A 2 year externship program that includes clinical experience, individualized licensure supervision, and mentorship related to running a private mental health practice.

ND+ specalizes in providing effective, research-informed psychotherapy relating to issues commonly experienced by folks with neurodivergent brains, issues experienced by folks who hold queer identities, and issues experienced by folks who have experienced trauma. We provide individual and relationship therapy. It is expected that, at a minimum, clinicians who complete the ND+ Externship Program will be particularly skilled at working with neurodiversity, queer identities, and trauma in the context of individual and relational therapy from a relational, decolonizing stance that includes the thoughtful use of multiple, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modalities. Other areas of clinical expertise will also be explored and developed.

All externs become junior partners in the business for the length of their externship. They are expected to participate in business meetings, weekly clinical supervision (individual and group), mentorship meetings with clinical director, and maintain a clinical caseload (~20 clinical hours/week).

Expectations are somewhat flexible based on individual need, reasonable accommodations, and an individual’s personal/professional development goals. Ultimately, we want the externship experience to be meaningful for you personally and useful for you professionally.

The goal of the ND+ Externship Program is to prepare externs for individual clinical licensure, to equip them to be excellent mental health providers, and to support them as they make progress towards their professional goals. We support externs who are interested in staying as a part of ND+ after finishing their externship as well as externs who intend to leave and explore other professional opportunities.

At this time, we can accept folks who have completed their master’s degree in a counseling or psychotherapy field and are currently provisionally licensed as a MFTC (Marriage and Family Therapy Candidate) or LPCC (Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate) or who will be licensed as a MFTC or LPCC before starting clinical work.

Because we are a specialized clinical group, it is required that your professional and personal interests include clinical work with neurodivergent folks, queer folks, and trauma in some form.

We are committed to creating a professional atmosphere where open collaboration is possible, all members feel safe advocating for their own needs, and all members of the team are treated with dignity and respect. For this reason, we work from a particular set of beliefs. We hold an anti-racist perspective which challenges harmful social and cultural norms. We reject power structures which are hierarchical and patriarchal advocating instead for shared communal decision making and relational conflict resolution. We celebrate neurodiversity by welcoming experiences which are different from ours, believing people when they share their experience, and making accommodations where we are able. We ardently protect the rights of queer people to self-identify and develop a deeper and more authentic understanding of who they are. We balance the need to make money with a rejection of typical, capitalistic expectations of overwork and infinite growth.

This externship experience is designed to be intense. The intensity is not accidental or in support of “grind culture” but rather a reality of the work. Becoming an excellent provider for vulnerable populations which have, historically, not received adequate research or clinical attention requires more work from the clinicians. We willingly engage with that work because it is worth the effort to make sure the communities that we care about receive the best possible care.

Yes. The externship experience is paid. All externships are made partners in the business, which technically counts as a form of self-employment.

Pay is determined weekly as a calculation of income brought in from clinical work with all expenses for that week subtracted out.

As a part of the mentorship component of the externship, all externs work with the clinical director to help them devise personal and professional goals - including how much money they would like to make and possibles avenues for achieving those goals.

All decisions that impact an extern’s finances are made collaboratively and with full transparency. We aim to manage all elements of the business proactively instead of reactively and consider all reasonable possibilities.

1. We specialize in a specific population of clients and issues that require specialized care and interventions

2. We intentionally create and cultivate a collaborative environment where resources and knowledge can be shared

3. All externs are expected to engage in weekly self-care/self-development as well as weekly individual and group supervision because the work is hard and we want excellent providers to have excellent boundaries around work.

4. Externs have access to highly trained professionals, including multiple supervisors and a network of other providers who can be called in for consult and additional support. We model a community approach to the work that helps dissipate the stress and encourages continual learning and refinement of skillset.

5. ND+ cares about providing high quality psychotherapy and running a group private practice that supports that high quality care. We make common sense decisions that support our clinicians so they can support their clients.

6. We are not a family. We are colleagues who share a common passion and treat each other with mutual respect. We also hold each other accountable. There are no tricks, no power plays, no complicated legal or financial hoops to jump through. We communicate directly and honestly and address conflict early and with care. Good boundaries that are clearly articulated and able to be negotiated help us all function well individually and as a collective.

Dr. Conrad Frommelt is the Clinical Director of the ND+ office and oversees all externs. Conrad is also the primary supervisor for all externs.

All externs are expected to hold some combination of in-person and virtual clinical availability totaling around 20 hours per week. Our ND+ office is in the Denver Tech Center.

Supervision is expected to take place in-person at the ND+ office.

The externship is a non-competitive position. We try to accommodate any clinicians who are interested in the externship and seem like a good fit. Externs meet with the clinical director frequently to discuss progress, barriers to progress, and challenges they may be facing.

We ask all externs to agree to give at least 60 days notice before they leave the externship for any reason other than completing their full 2 years so that the business can shift to cover their expenses.

Other practices and policies will be covered during the onboarding process. Any questions or concerns can be directed to Dr. Conrad at conrad@ndtherapyclinic.com

We try to make the application process as simple as possible. We typically have externship slots available and are happy to integrate folks into the externship cohort when they are a good fit.

Application process:

1. Read through the ND+ Externship Questions document found here and respond to the questions. Send those responses, in whatever format makes sense to you, to Conrad at conrad@ndtherapyclinic.com

2. Conrad will let you know they were received and give you a sense of when you will hear back (usually within 24 hours).

3. If it seems like there could be a good fit, Conrad will reach out to schedule a 60 minute meeting over zoom or in person to discuss the externship and answer any questions you may have.

4. Conrad will then send over initial thoughts, either concerns that they see in terms of you joining the externship program or next steps for getting started (onboarding etc.). If there are concerns, then Conrad will offer to meet with you again to discuss if those concerns can be resolved or if there might be other options that are a better fit for you.

This is an intensive externship opportunity. We expect externs who are passionate about the work and passionate about learning. We also expect a level of emotional maturity which allows each extern to identify their own goals and be able to self-advocate for the things they want/need out of the extern experience. Our supervisors are dedicated to providing support and resources so no extern is left struggling alone. However, none of us our mind readers and we may not know exactly what you need. For this reason, we encourage (and expect) open communication.

During the externship experience, you will receive feedback. Some of that feedback will be about positive things you are doing well and some of that feedback will be about things you should consider doing differently. This is normal and part of how people learn- it does not mean you are not doing a good job. It is the supervisor’s job to make sure this feedback is fair, clear, and actionable. We also want to build up a relationship between extern and supervisor so that feedback feels more like continual growth and less like discouraging nitpicking.