Universal Psychology Postdoctoral Directory

Elements of quality clinically focused postdoctoral training

Program Overview

The Pain Treatment Service (PTS) at Boston Children’s Hospital is a multidisciplinary program specializing in pediatric pain management. The Pain Treatment Service, established in 1986, was the among the first multidisciplinary programs in the world to provide treatment and support for acute and chronic pain in children and young adults. It is the most clinically active program of its kind in the world and has served as a training ground for many current leaders in the field of pediatric pain management across disciplines. The service embraces the team approach to treatment of pediatric pain, providing individualized, evidenced-based care to a wide range of pain presentations. Psychology fellows will work closely with other disciplines including physicians, nurses, and physical therapists to develop skills in assessment and treatment of pediatric pain. Graduating fellows will be well prepared to work in a wide variety of pediatric populations, having received training that is applicable to many clinical settings.

Clinical Training

Chronic Pain Clinic and Pediatric Headache Outpatient Programs:

Post-doctoral fellows will spend half of the training year in the Chronic Pain Clinic and the Pediatric Headache Program. These multidisciplinary outpatient clinics include opportunities to train in the assessment and treatment of a wide variety of chronic pain presentations. Post doctoral fellows will be trained in multidisciplinary assessment, diagnosis, formulation and treatment of patients with chronic pain alongside a team of pain specialists, including physicians, nurses, and physical therapists. Patients presenting to these clinics have a wide range of pain presentations and fellows will work with patients and their caregivers to develop and implement individualized treatment plans, including ongoing psychological treatment in individual and group-based formats. Training opportunities include specialized populations such as patients preparing for surgery through our pre-operative multidisciplinary pain consultation program and those undergoing interventional pain management procedures with our cutting edge interventional pain management service. Our outpatient programs serve a broad range of pediatric populations through young adulthood.

Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center:

Fellows will spend half of the training year within the intensive interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation center. This training opportunity provides fellows with the chance to work on a team of specialists, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, music therapy, physicians and nurses to treat children and adolescents with chronic pain that interferes with their daily functioning. Fellows will be fully integrated into this day treatment model of care providing individual, group and family treatments to facilitate rehabilitation and return to daily life. Upon completion of this rotation, fellows will be well versed in psychological treatments for a wide range of pediatric populations and will have developed skills in working in interdisciplinary healthcare settings.

Comfort Ability Program:

Throughout the year, fellows will also become trained facilitators of an outpatient CBT intervention for patients and families; The Comfort Ability program. These workshops teach proven coping skills based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In the workshop, kids and teens and their parents or caregivers learn important strategies to better manage pain symptoms and functional symptoms (like dizziness, nausea, fatigue, etc.) and get back to their full lives. By graduation, post-doctoral fellows will be certified Comfort Ability Program facilitators.

Fellows may also choose to engage in a training elective in areas such as interventional pain management, young adult treatment, palliative care or our inpatient pain service. These specialized rotations offer the chance to learn about the full spectrum of pediatric pain care at Boston Children’s Hospital. Specialized opportunities may also include engaging in biofeedback or hypnosis training.

Position

We anticipate accepting 1 or 2 postdoctoral fellows for the 2026-2027 training year. The fellowship is a 12-month position with a primary clinical focus in the above-noted clinical care settings. Clinical hours and supervision for licensure will be provided. Fellows will also participate in daily team rounds, group supervision with pain psychology attendings, and departmental didactic seminars. Fellowship activities will occur at our primary clinical site located in Brookline, MA, near the main BCH Longwood campus.

Research

Approximately 25% of the fellow’s time is available for participating in ongoing research projects and/or program development initiatives. Examples of current research opportunities include studies of virtual reality in pediatric pain care, treatment outcomes in intensive interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation, studies related to our Comfort Ability workshops, efforts to improve equitable access to pediatric chronic pain treatment, and studies of stress-based biological risk factors related to chronic pain. Development and completion of independent projects is also supported. Research involvement can include gaining exposure to grant writing, authoring papers and presentations, and overseeing junior members of our research teams (graduate students, research assistants). Fellows are encouraged to apply to and attend pediatric psychology and pediatric pain conferences during their training year. Applicants with previous experience with and commitment to applied clinical research are preferred.

Additional opportunities: PTS psychology fellows are part of the larger Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at BCH and have opportunities to engage in didactics and professional development within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. They also participate in didactics with physician fellows within the Department of Anesthesia. Additionally, they are encouraged to join multisite pediatric pain training cohorts through a monthly multisite trainee lecture series and the PICH (Pain in Child Health) international training program. Fellows also have opportunities to engage in program development within the many components of our active and expanding clinical services.