Internship - Home Visiting

Agency and Program Description

St. David's Developmental & Therapeutic Services is a regional leader in child and family development. We offer therapeutic, educational, and support services, including mental health and pediatric therapies, autism treatment, home visiting, an inclusive preschool, and disability services. Over 8,000 children and families access these services at our three early intervention centers in Minneapolis and Minnetonka, more than 30 partner sites, and hundreds of homes across the community.

About the Role

Parent Child Home Visiting Programs, located on our Minneapolis Campus and providing services throughout Hennepin County, provide relationship-based, trauma-informed support to families beginning in pregnancy and continuing through early childhood. Grounded in Infant Mental Health principles and Attachment Theory, our services focus on nurturing strong caregiver-child relationships, promoting healthy development, and supporting the overall wellbeing and stability of each family we serve.

Responsibilities

• Gain insight into how each of the following evidence-based, strength-focused home visiting models are implemented and adapted to meet varying family needs:
• Healthy Families America (HFA)
• Parents as Teachers (PAT)
• Sensitive Parenting Support Program (SPS)
• Observe and learn how secure attachment is supported through sensitive caregiving, co-regulation, and reflective practice with families.
• Engage families with safety, trust, and cultural humility while recognizing the impact of adversity, stress, and trauma.
• Explore approaches to serving families with diverse identities, cultural practices, and lived experiences in a respectful, inclusive way.
• Develop skills in using affirming, empowering language to support caregiver confidence and capacity.
• Work with the team to thoughtfully strategize activities, interventions, and resource connections that can best support family wellbeing, stability, and growth.
• Understand typical and atypical development and observe how home visitors coach caregivers to support positive parent-child interactions.
• Connect families with concrete resources (housing, food, mental health supports, childcare etc.) to promote stability.
• Understand how home visiting teams collaborate with other providers and community agencies.
• Observe and practice writing strengths-focused documentation aligned with program requirements and ethical guidelines.
• Attend and co-facilitate home visiting sessions alongside experienced home visitors.
• Observe and actively participate in relationship-based, developmentally supportive work with families while learning how tenured home visiting staff model sensitive engagement, attunement, and reflective practice during visits.
• Observe and facilitate a range of assessments (e.g., parent health screens, developmental assessments, parent-child interactions).
• Attend and co-facilitate parent support groups with experienced staff.
• Create safe, welcoming spaces for caregivers to connect, reflect, and share experiences and provide activities that encourage healthy, attuned parent-child interactions.
• Multidisciplinary learning opportunities may also include observing occupational and speech therapy sessions, outpatient mental health diagnostic assessments, typical child development in our Early Childhood Education Program, and other mental health services in the agency.
• Opportunity for DEI focused work, such as BIPOC reflective practice group participation, DEI panels and meetings, etc.

Qualifications

• Master's Level: Must be enrolled in a Master's Degree Program for Social Work, Clinical Counseling, or Marriage and Family Therapy.
• Bachelor's Level: Must be enrolled in a Bachelor's Degree Program in a related field.

Skills

• Work or life experience with children.
• Ability to take direction and work as a team member.
• Strong communication and written skills.
• Ability to establish positive, respectful working relationships with a diverse population of adults and children.
• Flexibility, creativity, and the ability to think on your feet and problem solve.

Placement Requirements

• In Person Field hours availability: Daytime hours: Monday - Friday
• Specific hours or days: Interns are required to be present on Tuesdays, with ideal hours on this day including 10am-2:30pm to allow for participation in team meetings.
• Fridays are not available for field hours.
• Car required? Yes.
• Required orientation? All interns are required to attend a New Employee Orientation before beginning their internship. They are held 2x/month on Monday mornings from 8:45am-12:15pm on our Minneapolis Campus with free parking available; exact date will be determined based on student start date.
• Background check required? Yes. Agency will cover the cost.

Application Process

Please send your cover letter and resume to: Paula Frisk MS, LMFT, IMH-E (pfrisk@stdavidsmn.org).

Questions Regarding This Internship Opportunity, Please Contact: Paula Frisk, MS, LMFT, IMH-E (pfrisk@stdavidsmn.org)

FOR GENERAL QUESTIONS REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH INTERNSHIPS AT ST. DAVID'S, PLEASE CONTACT: Sarah Ahlfs-Dunn, PhD, LP (sahlfs-dunn@stdavidsmn.org)