The curriculum is built around one goal: turning what you learned in school into confident clinical practice.

Theoretical orientation development.

Define and refine the approach that guides your work.

Diagnosis and treatment.

Assess and treat common DSM-5-TR diagnoses.

Interdisciplinary collaboration.

Work with other professionals, including as part of a treatment team at Backpack.

Ethics and professional standards.

Profession-specific training aligned with the NASW and ACA codes of ethics.

Licensing exam preparation.

The final three sessions focus on preparing for the licensing exam, informed by NASW's knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) guidelines.

Eligibility

The Residency Program is a fit for you if you are:

1

A graduate-level counselor or social worker working toward licensure

2

Comfortable providing telehealth care to children, adolescents, young adults, and families with mental and behavioral health needs

3

Located in a state where Backpack Healthcare offers the program: Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, or Rhode Island

4

A Backpack Healthcare employee, or applying to become one (fee-for-service and salaried roles both qualify)

A 24-month intensive training program