Mikala Grimaldi (she/her) is a final year clinical social work masters student at Boston College. Mikala has a passion for working with school-aged children, families, and young adults. She is committed to providing individually tailored, evidence-based care that builds upon her clients’ strengths. With empathy and compassion, Mikala creates a safe, fun, and inclusive space for children and young adults to build a life they love.

Mikala received rigorous training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) at McLean Hospital’s Child and Adolescent OCD Institute (OCDI Jr.) where she worked as a lead counselor and clinical research assistant. Following her time at McLean, she joined the New England Center as an advanced student clinician, behavior specialist, and clinical research coordinator. Mikala has provided care to youth and young adults across outpatient, intensive outpatient (IOP), residential, and inpatient settings. She is mentored and supervised by Dr. Lisa Coyne and Dr. Jason Krompinger.

Mikala also worked as a clinical intern at Walden Behavioral Care’s impatient center where she conducted diagnostic assessments and provided therapeutic services for adolescents and adults working towards eating disorder recovery.

In addition to her clinical work, Mikala has co-authored various published works on topics including assessment, case formulation, and treatment planning in ACT, parent psychological flexibility and self-compassion, reducing psychological distress experienced by Latinx parents of autistic children, and the prevalence of microaggressions experienced by adoptees.

In her free time, Mikala enjoys watching movies and playing board games with family and friends.