Fellowships

Fellowship Positions

Three Fellowships are available with our CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion:

Research Fellow
Clinical Support Fellow
Community Health Fellow

The volunteer fellowship program is designed to provide an engaging and enriching introduction for students, early career professionals seeking experience in a mindfulness center, and those exploring a transition into mindfulness-related work. Fellows may be interested in research, clinical applications of mindfulness and compassion in healthcare, or helping to impact community health through dissemination of mindfulness and compassion training. Fellows will have the opportunity to support the growing center in a variety of important roles, with the choice of either the research, clinical support, or community health track. Details can be found below.

Timeline

We ask fellows to make a 240-hour and 6-month commitment, so they have an opportunity to make an impactful contribution to CMC and have an opportunity for meaningful personal development. The Center has new projects emerging as it rapidly grows and opportunities for paid part-time or full-time positions may be available after the 240-hour commitment has been completed. We accept new fellows in June, September and January and ask potential applicants to apply 2-3 months prior to the desired start date.

Eligibility

We are seeking university students, graduate students, early career professionals, and community members who are interested in gaining experience with clinical research, experience with or coordination of mindfulness- and compassion-based programs, groups and interventions. The research fellow track may be a particularly good fit for people interested in careers related to health care, neuroscience, psychology, medicine, public health, engineering, etc. The clinical support track may be a particularly good fit for people interested in careers in healthcare like medicine, psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, public health, community health, mindfulness/compassion teaching, etc. The community health track may be a particularly good fit for people interested in careers in community health, public health, counseling, education, marketing, mind/body business management, and becoming a mindfulness/compassion teacher. We welcome fellows interested in any aspect of mindfulness, compassion or contemplative psychology research and programming.

Financial Support

No stipend is offered, but our team will provide documentation and support for fellows who seek to apply for possible stipends and resources for support from their home institution or other scholarships. Preference will be given for those who seek academic credit for subsequent semesters or for those looking for yearlong work study placements.

In the past, previous fellows have been able to receive academic elective credits from their university during semesters for pursuing an ongoing academic project, including poster presentations and participation in the development of peer-reviewed publications.

Three Fellowship Tracks

Research track

In the research track, the fellow will assist with implementing a range of clinical research projects related to mindfulness and compassion, with an opportunity to conduct supervised research focused on a study question that is relevant to CMC.

CMC is currently funded to conduct several research and outreach projects, including several grants from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institute for Drug Abuse, Center for Disease Control, Mind & Life Institute, and many more. Topic areas for current and potential research fellow projects include:

Mindfulness and Migraines

Mindfulness and Opioid Use

Mindfulness and Trauma/PTSD

apply here

Clinical Support Track

In the clinical support track, the fellow will assist with developing and implementing groups in the Mindful Mental Health Service - clinical treatments that bring Mindfulness Practices into insurance-backed Primary Care and Integrated Health settings.

To bring a more holistic approach into the American healthcare system is a big job, and needs people with vision and determination, as there are many obstacles. This is a radically innovative program developing healthcare that helps CHA's patients and practitioners increase their sense of control over their health, gain self-efficacy in the face of stress, and learn to treat themselves and others with greater compassion when things get tough... all in a real-life clinical setting with a diverse patient population in a sustainable way, not in a brief laboratory experiment with lots of exclusions. We engage with people at many different levels within the system, and offer robust intensive programs like Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Training for Primary Care, alongside introductory groups and specific groups for people with trauma, substance use, or severe mental illness, which are aimed at those just beginning to see how practice may help them meet their challenges.

Finally, we are proud to be building a Mindful Community of intensive program alumni, offering opportunities for preventing relapse to depression by strengthening practice, while building relationships and resolve.

Apply here

Community Health Track

In the community health track, the fellow will have a chance to help implement, create and assist with groups and develop curricula for members of the public community. The community health track may also involve working with local leaders on a community health project.

CMC is growing its external presence, with a multitude of ongoing programs, workshops and trainings. The community health fellow will support CMC development, external communications and programs, which include:

8-week courses: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindful Self-Compassion
Workshops, events and professional trainings (i.e. Alumni half-day workshops, Mind in Labor Childbirth Workshop, Mindful Practice in Medicine, Mindful Self-Compassion for Chronic Pain, Compassion Training, Mindfulness and Biofeedback Workshop, Mindfulness Training for Primary Care Group Leader Trainings, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Trainings)
Mindfulness and compassion-based education initiatives in local public and private schools
Our community-based ‘Many Paths Collaborative’ Initiative, which aims to broaden the reach of mindfulness and compassion practices (More information coming soon!)

Community health fellows help the CMC team deliver programs that fulfill our mission of accessibility and inclusion for mindfulness and compassion programs within our diverse community. If you have a special skill, such as in photography, marketing, or a background in fundraising or visual or writing expertise, please feel free to share.