Boston Children's Hospital is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the world, and the primary pediatric teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School. The Boston Children's Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences consists of more than 300 psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and trainees in the various disciplines. The psychology program at Boston Children's Hospital offers a variety of postdoctoral fellowship opportunities that blend traditional training approaches in child and family treatment, assessment, and consultation with state-of-the-art approaches to problems in pediatric psychology. We offer fellowships across a variety of sites to allow for specialized training within focused areas of interest as well as training in general core competencies of professional psychology. Applicants are welcome to apply to one or multiple fellowship openings across the program.
Basic prerequisites
Successful applicants will have:
- earned a doctorate in psychology (including defense of dissertation) from an appropriate health service provider training program in a properly accredited doctoral training program prior to the beginning of fellowship
- completed an internship accredited by the American Psychological Association/Canadian Psychological Association prior to the beginning of fellowship
(the internship requirement may be waived if the postdoctoral fellowship is for research training only and does not involve delivery of clinical services) - specific programs may have additional requirements
- to submit an application for consideration download the current version and email to courtney.kellogg@childrens.harvard.edu
Please view our program brochure for specific information about application procedures and important dates/deadlines. The most current Program Brochure is made available by October for applications for the following training year.
Training programs
The following training programs regularly offer one or more postdoctoral fellowships in psychology. Additional programs may offer fellowships on an intermittent basis. Please view our program brochure for more detailed information about each fellowship being offered in the coming training year.
We participate in the Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory. After following the link, enter "Children's Hospital" under "Agency Type" and "Massachusetts" under "State/Province" to find our current fellowship offerings.
Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program
The Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program provides neurodevelopmental assessment and support to children and families living with complex Congenital Heart Disease, some with histories of surgeries, transplants, and/or genetic diagnoses. The team includes experts from psychology, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, education, genetics, and neurology. Fellows see patients in inpatient and outpatient settings within an interdisciplinary model. Clinical responsibilities include comprehensive psychological/neurodevelopmental assessments; consultation services to community providers and agencies; and short-term parent and child treatment and individual and small group therapy to address a variety of emotional and behavioral issues. Fellowship focus is approximately 80% clinical, 20% research.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program (DHHP)
The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program (DHHP) primarily provides psychological and neuropsychological assessments to children with reduced hearing. Fellows in DHHP are part of the cochlear implant (CI) team. They complete interdisciplinary CI pre-surgical candidacy evaluations and provide psychological support for the families through this process. The interdisciplinary team includes neuropsychologists/psychologists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, otolaryngologists, and developmental behavioral pediatricians. Training activities also include involvement in ongoing clinical research and opportunities to supervise/mentor undergraduate research assistants.
The Developmental Medicine Center is a multi-disciplinary program dedicated to improving the lives of children and adolescents with developmental, learning, and behavioral difficulties and their families through integrated and collaborative clinical care, training, translational research, and community engagement and collaboration. Postdoctoral fellows are involved in direct clinical service, including diagnostic assessments, consulting, and short-term treatment, as well as research. Training is offered through a variety of possible six-month rotations (e.g., Infant and Toddler Team, Adoption Team, Down Syndrome Program).
Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS)
The Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) is a state-of-the-art clinical program that provides individualized, safe, and affirmative care to gender-diverse and transgender individuals and their families. The GeMS program was the first gender-affirming clinic for youth in the country, and it provides medical and behavioral health care and support for children and young adults between the ages of 3 and 25. The fellows will have extensive clinical training that focuses on direct clinical care of gender-diverse patients and includes diagnostic assessment, psychoeducation for patients and families, hormone readiness assessments, and liaising with the interdisciplinary treatment team and community providers. Approximately 20 percent of the fellowship is dedicated to research.
GI Psychology Service
The psychology service in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Boston Children’s Hospital provides outpatient mental health assessment, consultation, and treatment services to patients diagnosed with a wide variety of gastrointestinal illnesses. A large number of referrals to the GI psychology service are made by pediatric gastroenterologists providing treatment to patients diagnosed with disorders of the gut-brain interaction (e.g., functional abdominal pain, irritable bowel syndrome, rumination disorder), inflammatory bowel disease (i.e., Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis), celiac disease, and feeding disorders. The fellowship consists of clinical training in the psychological assessment and treatment of pediatric gastrointestinal conditions. Training is provided in the context of different specialty programs within the department, including the Functional Abdominal Pain Program, the Growth and Nutrition Program, and the Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Program. These programs are multidisciplinary in nature and consist of a team of psychologists, social workers, nutritionists, and physicians. A portion of the fellow’s time will also be spent providing care to patients referred to the general GI Psychology Service. Although primarily a clinical position, approximately 20 percent of the fellow’s time will be spent participating in either a program development, quality improvement, or applied research project.
Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Program
The Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Program offers a one-year pediatric psychology training fellowship in the multidisciplinary Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine. The fellowship includes providing empirically based treatment in the eating disorder programs and the outpatient mental health program. Treatment is provided in a primary and specialty care setting that addresses a range of presenting challenges including psychiatric disorders, domestic violence, substance abuse, and diversity and gender issues. The program offers intensive interdisciplinary curricula, including seminars in adolescent health, advocacy, public policy, and prevention. The fellowship consists of clinical training in pediatric psychology, teaching responsibilities, and participation in ongoing research.
The Center for Neuropsychology at Boston Children's Hospital offers a two-year, full-time fellowship that provides training in clinical neuropsychological assessment of children and clinical research. Training activities include clinical service delivery, didactic teaching, and research in the Center. The Postdoctoral Residency Program is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology. The program is designed to conform to Houston Conference guidelines for training in neuropsychology and prepares candidates for board certification in clinical neuropsychology. The goal of our program is to prepare for independent specialty practice in pediatric neuropsychology.
The Pain Treatment Service is a multidisciplinary program specializing in pediatric pain management. Psychology fellows develop skills in the assessment and treatment of a wide range of chronic pain conditions. The Pain Treatment Service includes specialty programs focusing on chronic headache evaluation and treatment and intensive day hospital pediatric pain rehabilitation. Physicians, physical therapists, psychologists, nurses, and fellows work collaboratively on a clinical team to address the complex problems faced by these patients and their families. The Pain Treatment Service fellowship consists of clinical training in pediatric pain management, direct clinical care of patients in outpatient and inpatient settings, and participation in ongoing research. Fellowship focus is approximately 75% clinical, 25% research.
Psychiatry Consultation Service
The Psychiatry Consultation Service provides consultation-liaison services for children, adolescents, young adults, and families facing challenges related to medical illness and hospitalization, including new diagnoses, chronic illnesses, acute medical or psychiatric crises, and difficulty coping with hospitalization. The consultation-liaison service model is based on the biopsychosocial framework and provides a range of services during inpatient medical or surgical admissions, including diagnostic and emergency evaluations and short-term therapeutic interventions. The fellowship consists of clinical training in pediatric psychology consultation-liaison models, including assessment and follow-up, provision of psychoeducation, support for caregivers, liaison with multidisciplinary teams, and a variety of treatment interventions. Trainees are also involved in an applied clinical research project during the fellowship year
For general program questions, please contact:
Ms. Courtney Kellogg
Coordinator, Training Programs in Psychiatry & Psychology
Boston Children's Hospital
300 Longwood Avenue, BCH 3022
Boston, MA 02115
phone: 617-355-4563
fax: 617-730-0428