Wichita Collaborative Psychology Internship Program

Prairie View, inc.

Prairie View is a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) which provides a broad spectrum of community-based behavioral health services. Prairie View delivers comprehensive care, including treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, crisis intervention, and primary care screening and monitoring. Prairie View offers community based services for all ages including care coordination services to best support individual, couple, and family treatment goals and provide high-quality, integrated care. As a CCBHC, Prairie View strives to be person centered, culturally competent, recovery oriented and trauma informed in all aspects of our work. Prairie View is also accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)

Prairie View was established in 1954 by a group of Mennonite conscientious objectors during WWII, who pioneered a unique treatment philosophy focusing on personal accountability and person centered care. This philosophy and passion to serve others has continued to be foundational for our team. As a Non-profit organization rooted in faith, Prairie View’s mission is to foster healing and growth in individuals and communities by providing behavioral and mental health services with compassion, competence and stewardship in the spirit of Christ. There is no requirement or expectation for staff or faculty to be grounded in a particular religious orientation and we serve all regardless of affiliation.

The Prairie View main campus is located 20 miles north of Wichita, and services a tri-county region of Harvey, McPherson, and Marion Counties, as well as includes an Outpatient office in Wichita and a Behavioral Urgent Care Center and 14- bed adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility located in Newton. The intern will be located in the Wichita office for their primary site with options to spend time on the Newton campus, depending on areas of interest and availability for supervision.

Prairie View's Wichita Outpatient Office

Intern Opportunities

Training here at Prairie View focuses on outpatient treatment and assessment services across the lifespan, utilizing Evidence-Based Practices including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and trauma-focused therapies including Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Trauma-Focused CBT. Depending on availability of supervisors, interns may get exposure to wrap-around services and collaboration with medication providers, case managers, peer support, and patient navigators within the greater Prairie View system.

Over the course of the year, interns obtain assessment, consultation, and individual and group therapy experience. Same-day access is a cornerstone of the CCBHC model and interns will develop skills in triaging persons entering treatment as well as short- and long-term therapy cases. The interns are encouraged to develop group treatment opportunities and learn about the process of creating, marketing, and running an outpatient group. Assessment cases will vary by need and medical necessity and interns are expected to have experience in the more common batteries useful for diagnostic clarification and treatment recommendations. Additional assessment experience is limited to supervisor availability.

The interns are also encouraged to participate in Prairie View’s diversity taskforce and may opt to complete a small program evaluation to assess effective practices. Prairie View also accommodates local practicum students from Wichita State University’s Clinical Psychology program to gain experience and hours for internship, as available; opportunities for the intern to provide supervision to these higher-level students is encouraged. Flexibility is emphasized, and the intern is encouraged to be active participants in identifying desired experiences and designing their learning environments to meet those goals. Feedback from previous interns have indicated that the variety of therapy cases is both challenging and rewarding.

Internship Stipend and Benefits

The Prairie View, Inc. stipend is $26,000 for the 12-month, 2000-hour internship, with individual health insurance, vacation, and professional leave time provided. WCPIP provides professional liability insurance. Please note that Prairie View requires that all interns pass a background check before their contracts will be finalized and eligibility to be licensed in Kansas is required. See the Kansas BSRB website and application for more information. There will be two internship positions available for the 2024-2025 training year.