Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH)

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH) is housed in the Sanford Health Professional Building in Fargo, ND. Co-located within this Sanford Health facility are the Traumatic Stress Treatment Center (TSTC) and the Care Clinic (Child Abuse Referral and Evaluation. Both the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH; Primary Training Site) and the Traumatic Stress Treatment Center (TSTC; Minor Rotation Site) provide clinical psychotherapy, psychological assessment, psychiatric management, case management, and social support services to children, adolescents, and their families. The behavioral health providers offer evidence-based treatment for the varied diagnoses typically identified in childhood/adolescence and work with the pediatricians and other service providers to provide for the mental and physical needs of the patient.

Patients present at the clinic from a variety of backgrounds for a range of behavioral health concerns with ages ranging from infancy to 17 years old and have been referred by their primary care physician to address behavioral and mental health needs.  Some patients travel from geographically remote regions as child behavioral health specialty services are scarce in this region or utilize telehealth. Patients belong to Caucasian, racial and ethnic minority groups, identified as LGBTQIA+, are from varied economic backgrounds, are adopted or in foster care while other patients are from in-tact families.  Common clinical conditions include Social Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. The intern will work closely with primary care and pediatrics, social workers, and other professionals to support our patients. Therapeutic services are delivered in traditional office-based and telehealth delivery models. Residents conduct initial intake assessments and provide individual, family, and group therapy interventions. Empirically based treatment modalities typically used to address symptoms include, Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT); Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Exposure Therapy, Play Therapy, Behavioral Therapy and Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT).

The Internship Experience

At CABH, interns will have an array of training opportunities related to the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families. The larger team of psychologists at this site include both trauma specialists and general child psychologists and are co-located with the child and adolescent psychiatrists with whom regular consultation occurs. Interns are expected to work closely with primary care and pediatrics, social workers, and other professionals to support our patients. Interns are also expected to work closely with the clinical team at the Partial Hospitalization Program for Adolescents, which is a pediatric inpatient unit for medical concerns, and our child psychologist partners at the Sanford Medical Center. Interns who complete an internship with CABH are expected to be well-rounded in the practice of psychology and leave with the skills necessary to treat and assess diverse populations as well as those who live with various mental health conditions and stressors.

Patients present at Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH) from a variety of backgrounds for a range of behavioral health concerns. Patients treated include children (Birth-18 years old), young adults, and caregivers of children and young adults. While this clinic serves children and families located in the Fargo-Moorhead region, some patients travel from geographically remote regions in the greater Minnesota and rural North Dakota areas, as child behavioral health services are scarce in this region. Many patients belong to racial and ethnic minority groups, Indigenous groups, identify as LGBTQAI+, are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and are in foster care or kinship care.

CABH’s therapeutic services are delivered in traditional office-based and telehealth delivery models. Interns will conduct initial intake assessments and provide individual, family, and group therapy interventions. Interns are given the opportunity to provide a variety of treatment modalities to help patients achieve their treatment goals. These include, but are not limited to, activities that are in consultation with treatment team members, as an individual therapist, or as a treatment team member within the unit milieu:

• Psychoeducation
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
• Behavioral Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Exposure Therapy
• Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
• Exposure and Relapse Prevention (ERP)
• Alternatives for Families: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT)
• Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)
• Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
• Honoring Children, Mending the Circle (HCMC) – a cultural adaptation of TF-CBT for Native American children
• Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT)
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
• Play Therapy
• Other physician ordered interventions, as appropriate

At CABH, interns will develop competencies in psychological assessment and clinical interventions among a diverse panel of patients. The training provided is designed to develop competencies in psychological assessment and diagnosis, psychological interventions, and interdisciplinary consultation. While acquiring these competencies, interns will also develop sensitivity to issues of cultural diversity, awareness of professional ethics in the delivery of clinical services, and self-awareness as these relate to issues that impact professional functioning.