Zohra Chahal, MA, PhD is the Director of our Mighty Mouth Kids (MMK) program for children with selective mutism and leads our school consultation and teacher training initiatives under the umbrella of our Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) program.
Dr. Chahal has expertise in comprehensive diagnostic evaluations and empirically supported treatments, including: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT); PCIT Adapted for Selective Mutism (PCIT-SM); Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and DBT for Adolescents (DBT-A), and DBT for Children (DBT-C); Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT); Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT); and Motivational Interviewing (MI). She has trained under some of our nation’s leading child and adolescent psychologists and psychiatrists. Dr. Chahal also has extensive experience delivering evidence-based treatments to children, adolescents, and their families across school, outpatient pediatric clinic, community mental health, therapeutic camp, and partial hospitalization settings. This, in turn, has propelled her dedication to increasing access to evidence-based mental health services in under-resourced communities by training and supervising clinicians in the provision of treatment and collaborating with community stakeholders.
She is certified by PCIT International as a PCIT Therapist and is working towards certification as a Within Agency Trainer. Dr. Chahal has completed intensive training in DBT through Behavioral Tech; and she has received training and supervision in CBT from Beck Institute Certified Clinicians. She is a member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT); the Selective Mutism Association (SMA); and the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Chahal also serves as a member of the APA’s CPT Advisory Group and the ABCT’s Public Education and Media Dissemination Committee, two notable positions of leadership within our profession. Dr. Chahal has presented at national conferences on the topics of disruptive behaviors, anxiety, depression, and chronic illness. She has also co-authored a book chapter on family-based therapy for children and adolescents and a book chapter on PCIT-SM.
Dr. Chahal obtained her B.S. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She then obtained her Masters and Doctoral degrees in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. She completed her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at WellSpan Philhaven in York, PA and her post-doctoral fellowship at Kurtz Psychology Consulting PC. She is an Early Entry Applicant for board certification in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
