Postdoctoral Fellow, Learning and Development Center

Professional        ·       New York, NY, US        ·        Full-time

Organizational Summary

The Child Mind Institute is an independent, national nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders. Our teams work every day to deliver the highest standards of care, advance the science of the developing brain and empower parents, professionals and policymakers to support children when and where they need it most. Together, with our supporters, we help children reach their full potential in school and in life. We share all our resources freely and do not accept any funding from the pharmaceutical industry.

Job Summary

The Child Mind Institute is currently accepting applications for a two-year, full-time postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology in the Learning and Development Center. The fellowship prepares candidates for a successful clinical career in neuropsychology building competency in the neuropsychological assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and young adults with a wide variety of neurodevelopmental disorders and psychiatric comorbidities. Upon completion of the program, fellows will have gained the clinical and professional skills required for independent practice in child and adolescent neuropsychology. The program adheres to the standards set forth by the Houston Conference on Specialty Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology.

The Learning and Development Center offers neuropsychological and educational assessments. Clinicians endeavor to collaboratively engage the child, their family, and the health and school systems around the child. Clinicians also focus on generating clear and comprehensive reports with practical strategies to compensate for a child’s weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths. The center offers comprehensive evaluations (typically 8 to 9 hours of testing) and targeted assessments (typically 3 to 5 hours of testing) depending on individual needs, which may be conducted in an outpatient fashion or via videoconferencing. The Learning and Development Center typically evaluates complex cases in which children, adolescents, and young adults are experiencing significant neurodevelopmental and psychiatric concerns affecting their adjustment in multiple settings. Such concerns often include intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, communication disorders, tics, obsessive-compulsive disorder, selective mutism, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and emerging psychosis. A small portion of patients present with medical complexities such as genetic anomalies, premature birth/low birth weight, mild forms of cerebral palsy, and concussions. The center has access to a broad array of neuropsychological, educational, and psychodiagnostic tests.

The Learning and Development Center also offers treatment with a focus on strengthening executive functioning skills and remediating areas of academic weakness. The Learning and Development Center is a multidisciplinary clinic that additionally offers speech and language assessment and treatment as well as educational consultation. Otherwise, the members of the Learning and Development Center collaborate closely with psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and social workers across the Child Mind Institute’s clinical practices. As offering education to the community is core to the Child Mind Institute’s mission, clinicians are also actively engaged in presenting to schools and other organizations and serving as a resource for various media. 

The Learning and Development Center and, more broadly, the Child Mind Institute sees patients from culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds, and many patients hail from across the country and internationally. Multilingual clinicians offer clinical services in Spanish, French, Italian, and more. The institute champions diversity, equity and inclusion.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Learning and Development Center, this is an exempt, full-time position. The position is located in our Midtown Manhattan headquarters, located in the heart of New York, easily accessible by public transportation. There are opportunities for interested candidates to complete their second year in our Bay Area center, located in San Mateo, California.

The Child Mind Institute is proud to be named a Great Place to Work-Certified company! Our competitive compensation and benefits include medical insurance, 401(k), paid parental leave, dependent care, and flexible work schedules, paid parental leave, dependent care and discounted tickets and entertainment perks programs. In addition, fellows are provided support for attending a conference or continuing education training. Fellows have online access to library resources including full-text journals and textbooks through Hunter College Library.

Clinical Experiences

Fellows will spend the majority of their time in clinical service delivery. Fellows will conduct comprehensive and targeted neuropsychological and educational assessments. There may also be opportunities for psychodiagnostic evaluations for interested fellows. Evaluations involve an initial clinical interview, neuropsychological, educational, and/or psychodiagnostic testing, feedback, and a detailed written report. Evaluations may also include school observation, initial and follow-up contact with teachers, school service providers, and health professionals, and participation in school meetings (as for Individualized Education Programs) and legal cases (as with impartial hearings for specialized school placements). Fellows are expected to develop facility with: comprehensive history taking; battery selection and administration; process-driven behavioral observations; case formulation; provision of feedback; and, report writing.

Additionally, fellows will be expected to carry several treatment cases that include executive functioning skills training and/or academic remediation. Fellows are expected to demonstrate competency for independent practice in neuropsychological assessment and treatment by the completion of their fellowship.

The Child Mind Institute values innovation and the development of new clinical programs. With this in mind, there may be opportunities for fellows to develop novel clinical streams within the Learning and Development Center and/or collaboratively with other clinical centers.

Supervision and Didactics:

Supervision is an important component of clinical training. Fellows will initially receive in-session supervision for testing cases, which will be quickly phased out as they achieve competency in each area of the assessment process. Fellows also receive detailed feedback on written reports. Additionally, fellows meet for face-to-face, individual clinical supervision on testing and treatment cases. Fellows are also invited to weekly group meetings during which they and faculty can discuss clinical cases and professional development issues. In line with licensing requirements for New York and California, fellows receive a minimum of one hour of individual, face-to-face supervision and are engaged in a minimum of four hours of supervision activities per 40 hour work week.

Fellows will participate in a weekly, hour-long neuropsychology seminar series designed to prepare them for professional practice and board certification in neuropsychology. Topics covered are selected to cover the content areas outlined for the written examinations of the American Academic of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) and the American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology (AAPdN). The seminar series includes (but is not limited to) review of major topics in psychometrics, brain development, functional neuroanatomy, disorders across the lifespan with neuropsychological sequalae, and legal and ethical issues in clinical psychology and neuropsychology. The series incorporate discussion of theoretical and practical issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The series additionally incorporates practice with fact-finding.

Fellows will additionally attend approximately monthly Visiting Professor lectures, approximately biweekly multidisciplinary case conferences, and regular clinical meetings with center staff. In particular, such learning opportunities provide familiarity with topics in assessment across broad populations, knowledge of the details of different interventions, and multicultural competency.

Training is available for the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised (ADI-R). Fellows interested in training in assessment methods as well as cognitive and academic remediation not offered through the Child Mind Institute are supported in pursuing such opportunities, pending the availability of funding.

Professional Development Opportunities:

Fellows develop teaching and supervisory skills to prepare for independent clinical practice as a neuropsychologist. Fellows develop their own supervisory skills with psychology externs. Fellows present topics in the neuropsychology seminar series, and they may be asked to present in training sessions for graduate externs, undergraduate volunteers, and support staff. 

Fellows are encouraged to participate in scholarly activity. Opportunities exist for fellows interested in applied research questions or reviews of clinical literatures. 

Fellows also regularly provide community education and outreach at the local level and beyond. Additionally, there will be opportunities to collaborate with website writers on specific topics for the Child Mind Institute website and for other medical publications.

Primary Faculty:

The Learning and Development Center staff includes neuropsychologists, an education specialist, and a speech and language therapist. Our neuropsychology faculty members are dedicated to providing high-quality clinical care with compassion and cultural sensitivity. Additionally, our faculty are involved members of the professional community, serving on local and national committees for professional organization, presenting at local and national conferences, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and contributing to media publications and appearances. 

New York

• Laura Phillips, PsyD, ABPdN, Senior Director, Learning and Development Center
• Daryaneh Badaly, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Alessandro Bellantuono, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Matthew Cruger, PhD, Senior Neuropsychologist, Associate Clinical Director
• Angela Dewey, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Rachel Ganz, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Evelyn Ramirez, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Kenneth Schuster, PsyD, Senior Neuropsychologist, Director of Clinical Training
• Adam Zamora, PsyD, Clinical Neuropsychologist

California

• Julia Nunan-Saah, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Amanda Wagner, PhD, Clinical Neuropsychologist
• Heidi Wheeler, PsyD, Clinical Neuropsychologist

Qualifications

• Ideal candidates should possess exceptional clinical skills in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents who have learning and behavioral disorders and should have experience with educational advocacy and translating test results to school-based services.
• PhD or PsyD degree from an APA-accredited program in clinical psychology, neuropsychology, or a related field
• Full completion of doctoral degree by the beginning of the postdoctoral fellowship
• Successful completion of an APA-accredited internship
• Eligibility for a limited permit to practice psychology in New York State
• A clear focus on working with children and adolescents as seen through coursework and/or clinical training
• A clear focus on neuropsychology as seen through coursework and/or clinical training

Application Details and Instructions

You will need to submit the following:

• Cover letter (attention: Laura Phillips, PsyD, ABPdN, and Kenneth Schuster, PsyD);
• Curriculum vitae;
• Three letters of recommendation; and
• Two sample assessment reports. At least one sample report (and preferably both) should be for a neuropsychological evaluation with a child or adolescent. 

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Highly interested applicants are encouraged to apply before December 31. Questions related to the fellowship in neuropsychology can be directed to Daryaneh Badaly, PhD, at daryaneh.badaly@childmind.org. Questions related to training across the Child Mind Institute and to application submissions can be directed to Kenneth Schuster, PsyD, at kenneth.schuster@childmind.org.

Interviews for selected applicants can be conducted virtually or in-person.

Child Mind Institute is committed to public health and to the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, visitors and volunteers.  As such, we have adopted a policy requiring all paid or unpaid staff whose positions require them to be on site to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or to meet the legal guidelines for an exemption.

The Child Mind Institute is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment based on race, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, sex/gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), sex  stereotype, gender identity/gender expression/transgender (including whether or not you are transitioning or have transitioned) and sexual orientation; national origin (including language use restrictions and possession of a driver’s license issued to persons unable to prove their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law [Vehicle Code section 12801.9]); ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information/characteristics, marital status/registered domestic partner status, age (40 and over), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation.

Please click here to apply.