Post-Master's Fellowship — Pre-Licensed Therapist | LMFT / LPCC / LICSW Track

About the Program

Lorenz Clinic of Family Psychology offers a nationally recognized, full-time, paid psychotherapy training fellowship for pre-licensed mental health clinicians pursuing LICSW, LMFT, or LPCC licensure in Minnesota. Selected from over a thousand applicants nationwide, a small cohort joins us annually to train in relational, systemic, and developmentally informed psychotherapy. While many fellows relocate from across the country, others join from leading regional graduate programs.

As the first in Minnesota to offer an organized, competency-based post-master's fellowship, our program is recognized as one of the most rigorous and formative pre-licensure training placements available. We view this fellowship as our most significant contribution to the profession.

Most pre-licensed clinicians leave graduate programs well-prepared but largely on their own, assembling supervision and caseloads independently while hoping hours accumulate correctly. The pre-licensure period often asks a great deal of new clinicians while providing little structure for the emotional and clinical realities of the work. The worst-case scenario is a role focused solely on throughput, where learning is sacrificed for volume, and two years pass with hours accumulated but no genuine professional formation.

This fellowship was built because we believe the pre-licensure period deserves better. It is a two-year, full-time training placement designed for clinicians who want this period to be genuinely developmental rather than a grind toward supervised hours. It is not a high-volume billing role. Caseload, supervision, and curriculum are all structured around the fellow's developmental stage and learning goals rather than productivity targets.

The program follows a cohort model, drawing from counseling, marriage and family therapy, social work, and psychology. The interprofessional composition is intentional, creating a group that fellows describe as intellectually serious, collegially rich, and demanding in the best sense. The first year is the most challenging; fellows who succeed are those who engage the program's structures actively rather than enduring the experience privately. Clinical work at this level—carrying an active caseload, developing judgment under supervision, and sitting with people in genuine distress—is genuinely demanding. This fellowship provides more structure for that work than the pre-licensure period typically offers.

Our Clinical Formation Goal

We have a specific clinical formation goal: to produce psychotherapists, not just competent generalists. We aim to develop clinicians who work with a second-order theory of change, use the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle of transformation, and can hold clients in genuine depth. This formation unfolds across seven developmental domains, including the capacity to stay curious under distress, work with ruptures in the alliance, access internal experience as clinical data, and formulate cases systemically rather than diagnostically.

These are not competencies you need to arrive with. What you need is the orientation: genuine curiosity about why, a willingness to be uncertain, and an interest in what happens between people rather than only what happens inside them.

Training Format

The fellowship's curriculum addresses all 16 APA Competency Benchmark domains through a rigorous schedule of supervised practice and didactic learning:

• Supervision (8 hours/month): Includes 4 hours with a doctorally prepared psychologist and 4 hours with a professional supervisor. Supervision is treated as a distinct professional discipline, not an extension of seniority.
• Monthly PMF Seminar (8 hours): A full-day, in-person learning event integrating didactic content, experiential activities, guest practitioners, and small-group discussion. Fellows are not expected to carry a full clinical schedule during seminar week.
• Weekly Didactic Seminar (1 hour): A topical survey shared with doctoral psychology interns, covering ethics, family systems, attachment, trauma, and more.
• Monthly Grand Rounds (1 hour): An internal case presentation or invited speaker event open to all clinical staff.
• Monthly Case Consultation (4 hours): Specialist-led, consultee-focused, and non-evaluative, structured around clinical formulation.

As an active training clinic, most clinicians earn approximately 100 hours of board-approved continuing education annually simply by showing up to work.

The Clinical Role

Post-master's fellows provide psychotherapeutic services to a variety of clients under direct supervision. A typical fellow carries approximately 12–18 active clients, built gradually during the first months. Three program tracks are available:

• Outpatient psychotherapy (individual, couples, family, and group)
• Intensive outpatient group psychotherapy

Track assignment is based on the fellow's stated learning goals, prior preparation, and program need. The clinic's strong referral base allows for meaningful input on client age range and presenting concerns.

After the Fellowship

Historically, approximately 88% of second-year fellows who seek staff positions at Lorenz following program completion find them here. While staff employment is not automatic, the fellowship functions as a genuine pipeline into the clinic's clinical and supervisory ranks. Many of the clinic's current supervisors and clinical leaders are former PMF alumni. Fellows who wish to continue their professional development within the Lorenz system have access to a formation ladder extending from supervised practice through supervision, clinical management, and training leadership.

Alumni who leave the clinic have gone on to independent and group private practice, community mental health, policy leadership, and doctoral programs. What distinguishes them consistently is the quality of their clinical thinking, particularly their capacity to formulate cases systemically and work with relational and interpersonal process.

How to Apply

Admission is competitive and reviewed by the Training Committee. To apply, submit a cover letter and CV via the online job portal for your preferred clinic location.

A cover letter is required. Applications submitted without a cover letter will not be considered. The cover letter is the primary means by which we assess whether a candidate has understood this program, why they want to be here specifically, and whether their goals represent a genuine match. Cover letters should address:

• Training goals and what you hope to develop during the fellowship.
• Preferred track and why it fits your learning objectives.
• Commitment to the common good and to the profession as a field.
• A brief narrative of your experience providing psychotherapy.

Candidates invited to interview may be asked to provide writing samples, references, or a letter of recommendation from a past clinical supervisor.

Equal Opportunity

Lorenz Clinic is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We value the unique perspectives that individuals from diverse backgrounds bring to our team and our clients. We are particularly interested in bilingual candidates to expand access for underserved communities.