Student Opportunities
McLean Hospital has educational opportunities for college graduates, undergraduate researchers, medical students, and students at Harvard University.
Post-Baccalaureate Child and Adolescent Clinical Fellowship Program
The Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at McLean Hospital offers a two-year Post-Baccalaureate Clinical (PBac) Fellowship Program for college graduates interested in pursuing a career in mental health. This guided, entry-level professional experience is shaped by the four pillars of McLean Hospital’s mission: excellence in clinical care, groundbreaking state-of-the-art scientific investigation, training the next generation of mental health professionals, and serving the hospital and our communities.
Led by Fairlee C. Fabrett, PhD, the PBac Fellowship Program includes a two-year, full-time paid position in one of the following programs:
- McLean-Franciscan Child and Adolescent Inpatient Program, located in Brighton, Massachusetts, provides acute stabilization and treatment for children and teens
- McLean-Franciscan Community Based Acute Treatment Program, located in Brighton, Massachusetts, offers short-term residential mental health care for children and teens
- 3East Cambridge Transitional Residence, a program for young adults, focusing on community reintegration, guidance in everyday life, and transition to adulthood
- 3East Girls Intensive and Step-Down Programs, located in Arlington, Massachusetts, specialized residential care for teens struggling with self-injury, emotion dysregulation, and suicidal ideation
- 3East Boys Intensive Program, located in Arlington, Massachusetts, a specialized residential program for teens struggling with emotion dysregulation, self-injury, and suicidal ideation
- 3East DBT Partial Hospital Program, located in Arlington, Massachusetts, specialized care for adolescents struggling with self-injury, emotion dysregulation, and suicidal ideation
- OCDI Jr., located in Belmont, Massachusetts, a specialized residential program for children and teens who have a diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder
- Belmont Adolescent Partial Hospital Program, located in Belmont, Massachusetts, a day program for adolescents struggling with mood and anxiety, and other diagnoses
- McLean SouthEast Adolescent Acute Residential Treatment Program, located in Middleborough, Massachusetts, a residential program for teens who struggle with everyday functioning, such as going to school, difficulty maintaining friends, sadness, substance misuse, etc.
- McLean SouthEast at Oak Street Child and Adolescent Inpatient Program, located in Middleborough, Massachusetts, for teens who need crisis evaluation and stabilization, including medication management
Fellows assigned to the McLean-Franciscan programs are employed, paid, and have the benefits of Franciscan Hospital. Even though they are hired by another institution, they participate in all the educational and service programs of the fellowship. All fellows are expected to work 40 hours (unless specified by their program) and as such receive all the benefits of regular employees, such as paid vacation hours, health insurance, and sick days.
While the programs share the mission of caring for children, adolescents, and their families, each has a different approach to treatment and set of interventions based on the population and diagnoses they treat.
Some of our programs, including McLean-Franciscan programs and McLean SouthEast at Oak Street are known for their fast-paced environment with quick decision making. Fellows that do best at these sites are those interested in a uniquely intense experience working with youth whose psychiatric acuity requires close attention and around-the-clock care. Fellows who excel here are also drawn to fast-paced environments.
Other programs, while also acute, offer different levels of care and rely on other/more specialized therapeutic interventions. For instance, the 3East programs use dialectical behavior therapy as their main mode of treatment, while OCDI Jr. utilizes exposure and response prevention therapy.
Each program also has a different set of expectations and schedules. Inpatient programs have day, evening, and overnight shifts, while other programs are a mix between day, evening, and weekends shifts.
Accepted fellows are assigned to a program where they spend the two years of the fellowship. During the first week, the fellows learn about a variety of topics such as the different levels of care in a mental health environment, understanding how to work with a multidisciplinary team, essentials of group therapy, and professional boundaries and ethics.
Once they are in their assigned programs, fellows participate in program-specific training and supervision along with other program colleagues.
In addition to opportunities at their program, fellows join in a monthly professional development and education seminar where they learn from world-renowned clinicians about different therapy modalities, therapeutic strategies, and diagnoses. The seminars also provide professional development guidance, exposure to professionals of different disciplines, and support around graduate school applications.
Fellows also participate in scholarly activities which may include a poster presentation in a conference, collaborating in manuscript writing, or other exciting opportunities.
This fellowship relies heavily in mentorship, as it is very important for academic and career development. We offer a peer mentorship program where our second-year fellows mentor first-year fellows, offering support and guidance. In addition, fellows are also matched with a clinician within their program who provides career-related mentorship as well as supervision, if needed.
Finally, fellows provide service to McLean and/or the community at large via a partnership with the Office of Public Affairs. They will participate in, or even help plan, events in coordination with the NAACP, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and McLean’s own nationally recognized Deconstructing Stigma project—to name just a few of the exciting opportunities.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, CV, and a letter of recommendation from a current supervisor, professor, or anyone who might be able to talk about your work ethic and/or experience.
The next recruitment cycle starts in the winter of 2022.
For more information, please contact Fairlee C. Fabrett, PhD.
McLean Mental Health Research Summer Program
The McLean Mental Health Research Summer Program (MMHRSP) seeks to engage scientific curiosity, create research opportunities, and promote academic success in mental health research for promising young Black, Indigenous, and underrepresented people of color (BIPOC) interested in pursuing a career in research or have not yet explored the possibility.
This 10-week (June-August) paid summer research program offers a top-notch research experience to undergraduate BIPOC students currently in a two- or four-year college/university. Our overarching mission is to increase representation and diversity in critical areas of mental health research.
This intensive, full-time, hands-on mental health research experience involves three components:
- Mentored basic science or clinical research experience in a laboratory at McLean Hospital
- Workshops to teach and promote strategies for scientific success
- Outreach and community engagement in collaboration with McLean’s Brains Matter outreach program
Students participate in laboratory research remotely, in-person, or as a hybrid, pending McLean’s COVID-19 policies. Students also join workshops on how to use various data analysis and statistics software, such as Image J and Prism.
Students are mentored by current principal investigators and research fellows who recognize the importance of cultural competency in science education and have experience working with trainees from populations underrepresented in STEM and higher education.
The program offers support so students may attend and present their work at a scientific conference, such as the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students.
These conferences are an opportunity for students to present their research work at a scientific meeting and enhance their professional development skills. These meetings create a welcoming scientific community where students can be their whole self. Universities across the nation attend to recruit minority students to their graduate programs.
How to Apply
Interested junior or seniors in a four-year university or second-year students in a community college who reside or attend college in Massachusetts are welcome to apply.
Online application requires a one-page personal statement, an unofficial transcript, and one letter of recommendation.
Applications are due by February 14, 2022. Six undergraduates will be selected in March.
With any questions, please contact us by email.
Medical Student Education
McLean Hospital offers opportunities for medical students interested in pursuing elective studies in psychiatry.
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) students interested in an elective at McLean Hospital may learn more on the HMS website. For more information, please contact the HMS Registrar or contact John B. Roseman, MD, director of Medical Student Education at McLean.
Non-HMS Medical Student
Students from other medical schools may apply for an advanced fourth year elective at McLean Hospital through the Harvard Medical School Registrar. HMS does not offer elective opportunities for non-HMS students prior to the fourth year of medical school.
International Medical Students
Students from international schools may learn more regarding the exchange program for international medical students on HMS’s website.
Harvard Student Opportunities
Harvard University offers a number of programs which can be fulfilled via McLean Hospital.
The Scholars in Medicine Program allows students to carry out a faculty mentored scholarly project as a graduation requirement.
The Program in Neuroscience, a PhD training opportunity, provides students with the instruction, research experience, and mentoring they need to become leaders in research and education.
Harvard College undergraduate students may coordinate an independent study at McLean.
