Program Intern

Job Description

About Child Mind Institute

We’re dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.

Job Description

The Child Mind Institute (CMI) is seeking highly skilled and motivated individuals to join our team as program interns for our Selective Mutism (SM) Service, an innovative program that helps children with SM overcome their symptoms using state of the art evidence-based behavioral interventions.

CMI is seeking individuals who are interested in being trained in these evidence-based treatment programs and who can commit to 15 hours each week in-person starting 9/4/2025 through 8/31/2026. Program interns are required to be available Thursdays from 1:00pm-6:30pm, as well as additional times arranged more flexibly with supervisors. Furthermore, participation in Brave Buddies, our group-based intensive treatment program for children with SM, is a mandatory component of the internship.

This is a part-time, unpaid, fully on-site position reporting to the Director of the Selective Mutism Service.

Interns are expected to attend all the dates below, except for those who have a religious observance exemption:

• Program Intern Orientation and Selective Mutism Training:
• September 4th: 11AM-5PM
• September 5th: 10AM-2PM
• Fall 2025 One-Day Brave Buddies
• November 11th: 8AM-3PM
• Tentative February 2026 Four-Day Brave Buddies
• February 12th: 11AM-6PM
• February 13th: 12PM-4PM
• February 14th-February 17th: 8AM-3PM
• Spring 2025 One-Day Brave Buddies
• May 14th: 8AM-3PM
• Tentative August 2026 Five-Day Brave Buddies
• July 30th: 11AM-6PM
• July 31st: 11AM-5PM
• August 3rd-August 7th: 8AM-3PM

Learning Opportunities

This internship provides a unique opportunity for interns to gain hands-on clinical experience, specialized training, and professional mentorship, making it an excellent stepping stone for those pursuing careers in psychology, child development, or related fields.
The Program Internship offers a valuable hands-on learning experience for individuals interested in children’s mental health, with a focus on selective mutism. Interns will gain direct experience working with children with selective mutism and receive specialized training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Selective Mutism (PCIT-SM), an evidence-based treatment. Through this training, interns will develop essential skills to facilitate speech across various settings and activities. Interns will participate in weekly multidisciplinary team meetings, which include case supervision, didactic learning, and discussions of administrative topics. These meetings provide the opportunity to collaborate with psychologists, master’s level clinicians, and advanced graduate students. At the start of the internship, interns will receive a comprehensive 10-hour training covering the fundamentals of PCIT-SM and their role in clinical sessions, ensuring they feel prepared to support treatment effectively. Throughout the internship, interns will benefit from group supervision and individual supervision, offering ongoing guidance, professional development, and opportunities for reflection. Interns will have the opportunity to shadow clinicians during treatment and evaluation sessions, actively support clinicians during therapy, and receive training to serve as therapeutic counselors for selective mutism treatment sessions. This includes participation in our Brave Buddies program, an innovative intensive treatment designed to help children with selective mutism build confidence speaking in a group setting.

You Have

• Bachelor’s degree acquired or in progress (proof of enrollment will need to be provided)
• 1+ month of experience working with children and/or in a clinical setting
• site

Special Considerations

Please upload your resume and cover letter as part of the application process. Additionally, if you are selected for an interview, we require one formal letter of recommendation and one reference from a peer or manager before extending an offer. You may submit these documents with your application or provide them upon receiving an interview invitation.