Gaining Global Perspective: Sarah Shutes in South Africa
For Sarah Shutes, an online MSW student based in California, field education became a truly global experience during the Fall 2025 semester. Shutes traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, to complete an internship at Akeso Kenilworth Clinic, where she gained firsthand experience in inpatient mental health care while immersing herself in a new culture and community.
“Sarah was our 15th MSW student to complete part of her internship requirements in Cape Town, South Africa,” said Hellen McDonald, professor and field liaison. “This site-based model of international internship experiences provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a global social work context abroad while meeting our CSWE educational requirements. In addition to educational requirements, online course participation and projects, all of our international interns must complete a pre-departure assignment; five days of orientation and onboarding in Cape Town, provided by the Volunteer Adventure Corps; weekly meetings with a School of Social Work MSW who is credentialed in the U.S. and graduated from an accredited North American school of social work; and a final project. Sarah decided her final project would be a digital storyboard.”
Before arriving in Cape Town, Shutes expected to work primarily alongside a social worker and wondered how cultural and language differences might shape her experience. Instead, she found herself learning within a multidisciplinary team of psychologists and occupational therapists who brought a range of perspectives to patient care.
At Akeso Kenilworth, Shutes observed and participated in group therapy sessions and therapeutic activities grounded in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), an approach that emphasizes skills such as mindfulness, emotional regulation, and distress tolerance. The clinic’s structured inpatient program serves individuals with a wide range of mental health needs, from children and young adults to patients experiencing acute psychiatric conditions, co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, burnout, and other emotional and psychological challenges.
The experience gave Shutes a firsthand look at the complexity of inpatient mental health care and challenged her to grow as a developing practitioner. She discovered that facilitating therapeutic groups did not always come as naturally as she had anticipated. Working through that discomfort became an important part of her development and helped her think more deeply about how she could best support individuals in a therapeutic environment.
One lesson stood out above all: the importance of creating spaces where people feel safe, heard, and understood.
Learning Beyond the Clinic
Shutes’ education extended well beyond her internship. Living in Cape Town offered opportunities to experience South African culture and explore the country’s history, including visits to Robben Island and Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA).
Those experiences provided a deeper understanding of apartheid’s lasting impact and the social and economic inequities that continue to affect communities today. They also allowed Shutes to witness the resilience of individuals and organizations working toward healing and social change.
Her time abroad included opportunities to experience local cuisine, attend a rugby match, visit Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, and go on safari in Botswana. Together, the clinical, cultural, and travel experiences broadened her understanding of the world and of the communities social workers serve.
By the end of the semester, Shutes returned with greater confidence, cultural awareness, and a renewed commitment to mental health care.
“My internship at Akeso Kenilworth Clinic and my experiences throughout Cape Town profoundly shaped both my personal and professional growth,” Shutes said. “Through both clinical experiences and cultural immersion, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of compassion, human connection, and creating safe spaces for healing.”
For Shutes, the experience was also an opportunity to represent the School of Social Work and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign internationally.
“I am so grateful and honored by the opportunity to represent the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a Social Work intern at Akeso Kenilworth in Cape Town, South Africa,” Shutes said. “This was a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish and take with me throughout my social work journey.”