Psychology/Psychiatry Internship

Ratings
Overall
4
Growth: 5
Support: 4
Fun: 4
Housing: 3
Safety: 5
Review

I stayed with Adelante for 2 months in Madrid, doing a placement with a local psychiatrist. I had a bit of an unusual situation therefore I have started my internship before finishing my language classes (which being honest wasn’t a smart move but there was no other option due to time constraints). Important to note, that I did study Spanish before but my level was far from fluent.
I will break review in three parts so it is easier to follow.

Internship
Internship itself was amazing! Exactly what I wanted and what I expected: to be exposed to a private clinical setting, covering a range of problems starting from family crises finishing with schizophrenia. The doctor himself and his crew were very supportive and friendly, which I think is quite important especially for a new person which doesn’t really know Spanish. During the month, my comprehension skills rocketed up as well as reading ones, doctor would ask you to read A LOT ( a piece of advice for someone doing the same placement is to read beforehand his books, it will greatly assist during your internship and in general in your future career).
During the session with a patient, Doctor will explain his/hers diagnosis, share his opinion regarding the matter and would let to ask any question. Also you would have an opportunity to be present and sometimes even interview yourself various patients, complete there profile and participate in a psychotherapy. Sometimes when Doctor wasn’t available, someone from other doctors will invite to the differential diagnosis of his/hers patients.
From the negative side, I can highlight only the fact that most of the time instead of finishing at 3 or 4, I would finish at 7 or 8 which in my opinion is a bit too much for an unpaid internship. However, I have been interning only for a month so I decided to make the most of it but someone else who would want to do this internship for longer might want to consider to clarify this. At work no one seemed to be bothered with timing at all, I was told “leave whenever you feel tired”. But at the end it looks like such attitude is common among Spanish people, they are very chilled (at least the ones I have met).
Other aspect is language, I should have definitely taken classes before because talking to the patients was tough, my Spanish was very rusty.
Also you have to be prepared that sometimes patients would not want to talk in front of you therefore you would have to wait sometimes for a good 2-3hours.

Housing
I lived near Puerta del Sol with Adelante and Eureka (language school)students. The location is amazing, it is literally the central centre, all the touristic attractions, shops and nightlife are hand away from you. My apartment was very spacious with 5 more people living in, this might sound like quite a lot but in fact everyone seemed to co-exist very well. Throughout 2 months no one had any problem with anyone, a very peaceful atmosphere.
The massive downside was, as stated below, an air conditioner and unbearable heat during summer. It was so hot, even inferno would look like a ski resort. When I complained about it to the landlord, I was immediately given a fan, despite being very quick to react, I personally think that at such possibility of overheating air conditioners should be installed. Ironically there were air conditioner units but they didn’t work at any room.
Therefore a piece of advice, do internship when it is not too hot and if you choose to do it in a summer, consider looking for an apartment with an air conditioner.

Language School
I have been to two language schools before in Madrid and I think genuinely speaking that it is not the best one. The director (also a landloard) is very helpful and sorts out problems instantly but if judging school I would give it a solid C, at least for the time I have spent (2 weeks).
I completely agree with a review below that Eureka would work best for long-term students or complete beginners, it is not intense enough for short-term users.

Conclusion
Amazing Internship, good housing (even despite dysfunctional air conditioner), not bad language school. I think you do get value for money here.

Would you recommend this program?
Yes, I would
Year Completed
2015