Psychology interns at Central Iowa Psychological Services and it’s rotations will work with children, teenagers, young adults, adults, and older adults with a variety of presenting concerns including ADHD, Autism spectrum disorders, PTSD and trauma-related disorders including survivors of abuse, anxiety disorders, mood disorders including major depression and bipolar disorder, behavioral problems for younger children, and substance use disorders. Integrated and co-located health care will also be a significant part of the internship experience. There will also be the opportunity to receive supervision of your own supervision of Psychology practicum students as part of the internship experience.

Client populations for the Central Iowa Psychological Services rotations include children (as young as age 3-4), adolescents, young adults, adults, and older adults. A large portion of our population is from rural and underserved areas and we emphasize work with the LGBTQ+IA community across all ages.

Crys Rivers, Ph.D.

As a clinical neuropsychologist licensed in Iowa, Dr. Rivers provides evaluations for patients (age 9 through geriatric) with known or suspected neurodevelopmental conditions, neurocognitive disease, and traumatic brain injury, as well as complex medical disorders, chronic medical conditions, and various psychiatric disorders. She focuses on providing a culturally fair and valid assessment. She provides my services through teleneuropsychology as well as on-site. In general, her practice most often receives referrals for identifying problems related to medical conditions; for diagnosing constellations of symptoms with developmental delays; and for identification of neuropsychological conditions when patients have not had expected treatment response to medications.

Dr. Rivers’s clinical training includes a predoctoral residency in neuropsychology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, AZ, and internship with major rotations in neuropsychology, Geropsychology, and pain psychology at VA Central Iowa Health Care Systems in Des Moines, IA. She received two years of specialized training in psychovocational assessment of individuals with low vision, TBI, or serious mental illness with Arizona State University Clinical Psychology Center in Phoenix, AZ and Arizona Department of Economic Security, Rehabilitation Services Administration in Phoenix, AZ. My post-doctoral experience includes psychological evaluations for residential rehabilitation and treatment Veterans at VA Central Iowa Health Care Systems in Des Moines, IA.

Crys Rivers earned a PhD from Arizona State University’s Clinical Psychology program in Tempe, AZ. She also holds a law degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and wrote for two health law journals. Her research interests and publications include various areas of lifespan mental health, such as resilience-based interventions for PTSD (Kent et al, 2015), the effects of chronic pain on affect/ mood (Davis et al, 2018), cognitive shift (Rivers, 2014; Rivers, 2018), and the effects of early trauma on daily event reactivity (Infurna et al, 2015).

Cara Luchtefeld, Psy.D.

Cara Reed, Psy.D. is a postdoctoral fellow at Central Iowa Psychological Services who received her doctoral degree from Indiana State University and completed her predoctoral internship at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital. Dr. Reed provides therapeutic services for individuals across the lifespan with a clinical focus on children/adolescents. She is particularly passionate about exposure therapy in the treatment of specific phobias, OCD, social anxiety, and other disorders. Dr. Reed also conducts psychological assessments to provide diagnostic clarification and treatment recommendations.

Mabel Lo, Psy.D.

Dr. Lo’s practice includes individual psychotherapy and psychological evaluations with individuals and their families who present with a wide variety of concerns. Her clinical areas of interest include anxiety, depression, trauma recovery, grief and loss, family of origin issues, eating concerns, perfectionism, cross-cultural adjustments, and spirituality. She is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and she is passionate about helping individuals struggling with traumatic experiences.

The foundation of her clinical practice is Person-Centered Therapy as I believe in the self-worth, strengths, and resources of each person. She creates a safe, non-judgmental and inclusive space for clients to increase their self-awareness, enhance relationships with oneself and with other people, and work toward a holistic well-being. She uses and integrate clinical interventions from different therapies, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), family systems approach, and multicultural counseling to best fit the needs of my clients.

Dr. Lo is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese and also offers clinical services in those languages.

Kaitlyn Burke, Ph.D.

Kaitlyn Burke is a licensed psychologist and health service provider in the state of Iowa. She received her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Iowa State University and completed pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral residency at the University of Missouri Counseling Center in Columbia, MO. Kaitlyn has been trained in an integrative, interpersonally-focused and ACT approach to therapy and utilizes a developmental approach to supervision that values growth and integration of both professional and personal/cultural identities. During internship and post-doctoral residency, she specialized in addressing the unique needs of international college students during their time at large American universities. A secondary focus area in her post-doctoral residency was the provision of supervision across a variety of developmental stages (e.g., advanced graduate students, doctoral interns) and service provision areas (e.g., individual therapy, group therapy, supervision of supervision).

Jessica Miller-Lance, Psy.D.

Dr. Miller-Lance’s practice includes individual psychotherapy and psychological evaluations with children, adolescents, their families, and adults who present with a wide variety of concerns including anxiety, depression, trauma, attention and hyperactivity issues, behavior and social difficulties, school, and family issues. She is trained in Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).

She is a Postdoctoral Resident in Clinical Psychology who provides therapy and psychological assessments to children, adolescents, and their families presenting with a wide variety of concerns. She works with individuals who have difficulties related to anxiety, depression, grief and loss, trauma, and family issues. She also sees individuals struggling with inattention, hyperactivity, school, and social or behavioral issues including noncompliance, defiance, aggression, selective mutism and parenting stress.

Dr. Miller-Lance uses an integrative approach in her practice where she combines different therapeutic approaches and tools to best fit the needs of my clients. The primary approaches that I use are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy, Play Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

She conducts psychological assessments to help identify and clarify mental health issues so that the individual can receive the appropriate services and be better able to reach their goals and full potential. Common presenting concerns that she assesses are inattention/hyperactivity, behavioral concerns, personality issues, learning disabilities, and emotional difficulties.

Dr. Miller-Lance believes that all people have strengths and focus on using clients’ strengths and past abilities as a foundation to develop new skills and abilities. She also believes in providing a safe and non-judgmental environment where clients can learn, grow, and realize their potential and goals.

Central Iowa Psychological Services collects pre-employment background information from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services for child and adult dependent abuse and from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations for criminal arrests. The only reasons we would break a match with an intern would be if they were flagged as on the Iowa child or dependent adult abuse registry, the Iowa sex offender registry, or were flagged as committing a felony on the Department of Criminal Investigations background check.

Central Iowa Psychological Services chooses intern candidates through a thorough review of internship application materials and either on-site or virtual interviews. All of our primary supervisors including the Internship Training Director are part of the selection and interview process. We are looking for interns with a variety of training experiences that could include training with children, adolescents, families, adults, and couples and who are interested in deepening and extending their experience in both psychotherapy and psychological testing. The idea intern candidate for our site has an interest in developing “general” skills in psychotherapy and psychological testing with a variety of populations AND has an interest in developing area(s) of specialty such as working with children and families, specializing in trauma, specializing in psychological testing. or other areas of focus. We are looking for interns with a passion for serving the community, meeting the mental health needs of Iowans, and seeking new and exciting experiences.

Our Psychology Internship interview process will be conducted with each of our Primary Psychology Supervisors either in-person or virtually, whichever works best for the internship candidate. Candidates will begin the day with the Training Director, discussing how the interview process will proceed and answering general questions about the site. The Training Director will also ask questions about the candidate’s background, clinical training and experiences, and goals for the internship year. This interview will last for approximately one hour. Candidates will then meet individually with each Primary Supervisor for 30 minutes to 1 hour to obtain further information about each Supervisor’s specialty area and supervision method and to provide further information about background and goals of the candidate. Our site will set specific days for interviews and share that with candidates for scheduling purposes.

All services at Central Iowa Psychological Services are a hybrid of in-person and virtual, depending on the comfort and preference of clients. While masks are provided on site they are not mandatory at the present time but can be worn by clients and staff depending on comfort level, preference, and Covid status. If a staff member has been diagnosed with Covid and completed any necessary quarantine (work from home) procedures they can return to work once they have tested “negative” for Covid for 24 hours. Covid vaccines are highly encouraged but not required at the present time. However, our policies on Covid-19 are reviewed anytime there is a change in recommendation from the CDC.