Scientific Advisory Board
Steven Kurtz, Ph.D., ABPP
Selective Mutism Association
Steven Kurtz, PhD, ABPP is a Board Certified clinical child psychologist specializing in treating children with selective mutism, other anxiety disorders, and behavioral disorders. Dr. Kurtz is active as a clinician treating families, a researcher, and as a trainer of other professionals. He is also one of only 21Certified Master Trainers of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy – PCIT. Dr. Kurtz adapted PCIT and created the PCIT-SM treatment for children with SM, which has become an empirically-supported treatment for SM. Dr. Kurtz is the creator and founder of the Brave Buddies model, started at NYU in 2009. Now called Mighty Mouth Kids, this is an intensive SM group treatment for children 3-9 years old, being done in 11 sites, in 3 countries, on 2 continents. His team also developed WeSpeak, a group intensive for 10-14 year olds with SM. Dr. Kurtz runs Kurtz Psychology Consulting, is an adjunct supervisor for Yeshiva University, and former faculty at the NYU School of Medicine and the Child Mind Institute.
Dr. Kurtz is a tireless advocate for children with special needs and aside from professional publications and conference presentations his work has been featured on NBC Today Show, ABC Nightline, CBS Early Show, PBS Keeping Kids Healthy, TLN Shalom in the Home, and in the NY Times and Huffington Post. Dr. Kurtz is excited to return to the SMA Board in 2018.
