Internship - Therapist (multiple placement options)

Heartland Family Service is committed to building a trauma-informed, inclusive, and collaborative environment that supports both client healing and professional growth. We provide community-based behavioral health services across Nebraska and Iowa in outpatient, residential, school-based, correctional, shelter, and recovery settings.

We welcome students who are passionate about serving diverse and high-need populations in a fast-paced, supportive training environment.

Internship Overview

Heartland Family Service offers clinical internship placements across a wide range of behavioral health programs. Interns gain hands-on experience while receiving structured supervision designed to build clinical competence and professional identity.

Internships are available for students in:

• Social Work
• Counseling
• Marriage & Family Therapy
• Psychology
• Art Therapy (accredited graduate programs)

Interns are typically assigned a primary site but may rotate across multiple agency locations depending on training needs and program placement.

 What Interns Do (all placements)

Interns may participate in:

• Intake assessments and clinical evaluations
• Treatment planning and case formulation
• Individual, group, family, and expressive therapy services (role-dependent)
• Clinical documentation and case notes
• Crisis intervention and safety planning (as appropriate)
• Team meetings, supervision, and case consultation
• Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams and community partners

Interns build skills progressively with increasing responsibility under close supervision.

Training Tracks and Role Focus

Therapy Interns (Counseling, Social Work, MFT, Psychology, Art Therapy)

Focus on direct clinical services, including:

• Psychotherapy (individual, group, family)
• Clinical assessment and diagnosis exposure
• Treatment planning and therapeutic interventions
• Evidence-based practices (CBT, DBT-informed, MI, trauma-informed care)
• Co-facilitation progressing toward independent facilitation

 Housing / Case Management Interns (where applicable)

Focus on stabilization and support services, including:

• Case management and service coordination
• Housing stabilization and resource linkage
• Advocacy and systems navigation
• Goal planning and community-based support

Programs You May Be Placed In

Interns may be placed in one or more of the following:

Adult Behavioral Health & Recovery

• Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
• Correctional Mental Health Services (Sarpy County Correctional Facility)
• Residential Substance Use Treatment (Heartland Bridges)
• Family Works Residential Program

Trauma & Victim Services

• Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services
• Human Trafficking Survivor Services (Heartland Housing Sanctuary)

 Children, Youth & Family Services

• School-Based Therapy Services

 Community Recovery Services

• Nebraska Peer Center
• Iowa Peer Center

Expressive Therapies

• Art Therapy Internship (multi-site placement model)

 What to Expect

• Fast-paced, structured clinical environment
• Exposure to diverse and high-acuity populations
• Increasing clinical responsibility over time
• Regular supervision and multidisciplinary collaboration
• Required travel between agency sites (reliable transportation needed)