Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (CABH) – Wahpeton Clinic

Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health will offer one (1) intern position for the 27-28 training year.

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. Since Wahpeton is a border city, it also serves the local rural communities around it as well as many residents from Minnesota and South Dakota.  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.

The Internship Experience

At the Wahpeton Clinic, interns will have the opportunity to gain experience working with children, adolescents, and families, 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 or psychological issues that are expressed in physical symptoms. Interns who complete their training at the Wahpeton Clinic will develop a well-rounded foundation in the practice of psychology, with a particular emphasis on rural behavioral health care. Through diverse clinical experiences, interns will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to assess and treat children and adolescents from a range of backgrounds, presenting concerns, mental health conditions, and life stressors.

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 Intern is 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 and as an individual therapist:

• Psychoeducation
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Exposure and Relapse Prevention Therapy
• Mindfulness and Relaxation Training
• Trauma Therapy including Written Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy
• Family Systems-Informed Practice
• Family-Based Intervention
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
• Behavioral Therapy
• Play Therapy
• other interventions, as appropriate

At the Wahpeton Clinic, interns will develop competencies in developmentally informed assessment, diagnosis, case conceptualization, and evidence-based intervention with children, adolescents, and families. Training will emphasize the ability to establish therapeutic relationships with youth across developmental levels, engage caregivers in treatment, and adapt clinical interventions to individual developmental, cultural, and contextual needs. Interns will also develop skills in trauma-informed care, risk assessment, interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical and legal practice, clinical documentation, and communication.