Mental Health Therapist

Mental Health Therapist Internship Position

(LPC, LPC-IT, LMFT, LMFT-IT)

We offer a staffed, modern, and professional office spaces. Our staff is made up of various licensures including LPC's, LMFT's, LCSW's, Bachelors level providers and School Psyc providers. 

Opportunity to experience the Comprehensive Community Services program to provide community-based mental health services.

Opportunity to experience mental health services in the school setting.  We provide services to 5 local school districts

Internship Learning Objectives

Interviewing Techniques: This clinical proficiency includes core skills and competencies that counselors must have to conduct interviews and discussions for the provision of professional service to their clients. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Structure an interview appropriate for goal, time, and client need. 

2. Identify and maintain focus to reach the goal of the interview. 

3. Establish rapport and an environment of safety for the client. 

4. Ask meaningful questions of the client clearly. 

5. Make assessments clearly to the client. 

6. Summarize results of the interview. 

7. Make transitions. 

8. Take appropriate notes during the interview process. 

9. Understand appropriate and effective methods of addressing ethical concerns that may be necessary to navigate through many cases and situations in the Practicum/Internship experience. 

Managing the Dynamics of the Treatment Relationship: This clinical proficiency includes the core skills needed by counselors to understand and facilitate the emotional and interpersonal processes and conflicts that emerge while services are provided to clients. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Develop rapport. 

2. Demonstrate and communicate empathy. 

3. Define and maintain appropriate boundaries. 

4. Address resistance behaviors empathetically. 

5. Identify and manage transference. 

6. Identify and manage counter-transference in a clinically helpful manner. 

7. Maintain agreed upon tasks or outcome goals. 

8. Demonstrate integrity. 

9. Maintain confidentiality. 

Maintaining Ethical and Professional Relationships: This clinical proficiency includes core skills needed by counselors to act properly and ethically for the well-being of all clients. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Create and maintain appropriate boundaries. 

2. Practice only within areas of one’s personal competence. 

3. Secure and facilitate informed consent for all procedures. 

4. Speak and act with respect in the presence of all clients. 

5. Identify and avoid dual relationships and conflicts of interest. 

6. Maintain a professional, contractual relationship with clients. 

7. Seek consultation and supervision when needed. 

8. Maintain up-to-date diagnostic and treatment knowledge. 

9. Provide and maintain a usable and effective emergency plan. 

10. Present an attitude of “do no harm.” 

Cultural Sensitivity: This clinical proficiency includes core skills counselors must have to understand 

and effectively negotiate issues of individual differences, delivery of mental health services, and the 

therapeutic process. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Recognize the ways in which factors such as race, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual 

orientation, social class, religion, physical condition, and age may affect the interview 

situation and therapeutic process. 

2. Attend to individual differences in interviewing and the therapeutic process. 

3. Define, establish, and maintain appropriate boundaries. 

4. Account for ways in which the clinical mental health counselor and marriage, couples, and 

family counselor’s personal characteristics may impact the therapeutic relationship. 

5. Identify and manage transference. 

6. Identify and manage counter-transference in a clinically helpful manner. 

7. Recognize special considerations in working with sexual orientation issues including 

required clinical mental health counselor and marriage and couples and family counselor 

behavior in assisting a client in the coming out process. 

8. Demonstrate integrity. 

9. Maintain confidentiality. 

General Assessment Skills: This counseling proficiency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to engage the assessment process using norm-referenced tests. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Understand the assessment process. 

2. Review referral information. 

3. Conduct interviews with appropriate parties. 

4. Conduct observations, behavioral observations, and mental status examinations. 

5. Write a report and communicate conclusions clearly. 

6. Follow-up on recommendations and provide ongoing assessment. 

Psycho-diagnostic Skills: This counseling proficiency involves the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to assess and diagnose client problems without the use of norm-referenced test instruments. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Conduct a clinical interview. 

2. Conduct an interview to obtain a psychosocial history. 

3. Conduct a Mental Status Examination. 

4. Distinguish between psychological disorders and organic disorders with emotional and 

behavioral symptoms. 

5. Distinguish between an organic disorder masquerading as a psychological disorder and a true 

psychological disorder. 

6. Identify the need to make referrals to a specialist. 

7. Compose a psychological intake report meeting professional quality standards. 

8. Adapt the above skills to couple, family, group, and organizational diagnoses. 

Individual Interventions: This clinical proficiency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for counselors to assist clients in making progress toward their treatment goals in counseling. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Establish a strong therapeutic alliance. 

2. Create an environment of hopefulness about treatment. 

3. Develop initial treatment goals and treatment plans. 

4. Review goals and plans every 10 weeks. 

5. Educate the client about the disorder. 

6. Make appropriate contracts. 

7. Use appropriate paperwork and documentation. 

8. Make appropriate interpretations. 

9. Make appropriate confrontations. 

10. Make appropriate homework assignments. 

11. Follow-up on assignments and agreements made with clients. 

12. Assist the client in taking credit for progress toward goals. 

13. Point out progress to client at appropriate times. 

14. Manage transference and counter-transference that may be interfering with progress toward therapeutic goals. 

Family Intervention: This clinical proficiency encompasses the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for counselors to assist families and couples in making progress toward their goals in counseling. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Establish rapport with families and couples. 

2. Create an environment of hopefulness about treatment. 

3. Define family and couple (if applicable), problems and challenges. 

4. Collaboratively develop initial treatment goals and plans. 

5. Review goals and plans every 10 weeks. 

6. Make appropriate contracts. 

7. Use appropriate paperwork and documentation. 

8. Make appropriate interpretations. 

9. Make appropriate confrontations. 

10. Make appropriate homework assignments. 

11. Follow up on assignments and agreements made with families and couples, if applicable. 

12. Maintain equilateral regard for all members. 

13. Identify and use triangulation appropriately. 

14. Identify and use interaction sequence techniques. 

15. Assist the family and couple, if applicable, in taking credit for their progress. 

16. Define, establish, and maintain roles and boundaries. 

17. Produce a family Genogram. 

18. Manage transference and counter-transference that may be interfering with progress toward therapeutic goals. 

Group Intervention: This clinical proficiency encompasses the knowledge and skills necessary for counselors to assist clients within a therapy group in achieving therapy goals. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Screen, assess, and prepare group members effectively. 

2. Observe ethical principles specific to groups. 

3. Define the rules, boundaries, and limits of the group. 

4. Build cohesion among group members. 

5. Activate the therapeutic factors essential to healthy group process appropriate to the stages of 

group development. 

6. Make appropriate interpretations, bridging statements and confrontations. 

7. Promote “process” over and above “content.” 

8. Manage conflict among group members. 

9. Balance interventions aimed at “group as a whole” vs. “group as individuals.” 

10. Exercise leadership functions within the group. 

11. Work effectively as a co-therapist, as appropriate. 

12. Assist clients in achieving both interpersonal and intrapersonal change. 

13. Plan and promote effective group termination. 

14. Make appropriate referrals for group therapy and individual therapy (outside of the group). 

Crisis Intervention and Risk Assessment: This clinical proficiency includes the core skills and knowledge base counselors must have to help clients prepare for, minimize, and resolve crisis situations during and after a crisis situation. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Assess risk of self-injury. 

2. Assess risk of homicide and violence to others, if applicable. 

3. Assess available resources before and during a crisis situation. 

4. Make a contract for safety or relief using appropriate documentation for client and file. 

5. Determine duty to warn or protect. 

6. Make timely interventions (e.g., hospitalization, additional sessions, calling 911, etc.). 

7. Ensure all appropriate documentation in client file. 

8. Provide appropriate support between sessions. 

9. Educate client about crisis prevention and intervention. 

10. Make timely follow-up. 

Records Management: This clinical proficiency includes the core skills that meet ACA and AAMFT standards that counselors must have to manage all client records. 

Objectives: Students must be able to: 

1. Write clear and concise clinical notes, reports, and evaluations. 

2. Maintain client confidentiality. 

3. Discuss Consent to Treat and mandatory Disclosure Form information with clients and obtain appropriate signatures. 

4. Obtain appropriate written releases of information and complete Release of Information forms.
 

Requirements:

• Master's level Internship students may  apply

Work setting:

• In-person
• Telehealth
• Outpatient
• School Locations
• Community Based (CCS Program)
• Private practice

Work Location: New Lisbon Office: 304 Bickford st. New Lisbon, WI 53950 Suit A

Reedsburg Office: 222 N Walnut St. Reedsburg, WI 53959 Suit A/B

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