Mental Health Clinics Internships

Volunteers of America – Minnesota is a nonprofit organization founded in 1896 which offers a wide variety of services for more than 26,500 children, adolescents and their families, older adults, students, persons with disabilities and special needs, and adults completing rehabilitation programs each year. We are one of the oldest, largest and most comprehensive human service organizations in the state and have more than 60 programs, 900 employees and 13,600 volunteers. We have a rich history of developing innovative programs to meet emerging social issues. We pride ourselves on sponsoring programs which are able to articulate the outcomes achieved in our program participants’ lives.

The Volunteers of America - Minnesota Mental Health Clinics offers diverse, culturally competent, high-quality mental health services for children, adolescents, and their families.  These services may take place in the clinic office, school or home setting and are individualized to meet the unique needs of each child and their family.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES:
The Mental Health Clinics’ multidisciplinary team of professional staff focuses on helping children, adolescents and their families’ cope with and manage:

  • Emotional and behavior problems and disturbances
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • ADHD
  • Parent/child conflict
  • Grief and loss issues
  • Attachment issues
Additionally, our team has specialized expertise to meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents who are:
  • Living in foster care
  • Returning home from out-of-home placement
  • Deaf or hard of hearing
  • Somali and East African
Our comprehensive mental health services help children and adolescents learn effective ways to manage their behaviors and emotions to be successful at home, at school and in the community.  Additionally, our services help parents learn how to understand their children’s problems and learn more effective ways to manage their children’s behavior.

Professional Services
  • Individual Psychotherapy
  • Psychotherapy services for Children, Adolescents and Families may include:
    • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
    • Play Therapy and/or other modalities
    • 0-5 infant-young child mental health
  • Family Psychotherapy
  • Group Psychotherapy
  • Psychological Assessment and Testing
    • Specialized assessments for deaf and hard of hearing
    • Specialized assessments for immigrants and refugees
  • Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents
    • Psychiatric assessment
    • Psychiatric evaluation
    • Medication management
  • Family and Parent Education programs
  • Outpatient Program
  • Home-Based/CTSS (skills training) Mental Health Program
  • DBT Intensive Outpatient Therapy Program for adolescents and young adults
  • Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) Mental Health Services
  • Somali and East African Behavioral Health Services Program
  • Contractual programs with Hennepin County for:
    • Functional Family Therapy
    • Family and Parenting Development
    • Wraparound
Internships and Practicum’s
VOA Mental Health Clinics offer internship and practicum opportunities for graduate students who seek experience working with children and their families in a variety of therapeutic settings.  These programs are out-patient, intensive, home-based or school-based, and include individual, family and group treatment modalities.

Interns may assist staff and/or provide direct services with supervision. There are many opportunities to learn about mental health services for children and families.  To enhance their training and learning experiences, interns attend the Mental Health Clinics’ multidisciplinary case consultation and in-service trainings.

There are additional opportunities to learn clinical documentation including diagnostic assessments, individual treatment plans, treatment plan reviews, progress notes and discharge summaries and a variety of assessment tools and outcomes measures.

VOA Mental Health Clinics programs are located in Golden Valley, Minneapolis, northern Anoka County, Faribault and St. Cloud and at school sites in the metro area.  Practicum and field placements typically run from the August through the end of May, however arrangements can be made to begin in the summer. VOA Mental Health Clinics programs run year-round and internship and practicum opportunities can range from six months to a year.

Master’s Level Practicum/Field Placements available in:
  • Social Work
  • Marriage and Family Therapy
  • Psychology
  • Counseling
Pre-doctoral Practicum’s
Also available are Pre-doctoral Therapy Practicum’s or Pre-doctoral Assessment Practicum’s. Pre-doctoral psychology students looking for their assessment and therapy practicum experience may apply for a position in VOA Mental Health Clinics outpatient program. Students typically gain experience with diagnostic assessment, psychological assessment and testing, individual therapy, family therapy and group therapy. Applications for practicum positions are reviewed in early March. Practicum students consult and collaborate with a range of team members and community providers, including psychiatrists, social workers, psychologist, case managers, school staff and county workers.

Application Process
Thank you for your interest in VOA Mental Health Clinics. To apply, please see instructions below. We will contact you if we want to talk with you further regarding an internship.

Please complete the Internship Application Form and email or fax it, with your resume, to:

Bonnie Nelson
Email: bjnelson@voamn.org
Fax: 763-753-6529