Psychology Internship Program
Thank you for your interest in Nebraska Mental Health Center’s Psychology Internship Program (NMHC-PIP). We created the internship in 2011 because we believe that NMHC-PIP is structured to provide interns an opportunity to hone outpatient therapy skills, continue to expand psychological testing and assessment skills, master group therapy processes and provide consultation within school and community settings.
The internship received full APA accreditation on July 21, 2019, and our interns are a vital part of the community outpatient program. Intern applicants should have knowledge in general practice skills and abilities in applied psychology. Additionally, intern applicants should have an interest in working with a wide variety of presenting problems and populations. You will find yourself challenged by the broad range of diagnoses you will treat and rewarded when you finish the program ready to begin your professional career.
We are passionate about training and helping interns make the transition from graduate students to full-fledged early-career professionals. We understand that internship application season can be a stressful time, so take a look at our website and brochure and feel free to contact us if you have any questions. We wish you the best of luck in your search for the program that best fits you and your training needs. If you believe NMHC-PIP is a great fit for your training needs, we welcome your application.
Program Match Number 1781
Applications for the 2025–2026 internship year are due no later than 11:59pm on DECEMBER 30, 2024.
APPIC MEMBER #: 1781
SITE NAME: NEBRASKA MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS
LOCATION: LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
TRAINING DIRECTOR: MELISSA LAFFERTY, PH.D.
EMAIL: MLAFFERTY@NMHC-CLINICS.COM
Internship AIMS
The mission of the sponsoring agency, Nebraska Mental Health Centers (NMHC), is to be accessible and reputable, providing compassionate and evidence-based mental health services that empower individuals and communities to thrive. We strive to do good and expand our reach by maintaining stability, encouraging innovation, and adapting to meet the needs of those we serve. We aim to create a supportive and empowering workplace where every team member feels valued, connected, and equipped to thrive both personally and professionally.
The overall aim of the NMHC-Psychology Internship Program (NMHC-PIP) is to provide an open and research informed learning environment in which to train competent, ethical, and reflective psychologists. At the end of the program, interns will have acquired the awareness, knowledge, and skills fundamental to the practice of professional psychology. They will be able to work with individuals across the lifespan including: children, adolescents, adults, and families across multiple settings. Knowledge and understanding of evidence-based practices is a key component of training throughout the internship experience. There is particular emphasis on developing the interns’ ability to develop clinically relevant and standardized assessment batteries, empirically informed diagnosis, and comprehensive recommendations. In line with the belief that psychologists must be sensitive and responsive to cultural and ethnic diversity training experiences are provided that enhance the interns’ understanding of the relevance of cultural factors in the psychological functioning of their clients.
The program expectation is that interns are capable of autonomous practice at the end of the training year. This will be achieved by concentrating training on the development of APA’s SoA’s profession-wide competencies. Based on these competencies, this program integrates theory with practice, providing experiences that are seq
Internship Sites
Weekly Hours
Intern Hours
Monday – Thursday 10:00am – 7:00pm
Friday (Lincoln office ONLY) 8:00am – 5:00pm
Our primary site in Lincoln, NE provides services for a population center of 27,700. Satellite clinics are located in the communities of Wahoo and Beatrice, Nebraska. Within each of the locations come their own socioeconomic, cultural, and community resource considerations for treatment services.
Interns work and receive training at the main office 3 days a week, and are scheduled to work 1 day a week at each of the satellite offices, or on occasion, an alternate service location. All office locations are handicap accessible. Interns each have an individual office at the main office, with computer, phone etc. A large group room for training purposes and groups or family therapy, and testing room is also available. Intervention manuals, assessment materials, other training materials, and access to the DSM 5 and ICD-10 are also provided. Each intern has use of an individual office in the satellite offices, with laptop computers available for check out. Additionally, each intern has access to administrative and IT support as well as client scheduling support. Clinic administration and support services, which is situated at the main office, provides support for scheduling, medical records, client insurance and payments, and other needs.
Application Process
NMHC-PIP currently offers 3 full-time internship positions. Students interested in applying for the internship program should submit an online application through the APPIC website (www.appic.org). The NMHC-PIP APPIC program code 1781.
A complete application consists of the following materials:
A completed Online AAPI (APPIC’s standard application)
Cover letter (as part of AAPI)
A current Curriculum Vitae (as part of AAPI)
Three Standard Reference Forms, two of which must be from persons who have directly supervised your clinical work (as part of AAPI). Please submit no more than three SRFs.
Official transcripts of all graduate coursework
All application materials must be received by the date noted in the current APPIC directory listing in order to be considered.
NMHC-PIP abides by all rules and regulations set forth by APPIC and APA in regard to application for internship as well as the entire conduct of the internship program. Please be aware that all training time credited to internship is post-practicum.
Application Screening and Interview Processes
Selection of applicants for admission is based on several factors. These factors include goodness of fit between the student and those of the training program, including an interest in providing clinical interventions to rural population and individual psychotherapy experience, educational background and interests consistent with our scientist-practitioner model, the quality of a student’s education at the graduate and undergraduate levels, the quality and diversity of practicum experiences, letters of recommendation, and personal qualities reflected in the application materials and in the interview. NMHC-PIP prefers applicants who have had child/adolescent clinical experience and psychological testing experience; coursework and experience administering child and adult psychological assessments.
The internship program values individual and cultural diversity and strongly encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply. In keeping with our commitment to diversity, we seek an internship class that represents a wide range of backgrounds, interests, talents, and life experiences.
It is the policy of NMHC-PIP to provide equal opportunity in employment for all qualified applicants, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, disability, genetic information, marital status, and parental status.
NMHC-PIP bases its selection process on the entire application package noted above; however, applicants who have met the following qualifications prior to beginning internship will be considered preferred:
A minimum of 500 intervention hours
A minimum of 100 assessment hours
All doctoral class course work completed
Dissertation proposal defended
Have demonstrated experience and interest in community-based general outpatient practice and interest in providing interventions to rural population
Experience providing clinical services to children/adolescents
Experience in psychological assessment of children and adolescents
Hold a master’s degree or equivalent (with coursework/training content primarily in therapeutic mental health from a Council of Higher Education Accreditation approved institution) and eligible for licensure as a Licensed or Provisionally Licensed Mental Health Practitioner and as a Psychological Assistant in the State of Nebraska.
Applicants are expected to have an affirming stance towards all diversity, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identities and religion. This should be seen in the applicant’s cover letter and/or responses to the essay questions.
Current enrollment and good standing in an APA-accredited doctoral program.
All applications are screened by the designated members of the NMHC-PIP’s Training Committee using the Applicant Rating Form and evaluated for potential goodness of fit with the internship program.
The NMHC-PIP Training Committee holds a selection meeting to determine which applicants to invite for interviews based upon the results of this screening process. Basic qualifications and characteristics of each applicant are reviewed and screened to determine appropriateness for an interview. These qualifications and characteristics include the accreditation of their doctoral program, degree the applicant is pursuing, experience providing clinical interventions and assessment courses, any factors that would interfere with obtaining Nebraska State licensure and intern’s professional goals as stated in their cover letter.
If applicants are invited to interview, they will be notified by email. Interviews will be scheduled in early January and will occur virtually via Zoom with the entire Training Committee. Interviews will be conducted using a standard set of interview questions, although members of the Training Committee may ask additional interview questions of applicants as appropriate.
Participation in the APPIC Match
The Training Committee will hold a meeting within two weeks of the final interviews being completed in order to determine applicant rankings. The full application package and information gleaned from the interview process will be utilized in determining applicant rankings. As a member of APPIC, NMHC-PIP will participate in the national internship matching process by submitting its applicant rankings to the National Matching Service. NMHC-PIP agrees to abide by the APPIC policy that no person at this training facility will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any intern applicant.
Questions regarding any part of the selection process or NMHC-PIP’s academic preparation requirements may be directed to the Internship Training Director.
All interns who match to NMHC-PIP must provide proof of citizenship or legal residency. Instructions for providing this information will be sent out to all who match after the match process is complete.
Licensure and Credentialing
In order to see clients for sessions and achieve the goal of at least 1,000 clinical hours, interns who have matched with the NMHC-PIP and are slated to join our agency for the upcoming academic year will be required to obtain licensure or provisional licensure in the State of Nebraska. Some insurance payers will also require credentialing. Our administrative staff will begin those processes prior to the beginning of the academic year, but may reach out to ask questions and/or request paperwork. To learn more about licensure as a Provisionally-Licensed Mental Health Practitioner (PLMHP), please CLICK HERE.
Meet the Faculty
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Melissa Lafferty, Ph.D.
INTERNSHIP TRAINING DIRECTOR, SUPERVISOR, PSYCHOLOGIST, TRAINING TEAM MEMBER
Dr. Lafferty is Nebraska native and a graduate of both NMHC’s Psychology Internship and Residency Programs as well as the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Walden University. She focuses her services within the Lincoln and Beatrice office sites. Dr. Lafferty provides and coordinates NMHC-provided services for Beatrice Public Schools Special Education. She also serves as a mental health provider/consultant with the Blue Valley Community Action Partnership that provides Head Start services and Early Intervention Services for Southeast Nebraska. Dr. Lafferty has experience conducting psychological, psychoeducational, social security disability, and court-ordered evaluations.
Dr. Lafferty is co-supervising Parent Child Interaction Training (PCIT) training at NMHC and is certified to provide this specialized intervention.
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Lee Zlomke, Ph.D.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF INTERNSHIP TRAINING, SUPERVISOR, TRAINING TEAM MEMBER, DIRECTOR OF RESIDENCY TRAINING PROGRAM
Dr. Zlomke is a Nebraska Licensed psychologist and a Diplomate in Child Psychological Specialties. He received his doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has 35-plus years of experience in the provision of psychological services as well as professional leadership and training. He specializes in behavioral psychology and interventions for a wide array of clinical presentations and has a specialty in child/family, developmental, forensic, and school psychology. Dr. Zlomke has provided clinical direction and special consultations for numerous agencies regarding individuals with severe and persistent mental illness and persons with developmental disabilities. He served as the Internship Training Director beginning with the 2011-2012 internship class and until November of 2016.
Dr. Zlomke is the founder and CEO of Pediatric Psychology Associates, a private psychology practice.
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Kate Higgins, Psy.D.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM SUPERVISOR
Dr. Higgins joined the NMHC Psychology Training team in August of 2023, serving as a primary supervisor with the internship program, consultant and didactic presenter. She also serves with the Nebraska Athletic Department in April of 2019 as an athletic neuropsychologist. Higgins oversees concussion management and baseline concussion testing, performs individual neuropsychological evaluations for student-athletes with concussion, ADHD and learning difficulties, provides individual counseling and also has clinical duties with CB3 and the UNMC Neuropsychology department.
Prior to coming to Nebraska, Higgins ran a concussion/traumatic brain injury clinic with Sanford Orthopedic and Sports Medicine. Originally from Beatrice, Neb., Higgins earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and theology from Fresno Pacific University in 2006. She then earned a master’s degree in Experimental Psychology from Fresno State in 2009 before earning a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on Neuropsychology from Forest Institute in 2015. Higgins did a two-year fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Nebraska's CB3 and UNMC in 2017.
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Ashleigh Clarke, Psy.D.
TRAINING TEAM MEMBER
Dr. Clarke obtained a Master’s Degree from Pacific University in Counseling Psychology and a second Master’s Degree from Marywood University in Clinical Psychology. She is a proud graduate of NMHC's Psychology Internship Program. She utilizes a process oriented, client-centered and strength based approach integrating Interpersonal and Cognitive-Behavioral techniques with her clients. She has a passion for working with adolescents, young adults, and women who have experienced trauma or are experiencing stress related to life changes and adjustments. She has a goal to utilize her skills for social change and advocacy as she develops into a professional psychologist.
Dr. Clarke is passionate about rescuing, fostering and adopting senior dogs and providing a loving home for even those with medical needs.
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Jill Zlomke McPherson, M.A., LIMHP
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLINICAL DIRECTOR, TRAINING TEAM MEMBER
Ms. Zlomke is a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and graduated with a Master in Educational Psychology-Community Counseling from the University of Nebraska in 2005. She began her career as a therapist at NMHC before serving as Treatment Coordinator at Excelsior Youth Centers (a residential treatment center), in Aurora, Colorado, and later, as Director of Outpatient Treatment at Pediatric Psychology Associates in Beatrice, Nebraska.. Her areas of specialization include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal relationships and healthy communications, PTSD, and general mental health services surrounding issues of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders. Ms. Zlomke has specific expertise in assessing and treating adolescent females and young women with severe symptoms including traumatic histories such as domestic violence, abuse and sexual offense victims.
Ms. Zlomke serves as the primary supervisor for provisionally licensed mental health practitioners and for Master’s-level psychology practicum students. Additionally, she is the coordinator of the Domestic Violence Program utilizing the Duluth Model.
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Sean Thomas, Psy.D.
ADJUNCT TRAINING STAFF AND SECONDARY SUPERVISOR
Dr. Thomas is a licensed psychologist with several years of experience assessing and treating persons with sexual offending behaviors and dangerous aggressive behaviors. He has expertise and interests in neuropsychological assessment and treatment planning for persons with cognitive impairments and providing assessment and treatment for sex offenders. Dr. Thomas serves as a didactic presenter and as a secondary supervisor, providing supervision in the absence of a primary supervisor and in situations where his specific expertise is of benefit to the intern.
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Alexandra Munet, Psy.D.
ADJUNCT FACULTY/PSYCHOLOGIST
Dr. Munet is a licensed clinical psychologist at CHI Health Clinic Psychiatric Associates in Omaha, NE. She routinely provides didactic training and consultation for the NMHC-PIP. Dr. Munet completed her doctorate at Ponce School of Medicine and Health Services in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She provided psychological services for a number of years in Puerto Rico before completing a two year residency with the NMHC Psychology Residency Program. Dr. Munet has extensive experience providing psychotherapy, court-ordered assessments, psychological assessments, and clinical consultation.
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Jamie Monfelt, M.A., LIMHP
Ms. Monfelt is a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Counseling from Doane College. She has worked with the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems, including serving as a Director of Child Welfare Services. She has also previously served on two governor-appointed committees including the Commission of the Protection of Children, and the Women’s Health Initiative Council. She serves as NMHC’s Rural Services Coordinator that promotes NMHC within the rural communities by collaborating and networking with rural referral sources and attending community meetings regarding development of ongoing mental health services, providing teaching/training on rural mental health, and supervision for clinical staff in rural areas. Ms. Monfelt also works with individuals and families with multi-morbid, multi-systemic issues, including but not limited to, severe and persistent mental illness, individuals with developmental/intellectual disabilities, and substance abuse. Her particular areas of interest also include assessing function, identifying risk, and teaching therapeutic interventions to other providers, students, and community members.
In her free time, Jamie enjoys spending time with her family, playing volleyball, jogging, and chasing sunsets.
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Anne Vrbka, M.A., LIMHP, LADC
Ms. Vrbka received her Bachelor of Science degree with minors in Sociology and Anthropology from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She received her Master of Arts in Counseling from Doane College in 2008. She has worked in direct care as a family support worker at Visinet, Inc., and as a Psychiatric Tech at Lincoln Regional Center prior to obtaining her licensure. She is dually credentialed as a LADC and LIMHP.
Anne is a feline enthusiast and also enjoys all the flora and fauna she can, as evidenced by the time she spends outdoors in her yard at home and all the plants in her office!
Intern Schedules
Two days per week, interns work and receive training trained at each of the satellite offices, or on occasion an alternate service location. They engage in general clinical activities while in that office. Interns are scheduled to work and receive training three days per week at the main office in Lincoln, NE.
Friday mornings involve supervision and didactic activities. This is also attended by post-doctoral psychology residents and practicum students, if applicable. There are a variety of supervisory activities that occur at this meeting, including a review of intern schedules and activities, identification of training needs and practical supports, professional topics, research review, and case review.
Each intern receives two (2) hours of individual face-to-face supervision weekly. Supervisions are conducted by the NMHC-PIP supervisors who are Nebraska Licensed psychologists. Interns are also provided with two (2) additional hours of weekly supervision by healthcare professionals who are appropriately credentialed for their role/contribution to the program and under the overall oversight of the Training Director.
One (1) hour of Early Career Supervision and Professional Development (ECS)
This weekly meeting consists of a combination of self-reflection and discussions about the link between ethical practices, evidenced-based interventions, and practice for specific disorders, populations, and individual clients. Additionally, topics related to professional development are discussed as well as an opportunity for interns to raise issues related to the internship program and their training experiences.
One (1) hour of multi-disciplinary Clinical Group Supervision and Consultation (CGS)
This weekly meeting is attended by all of the agency outpatient treatment staff that includes staff psychologists, resident psychologists, licensed mental health practitioners, licensed addiction practitioners, master’s-level psychology practicum students and occasionally the administrative staff. Group supervision provides a forum for multi-disciplinary consultation, case presentations, business considerations of psychological practice, development of professional relationships and integration of the interns into the agency culture.
Structured clinical and professional didactic training is generally provided weekly during two sixty minute scheduled trainings. These trainings focus on one or both of the following areas: (1) clinical and professional didactic training and (2) psychometric assessment didactics. At the beginning of the internship year, a greater amount of time may be allotted for psychometric assessment didactic training. Additionally, attendance at full day conferences or seminars may provide 6 to 8 hours of didactic training in lieu of weekly trainings.
The amount of face-to-face client time increases as Interns’ skill and comfort level increases. While the focus of the Internship is always on training and not “productivity,” in order for Interns to successfully transition to the demands of a future independent practice, they must develop the stamina and efficiency in service provision and documentation to begin to approximate the typical expectations for a licensed psychologist in a future practice setting. At the beginning of the internship each intern is introduced to approximately 15 patients for ongoing therapy. Therapy experiences are augmented at this time by sitting in on individual or family therapy sessions with a supervisor or adjunct training staff member. Caseloads will increase in numbers as internship progresses with the goal to see an average of 22 patient appointments weekly. The total number of clients on an intern’s caseload will generally be 25 patients as we want to take into account the “expected” patient cancellations and no shows. Interns are also assigned psychological/psychometric assessment cases as competency with various instruments is demonstrated and demand align.
As this is a training experience, it is understood that there may be times the intern will need additional training time or time to work on activities outside of the regularly scheduled 40 hours. The emphasis is placed on the desired training and the intern meeting basic professional and inter-professional competency expectations, rather than on the number of hours worked. Note that interns are on trainee stipends and are not eligible for comp time over a 40 hour week.
The average time spent in various training activities each week is listed below. Projections for assessment- time includes time spent scoring and interpreting; projections for intervention times include planning interventions and consolidating outcome data:
About NMHC & Lincoln, Nebraska
NMHC is a privately-owned outpatient mental/behavioral health clinic that provides services within populated city limits and underserved rural settings in eastern and southeastern Nebraska. A broad ethnic and culturally diverse population is provided services in each of our clinical sites. Assessment, diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of behavioral health issus and neuropsychological conditions are provided to children, adolescents, adults and seniors. All services are provided under the direction of the Internship Program Training Director and the NMHC Clinical Director.
Our primary site in Lincoln, NE provides services to a population of over 200,000. Satellite clinics are located in the communities of Wahoo and Beatrice, Nebraska. Within each of the locations come their own socioeconomic, cultural, and community resource considerations for treatment services. In addition to the office settings, clinicians also provide assessment, diagnosis and treatment within long-term care and assisted living facilities. Additionally, Interns have the opportunity to provide services on-site in a public school setting, such as behavioral health interventions in the classroom in order to address the needs of the interdisciplinary educational teams. We are also participating in a grant with Beatrice Public Schools to provide Parent-Child Interaction Training (PCIT).
Lincoln is the capital city of Nebraska and home to the largest campus of the state’s four-campus University system. The city has a thriving economy, with unemployment hovering near 2 percent for several years and the cost of living is about 10 to 12 percent below the national average. Lincoln has an excellent education system and is ranked among the top 25 cities in the nation for affordable housing. Lincoln has the most city park land per capita in the United States, with 10 lakes and over 98 miles of bike paths and trails. Lincoln’s 200 acres of city park land and 15,000 acres of recreational areas nearby make the outdoors an enjoyable attraction.
With a population of over 294,757 (2023), Lincoln offers the benefits of metropolitan living and the advantages of small-town life. Lincoln, Nebraska has been designated as “refugee friendly” due to its stable economy, educational institutions, and size. Lancaster County, in which this city is located, is the nation's 18th largest resettlement community for refugees and immigrants. Since 1983, more than 5,500 individuals from over 40 countries have settled in Lincoln.