The Center for Children and Families at Florida International University announces Summer Treatment Program Counselor, Research Assistant, and Teacher/Classroom Aide positions for 2024. Positions are available at our sites in Miami and in Buffalo, NY. More than 100 positions are available. Positions are available for undergraduate students, postbaccalaureate students, and graduate students.
The Summer Treatment Program (STP) provides services to children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Conduct Disorder, Oppositional-Defiant Disorder, learning problems, and related behavior problems. By participating in the STP, students will:
- Learn evidence-based techniques for working with children who have disruptive behavior disorders
- Gain valuable clinical and research experience to prepare for career and graduate school
- Help children to improve their social skills, sports skills, and academic skills
- Network with faculty members at the Center for Children and Families, as well as students from across the country.
Positions are available in programs serving children between the ages of 3-12. Children and counselors are assigned to groups of four or five counselors and 10 to 15 children of similar age. Children participate in a variety of classroom-based and recreational activities. Staff members implement an extensive behavior modification treatment program that includes feedback and associated consequences for positive and negative behaviors, daily and weekly rewards for appropriate behavior, social praise and attention, appropriate commands, and age-appropriate removal from positive reinforcement.
Counselors deliver the treatment components during daily sports-based recreational periods in which children practice and play soccer, baseball/softball, and basketball. Counselors plan and conduct skill drills, provide appropriate coaching, model appropriate sports skills, and encourage and reinforce effort, sportsmanship, leadership, and teamwork. Counselors also assist with daily social skills training sessions, conduct problem solving discussions, and assist with the implementation of daily report cards and individualized treatment programs. Staff members will also be responsible for recording and entering daily records of children’s behavior and response to the treatment. Staff members will work under the supervision of experienced faculty and staff members and will receive regular feedback about their performance.
Experience in the STP may be helpful to prepare students for further study or employment in the fields of education, mental health, physical education, pediatrics, psychiatry, recreational therapy, behavior analysis, social work, counseling, and related areas. Staff members have uniformly reported the experience to be the most demanding but also the most rewarding clinical experience of their careers.
Detailed descriptions of each program, position descriptions, and application instructions are available at: https://ccf.fiu.edu/summer-programs/index.html