Fresh Minds is shaping the next generation of psychologists through hands‑on training and supportive pathways into practice. Just one year after joining the Fresh Mind’s Intern Hub, Tasha Francis has stepped into a full-time Psychologist role with ProCare Fresh Minds. Her journey demonstrates how the Hub is delivering tangible outcomes for Aotearoa’s mental health workforce.
ProCare Fresh Minds is New Zealand’s largest provider of primary mental health and wellbeing services. They provide trusted, quality and community-based services to a wide range of healthcare professionals and help support hundreds of thousands of people across New Zealand.
Tasha Francis says: “Fresh Minds played an essential role in shaping my development as a psychologist. Being part of a supportive team gave me the confidence to get involved, try new things, and apply my learning in real‑world settings. Working alongside other interns allowed me to share ideas and learn from others on a similar path, and clarify the direction I wanted to take my career.
“I’m excited to be continuing with Fresh Minds in a permanent Psychologist role, working across the Therapy Centres and spending one day a week supporting students in schools,” continues Francis.
Established in 2024, the Psychology Intern Hub is funded by Health New Zealand and delivered by Fresh Minds in partnership with Tāmaki Health. The programme offers internship placements for final‑year postgraduate Clinical and Health Psychology students across Aotearoa, providing the vital final step where academic learning is developed into applied professional competence. To date, nine interns have completed the programme and successfully finished their studies.
Dr Tania Wilson, General Manager at ProCare Fresh Minds, says: “Building a strong and sustainable mental health workforce is a strategic priority for Fresh Minds. The Psychology Intern Hub is a key part of that approach, providing meaningful, hands‑on training and strong clinical mentorship across a range of settings.
“Throughout her internship, Tasha demonstrated dedicated commitment to developing her skills and is an excellent team member. Most importantly client feedback has been positive,” notes Dr Wilson. “Seeing an intern transition into a full‑time psychologist within our workplace shows how this model creates clear pathways from training into employment, while strengthening the workforce needed to support communities across Aotearoa.”
As the programme begins its third year, Fresh Minds has seen increased demand for placements. Past interns have shared that the level of support available to them during their placement was excellent, and that they were able to develop a peer network of mental health professionals through the Hub. The Fresh Minds Psychology team cover a broad range of specialties, so interns have access to feedback and advice from fully qualified professionals from different psychological frame points.
Fresh Minds has welcomed three new interns for 2026 – two from the University of Waikato, and one from Victoria University of Wellington. The interns will spend the year working across a range of primary care settings while receiving supervision, mentorship, and practical workplace experience.
Providing placements is essential, but supporting interns into permanent roles goes one step further and creates a strong foundation for their careers. Mental health and wellbeing are critical components of primary care, and demand for these services continues to grow. The Psychology Intern Hub helps address training bottlenecks while contributing to national efforts to grow the mental health and addiction workforce.
Fresh Minds will continue to evolve the Psychology Intern Hub to ensure it remains a sustainable pipeline into the workforce and responds to the changing mental health needs of communities across Aotearoa.
Notes:
Fresh Minds’ supervising Clinical Psychologist is Dr Amanda Willets, and Tāmaki Health’s supervising Health Psychologist is Pam Low.
Fresh Minds is committed to grow its team of psychologists, nurses, and other allied health professionals, with experience in third wave talking therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. Additionally, the organisation is passionate about delivering targeted talking therapies and is flexible in meeting interns’ needs in their university programmes. There are also opportunities for ongoing professional development relevant to the role of a psychologist working in our settings. For Psychology students currently enrolled in the post-graduate Clinical or Health Psychology programmes looking for internship opportunities for 2027, please contact Kay.McCabe@FreshMinds.co.nz or Amanda.Willetts@FreshMinds.co.nz
About ProCare Fresh Minds
ProCare Fresh Minds is a leading provider of primary mental health and wellbeing support in Aotearoa New Zealand. Fresh Minds provides psychology support services for individuals in-person and online and in a variety of settings including Fresh Minds centres, schools, workplaces, the community, and in General Practice. Fresh Minds is supported by comprehensive clinical governance, expertise and rigorous systems to ensure the support is of the highest quality. www.freshminds.co.nz
