Research intern - multi-disciplinary research for whole-person resilience, especially for women and underserved groups
Remote, part-time, graduate student or licensed practitioner
About us
Tonik’s mission is to improve lives profoundly by meeting people where they are with specialized support for life’s complexities – for progress in the here and now, attuned to their complete experience and strengthened by the right community.
I’m Subarna, Tonik's founder.
While it’s never been easier to find support, the “right support” remains hard to find (and deliver) despite dedicated practitioners. I know this after weathering my own setbacks, watching loved ones do the same, and building solutions for mental and behavioral health working closely with practitioners.
I’m bootstrapping Tonik to change this – not with ‘tech-enablement’ or AI slapped on the status quo – but with support built from the ground up for in-depth needs when people grapple with the complexities of work, relationships, health, or life more broadly, that’s strengthened by community as appropriate.
Our early focus includes (but isn’t limited to) issues that affect women and underserved groups disproportionately.
P.S - the em dashes are all me, not AI :)
Who we're looking for
Graduate students studying to be therapists and therapists-in-training to research raw content in psychology and related fields to inform novel behavioral health services for issues across work, relationships, health, or life more broadly.
You’ll work closely with the founder to synthesize concepts, insights, techniques and metrics based on the latest research in psychology and other disciplines relevant for mental and physical health e.g., neurobiology, behavioral science, reproductive health etc. This will be used to build programs of exceptional quality that address people’s complete needs to navigate life’s challenges, with the right evidence-based methods, the latest cross disciplinary research, and measurable progress.
Our early focus includes (but isn’t limited to) issues that affect women and underserved groups disproportionately and differentially.
We’re in the early stages –– this role could expand in many ways based on interest and fit. It’s a unique opportunity to play the long game, build something from inception that shifts the paradigm, and create a global community for exceptional support that practitioners are proud to be part of.
If this sounds like you, we’d love to talk:
- You're a Master's or Doctoral-level student studying to be a therapist, a therapist in training, or a therapist or other licensed practitioner with expertise in mental health.
- You’re focused on evidence-based modalities with an integrative approach, stay current with the latest research, and are energized by new ways to make support life changing and accessible to those who need it – and rewarding for practitioners.
- You can run with the broad outline of a problem to quickly find, vet and interpret a variety of literature e.g., scientific literature, books and articles – and synthesize nuanced insights. You are versatile and creative but also very discerning. You can tell how suitable, rigorous and safe – a peer reviewed journal, book, article etc., is and why – for educational and also more clinical resources.
- You work smart and are extremely efficient but with careful tradeoffs to maintain very high quality. You may use AI but with nuance and discretion so that you never compromise authenticity, safety and efficacy. This is very important.
- You’re organized, reliable and have excellent standards and communication. You can give and receive feedback, work from first principles, deal with the unglamorous details, and be flexible and pragmatic while staying responsible.
- You know that practitioners face systemic challenges, and that tech has yet to “revolutionize” behavioral health. But you’re still excited about innovation and impact – by focusing on the right problems and tapping research.
- Bonus points if:
- You are training/experienced in group support
- You bring expertise in trauma-specific, gender-responsive, neuro-affirming and culturally responsive care
If this resonates, we’d love to hear from you and share more.
If you’re drawn to this but your profile’s not a perfect fit, we encourage you to apply.