Kayla Samuels, LMSW

Kayla Samuels, LMSW, is a social worker for the Selective Mutism Service at the Child Mind Institute. Kayla has specialized interest in the evaluation and treatment of a range of anxiety and trauma disorders, including selective mutism, social anxiety, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety and PTSD. 

Kayla is specifically trained in parent-child interaction therapy for selective mutism (PCIT-SM), where she works collaboratively with families to assess and achieve treatment goals and outcomes. Kayla has also received training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) and grief therapy, working as a grief specialist for children who have experienced a significant loss. She’s facilitated multiple support groups, discovering that group therapy and community programming can provide some of the greatest tools for learning, healing, and joy. She also has prior experience providing counseling and case management services to refugee families, survivors of interpersonal violence, and youth at risk of incarceration. Kayla is committed to utilizing a culturally informed lens when developing clinically relevant treatment goals.

Kayla is passionate about helping children thrive in their environment. Kayla continues to be committed to supporting the needs of children and their families, while maintaining the belief that every person is the expert of their own lived experience.

• Grief Specialist, Experience Camps, Westport, CT
• Youth Development Manager, Harlem Educational Activities Fund, New York, NY

• Social Work Intern, Met Council Family Violence Services, New York, NY
• Social Work Intern, International Rescue Committee, New York, NY

• MSW, Columbia School of Social Work, Columbia University
• BA, Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles