Required Minor Rotations

An internship with Sanford Health prepares interns for doctoral-level independent practice in clinical psychology by providing interns exposure to various professional roles, treatment settings, and clinical acuities. All interns are required to participate in minor rotations during their internship year to gain training experience related to inpatient behavioral health, hospital consultation, rural behavioral health, and other specialized services offered in a robust integrated healthcare organization. Rotation schedules and placement details are pre-determined based on the intern’s Primary Site placement, as well as staff resources available during the training year.

Each rotation provides a unique learning experience that enhances the intern’s clinical, diagnostic, and assessment skills and knowledge. For each rotation, interns participate in treatment team meetings, site-specific didactic trainings, supplemental supervision, as well as other tasks that are delegated by the supervising psychologist. The following are brief descriptions of the rotation opportunities:

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH) – Fargo, ND Clinic

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH) is in Sanford’s Southpointe multi‑specialty clinic. For their minor rotation, the intern joins an interdisciplinary team (psychiatrists, psychologists, NP, social worker, PCP/pediatrics) to assess and treat diverse children and adolescents (birth–17) and their families—many from rural/remote, economically disadvantaged, foster/kinship care, Indigenous, racial/ethnic minority, and LGBTQIA+ backgrounds—presenting with concerns such as anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, adjustment/conduct issues, and tic disorders. Training emphasizes evidence‑based, developmentally attuned interventions (e.g., CBT, TF‑CBT, DBT skills, ACT, PCIT, CPP, CBIT, SPACE, AF‑CBT, ERP, play therapy, psychoeducation, culturally adapted TF‑CBT) delivered in both office-based and telehealth formats; interns conduct intakes, individual/family/group therapy, and collaborate closely with the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program and hospital-based child psychologists. Competency goals include diagnostic assessment, intervention, and interdisciplinary consultation, alongside growth in cultural humility, ethical practice, and reflective professional self‑awareness.

LGBTQ Focused Care – Moorhead, MN Clinic

The LGBTQ Focused Care Rotation, based within the Adult Behavioral Health Clinic at Sanford in Moorhead, MN, provides a unique opportunity to work with patients of all ages. This rotation will focus on evaluating and supporting gender and sexually diverse patients in pursuing their health needs in both urban and rural areas.  We will focus on evidence-based care and evaluation techniques that consider the needs of this population. Thus, both in-person and tele-video interventions will be a part of the experience. Interns will have the opportunity to observe the work of a psychologist with expertise in working with LGBTQ patients. Working with patients, families, loved ones, and community partners is a key part of this training. In addition to direct service, interns will have the opportunity to engage in a minimum of 20 hours of didactic training with significant opportunities for involvement in consultation conversations related to a variety of cases. Interns will be introduced to multi-disciplinary collaboration with applicable specialties. Supervision will be conducted via both individual and group modalities. Ethics and emerging issues in the field will be addressed, with lots of opportunity for interns to shape their own experience in this specialized care.

Adult Psychological Evaluation – Moorhead, MN Clinic

This minor rotation is based at the Sanford Behavioral Health Clinic and focuses on adult psychological evaluation. Referrals come primarily from within Sanford Health, including behavioral health, psychiatry, and primary care. Adult autism evaluation is a central focus of the rotation, including presentations in women and other high-masking people who are frequently missed or misunderstood in standard clinical settings. Beyond autism assessment, the rotation addresses diagnostic clarification across a range of referral concerns, including attention and executive functioning, learning, memory, mood and personality, OCD, and trauma. Gender-affirming and culturally responsive evaluation practice is woven throughout the rotation, with particular attention to LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse clients in collaboration with the LGBTQ-Focused Care minor rotation. Interns will move through the full evaluation process, from initial diagnostic interviewing and case conceptualization through test administration, interpretation, clinical feedback, and report writing.

Assessment measures that will be used in this rotation include, but are not limited to:

• Cognitive, attention, and executive functioning:
• Memory, visuospatial, and sensorimotor:
• Personality, mood, and adaptive behavior:
• Validity: Symptom validity tests (SVTs) within the broader battery

Wahpeton Primary Care – Wahpeton, ND Clinic

The Sanford Health Wahpeton Clinic is a multi-specialty group practice of four family practice medical doctors, one internal medicine doctor, one surgeon, one optometrist, three physical therapists, one occupational therapist, one social worker, and Specialty Outreach from the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, including dermatology, obstetrics/gynecology, podiatry, orthopedics, oncology/hematology, nephrology, and cardiology. The Behavioral health team includes psychology, psychiatry and counseling.  The behavioral health services offered at the Wahpeton Clinic include psychological assessment, individual therapy, crisis support, psychiatric medication management, social work services, and interdisciplinary consultation to provide comprehensive healthcare to treat the whole person.

At the Wahpeton Clinic minor rotation, interns will have the opportunity to gain experience in multiple areas of psychology, which include, but are not limited to, individual psychotherapy, psychological testing, report writing, crisis intervention, and consultation with other specialty providers. Many patients who receive behavioral health services are also seen within the medical clinic for primary care/routine wellness visits and specialized health services.

Because many patients are referred by primary care providers and other medical specialties, an integral part of the therapeutic intervention may include focusing on coping with premorbid health conditions, such as diabetes, chronic pain, neurological issues, or limitations in functioning.

Therapeutic services are delivered in a traditional office-based setting or by telehealth. Interns will conduct initial intake assessments and provide individual therapy interventions. They may be asked to consult with medical providers where a patient is reporting safety concerns, or the provider is needing additional support to determine suicide risk and appropriate interventions. The interns are given the opportunity to provide a variety of treatment modalities to help patients achieve their treatment goals.