Mighty Mouth Kids Camp | Kurtz Psychology

Intensive Camp for Children With Selective Mutism 3-9* years old
Winter 2024: January 15-19, 2024
Lead-in sessions January 8-12, 2024

Winter 2024 Mighty Mouth Kids Camp!

Mighty Mouth Kids (MMK) is the renowned SM Group Intensive model that Dr. Kurtz pioneered as the Brave Buddies model at the NYU Child Study Center in 2009 and later brought to the Child Mind Institute in 2010.

Kurtz Psychology Consulting PC is committed to improving the lives of children with selective mutism (SM) and their families. We are constantly developing new ways to spread awareness about SM, enhance treatment outcomes and improve long-term functioning, and disseminate our resources and knowledge to others.

In addition to the typical classroom exposure that our kids get to practice, we are laser-focused on getting you, the parents, confident in your own SM treatment skills so that you can serve as your child’s “therapist” beyond camp. The ages we serve this year will depend on the demand by our parent consumers for their children. While typically we serve 3-9-year-olds in non-COVID times, we need to be more restrictive this year due to the pandemic. Please contact our team for a no obligation appointment with one of our therapists to see if this is a good fit for you and your family.

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Winter 2024 Mighty Mouth Kids Camp

Parent training (all sessions remote): January 3rd, 4th, and 22nd, 2024

Lead-ins: January 8th-12th, 2024

Group meeting: Friday, January 12th 12:00-1:00PM EST

Camp Dates: January 15th-19th, 2024

(*groups and sessions will be in person and are subject to changes based on prevailing CDC and New York State pandemic guidelines in effect at that time)

What is Mighty Mouth Kids?

Intensive group treatment for children with SM
- In-person camp: age ranges will likely be 3-9*
Replicates a school/camp setting with 1:1 counselor to camper ratio (allows goals and needs to be individualized)
All activities involve practicing verbalizations with adults and peers, with the primary goal being to generalize talking to all people, in all places, during all activities
Parent Involvement
- In-person camp: parents are typically onsite and involved in parts of three of the five camp days to improve their skills and maximize generalization beyond the camp week
Parent training and live parent coaching are also included

Fees & Administrative Details

Total Cost for the Winter 2024 5-Day camp is $4050. The cost includes:
- 1-2 hour, parent-only evaluation session with a clinician
- Baseline observation session with parent and child, done remotely as needed
- 1 hour Friday pre-camp group session
- The 5-day camp program
- Parent training and coaching that starts before camp
- A 45-minute follow-up call to discuss feedback and next steps
Camp lead-in sessions will be billed separately at $250 per 50-minute clinical hour. Most campers end up needing 2-4 hours of lead-in sessions total. Some need more depending on severity and their response to treatment which varies from child to child.
We offer a reduced cost of $3425 for current Kurtz Psychology families who have already had their two-hour, parent-only evaluation and one-hour baseline.
Payment plans and financial aid are available on a limited, need basis.
Insurance reimbursement: We do not participate in any insurance plans but gladly provide you the detailed, itemized documentation for you to submit to your insurance company.
Refund policy: A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required to hold your child’s spot for the program. Full payment is required 30 calendar days prior to the start of the lead-in sessions, unless a written and signed payment plan is in effect. There is no guarantee that somebody will take your place from the waiting list. No fees can be kept on account to be applied to future programs. If you withdraw for any reason, including but not limited to COVID concerns, prior to 30 calendar days prior to the start of the lead-in sessions, all but $500 of paid fees will be returned to you. If you choose to withdraw within 30 days of the start of the lead-ins week, for any reason including COVID concerns, we will refund all but $1000.
COVID Pandemic and Illness: Families should consider waiting until the pandemic is over if they are not prepared to risk changing their minds about participating. We are currently masks optional for the duration of the program. We are not currently requiring campers or parents to be vaccinated against COVID-19. We strongly advise obtaining whatever trip cancellation insurance you can and being mindful of the cancellation policies of any travel plans you make. We reserve the right to change our COVID policies as the pandemic is evolving.

ABC TV Nightline feature on MMK

Highlights over the years

Dr. Kurtz trained team of professionals in 11 different locations to replicate this innovative model including 7 US cities, as well as teams in Canada and Hong Kong.
Professionals from all over the world have come to study the program with Dr. Kurtz.
This SM treatment model was featured on ABC’s Nightline program and PBS’s Keeping Kids Healthy.
Selective Mutism Learning University was created by the Kurtz Psychology Team as the first and only web-based course to teach caregivers, teachers, and other professionals the same skills that are used in the Mighty Mouth Kids program.
Mighty Mouth Kids is continually revised based on ongoing program evaluation; for example we recently added live parent coaching to help with generalization.

For More Information on MMK

Complete the Mighty Mouth request form below and a staff member will be in touch within one business day.
Contact the SM Intensive Program Coordinator directly at 212.658.0110, exit. 124 or via email at info@kurtzpsychology.com.

Parent Information Request Form

Click here for list of other PCIT-SM providers in the US and Around the World

Training Opportunities

Interested in becoming a counselor? Visit our Training webpage.

Kurtz Psychology has trained other sites to provide this same intensive camp model for younger children with SM. The map to the right shows the places we have trained and continue to collaborate with in 3 countries on 2 continents.

If you are interested in getting your site trained, please email Dr. Kurtz.