Interning with Pivotal Counseling
Pivotal Counseling is proud to be one of the few private practice locations to host master’s degree level, clinical interns (sorry but we can’t accommodate bachelor’s level interns at this time). We have found it to be a mutually beneficial arrangement that allows for us to offer low-cost services to the Greeley/Loveland/Fort Collins area while providing students with a unique opportunity to intern at a private practice site and that focuses on relationships and sexuality.
Openings
At this time, our intern positions are full. Our next opening will be for candidates starting no earlier than August 2025.
About the Internship
We consider this to be an “advanced clinical internship.” It will be a comparatively intense experience compared to many other internship sites. What makes it more intense?
Hours - It is not uncommon for clinicians to accumulate more, sometimes notably more, hours than are required. Hand in hand with that, our supervision is more intense than your program likely requires, sometimes as much as twice the required hours (including co-therapy with your supervisor).
Cases - You will be handling some basic cases such as issues around mood disorders or relational distress but also some more substantial presenting issues in less complicated cases such as infidelity, sexual functioning, higher conflict couples, and cases with multiple presenting issues.
Training - Handling more advanced cases means that you will be required to engage in study and learning around these advanced issues on your own time during your internship and then discussing this learning with your supervisor.
This means that we are very selective in choosing interns. Our interns must be highly motivated and organized to be able to manage everything that this internship will demand of them.
what makes for successful interns at our site?
A Systemic Education: While we do see individuals, we work from systemic models. Our strong preference is that internship candidates be in a master’s degree program that is either accredited by COAMFTE or is equivalent to their requirements (UNCO’s Couples and Family track is generally found to be equivalent). If you don’t know what morphogenesis, circular causality, triangulation, enmeshment, and isomorphism are off the top of your head, your education likely isn’t aligned with our basic theoretical approaches.
A Focus on Adults and Relationship Counseling: We do see teens at times (about 12 on up). However most (95% or more) of our clients are adults and many (more than half) of our clients are seeking help with relationship issues. Successful interns will have an interest and focus on working with adults (and be at least comfortable with teens). If your passion is play therapy, kids, family work, or working primarily with teens, you’ll likely be more successful at other sites. Very competitive candidates will have completed a theory specific training in couples work (Gottman Level 1, EFT Externship, etc).
An Interest in Sex Therapy: With sex therapy being a big focus of our practice, we are looking for interns who at least have a strong interest in that area if not a passion and commitment to pursuing it as a specialty in their career. If you’re not excited at the idea of working with sexual issues and content in session, you would struggle at our practice and would be a better fit at a site with a different focus.
Private Practice Mindset: We aren’t an agency. You’re not going to land here with a full caseload. Successful interns have been motivated and self-starters who want to learn what it takes to build a caseload in a private practice. It is expected that you will put in some hours in helping to market yourself and get your name out there. That’s part of the “private practice” experience.
Be Comfortable with Technology: We are a paperless office even when we aren’t dealing with COVID. Successful interns at Pivotal Counseling are comfortable with the idea of paperless documentation, online electronic health records, digital scheduling, and video-conferencing (nearly all clients are seen online right now).
Be Willing to Commute to Greeley: When we are in the office, it will almost exclusively be in the Greeley office. A successful intern will be absolutely fine with commuting to Greeley multiple weekdays every week (up to and possibly every weekday) including being in Greeley for 8+ hours in a day depending on the schedule.
Committing to At Least 8 Month: We occasionally have people reach out for a single semester of internship. This is generally too short of a timeframe for our approach with interns. A successful intern will be looking for an internship of at least 8 months (an academic year) or 12 months.
If after reading this far you still believe that we would be a good fit as intern and site, then we want to hear from you.
How to be Considered for an internship
The next step is to fill out our interest form. In the form, you will be asked to upload two PDFs.
A Letter of Interest: Your letter needs to both pitch you as a good internship candidate AND detail why you are specifically applying to intern specifically with Pivotal Counseling (as opposed to other internship sites).
Your Current CV or Resume: Please make sure to include any and all advanced trainings you have already taken.
Once you have those two PDFs polished and ready to go, click the button below to fill out the interest form. We should be in touch within a week of you submitting your form.
