Wheeler’s internship program provides hands-on, meaningful learning experiences for students preparing for careers in behavioral health and community-based care. This month, we are pleased to highlight two interns who are learning at Wheeler’s Northwest Village School (NVS), a special education therapeutic day school located in Plainville, Connecticut.
Jack Templeton is pursuing his Master of Social Work at the University of Connecticut while completing his internship at NVS. Jack is in a school-based role providing psychotherapy to students while managing a small caseload, supporting social groups in classroom settings, and helping students build emotional regulation and coping skills.
Jack was drawn to Wheeler because of our strong commitment to community and behavioral health services for children. He is particularly interested in working within a model that integrates clinical behavioral health services directly into schools, allowing for more individualized and accessible care than traditional school-based resources often provide.
Through his internship, Jack hopes to continue developing his clinical skills by applying psychotherapy modalities in real-world settings while gaining greater independence and confidence as a clinician. His long-term career goals include working in a community-based behavioral health clinic and becoming a confident navigator of public health systems, including understanding the operational side of publicly funded care.
Jack brings strong communication and collaboration skills to his work, along with a unique professional background in tech and advertising that enhances his ability to connect with others and think creatively. Jack stated that, “healthy connection is fundamental to individual progress, whether with business executives or students in crisis.” He is mostly looking forward to building relationships with Wheeler staff, learning from experienced clinicians, and having opportunities to observe and shadow colleagues. Outside of work, Jack is a marathon runner and previously completed the New York City Marathon.
Joanna Moskalis is a graduate student at the Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology at the University of Hartford and is also completing her internship as a school-based clinician within Wheeler’s NVS program. Joanna works with middle and high school students, supporting crisis prevention, conducting assessments and tri-annual evaluations, participating in PPT meetings, providing classroom consultation, and delivering case management services for students with complex needs.
Joanna chose Wheeler because of our strong reputation as a training site and the consistent positive feedback she heard about the quality of supervision, professional support, and learning opportunities. She sees this internship as an important step in exploring her interests and gaining broad exposure to working with children and adolescents.
Professionally, Joanna is eager to learn from a wide range of disciplines, including special education teachers, speech pathologists, and occupational therapists. She is focused on developing her assessment skills, strengthening report writing, and better understanding systems such as IEPs and PPTs. Personally, she is exploring her identity as a therapist, striving to bring empathy, authenticity, and even humor into the therapeutic space.
Joanna values collaboration and teamwork and is excited to contribute as a supportive and engaged team member. She is especially looking forward to learning from professionals she might not otherwise encounter and gain a deeper insight into student behavior within the classroom environment. Before pursuing psychology, Joanna served eight years in the United States Air Force and was stationed in Hawaii for five years. She shared that she is “incredibly grateful for the opportunity at Wheeler and excited to see what the coming months will bring.”