CHILD ANXIETY - Key Persons
Anna Swan, Ph.D., Membership/Treasurer, is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the NYU Child Study Center where she specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders in children and adolescents. She received her Ph.D. from Temple University under the mentorship of Dr. Philip C. Kendall, and her dissertation examined the impact of response to anxiety treatment in youth on functional outcomes during the transition to adulthood, using data from the Child and Adolescent Multi-modal Extended Longitudinal Study (CAMELS). Anna completed her predoctoral internship at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in the Integrated Behavioral Health Track, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the NYU Child Study Center on the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Service. Anna's clinical and research interests focus on evidence-based assessment and treatment of child and adolescent anxiety disorders.
Aubrey Carpenter, Ph.D., Newsletter Co-Editor, is a staff psychologist and clinical faculty member in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Vermont. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Boston University, completed her predoctoral internship at Boston Children's Hospital, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric behavioral medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Carpenter's areas of clinical and research expertise focus on ways to improve access to evidence-based treatment and consultation for child anxiety and related conditions, including through the use of novel telehealth methods and multidisciplinary collaboration with integrated care settings. Dr. Carpenter has experience serving on the Executive Board of the Child and Adolescent Anxiety SIG in the past as student representative and website manager, as well as experience on the APA Division 53 Student Advisory Board. She hopes to contribute her expertise in child anxiety, telehealth, and integrated care to the CAA SIG as an incoming Newsletter Co-Editor.
Charissa Chamorro, M.S.W., M.A., Student Representative, is a Clinical Psychology Extern at Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CU-CARD). Ms. Chamorro has completed clinical and psychological assessment externships at Mount Sinai Center for OCD and Related Disorders, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, and Long Island University Psychological Services Center. Ms. Chamorro received her B.F.A. from Boston University, and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University. During her graduate career, Ms. Chamorro has been awarded fellowships in research and statistics. Ms. Chamorro has conducted research on the long-term effects of childhood psychological abuse and exposure to community violence, and on the identification of factors that contribute to anxiety and mood disorders. She has also worked on research studies examining medication strategies for pediatric OCD and anxiety. Ms. Chamorro's research interests include the identification of risk and protective factors in the development of anxiety and mood disorders, as well as factors that can impede treatment and improve treatment outcomes. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Ms. Chamorro earned a Master of Social Work degree at New York University. While completing her M.S.W., Ms. Chamorro worked as a clinical social work intern and a research assistant at the Children's Day Unit at New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Medical Center. In this role, she provided evidenced-based treatments targeting OCD, anxiety, and mood disorders. She has also served as a Rape Crisis Advocate in the pediatric and adult emergency rooms at Bellevue Hospital/NYU Langone and as a volunteer movement instructor for pediatric cancer patients and their families at RMHNY. Ms. Chamorro has presented her research at national conferences and is an active member of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), and the American Psychological Association (APA).
Chris LaLima, Student Representative, is a 5th year clinical psychology PhD candidate at Hofstra University currently working on his dissertation at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. His thesis examines the feasibility and efficacy of therapist guided, internet-based CBT on a global platform for body dysmorphic disorder. He served as a supervised therapist and researcher in the Child and Parent Psychological Services clinic and Sports Psychology Lab at Hofstra, as well as a supervised therapist at the Hofstra ASD clinic. At the NYU Child Study Center (CSC), he completed a part-time externship with Dr. Richard Gallagher and a full-time externship with the special projects track, and served as a lead counselor at the Summer Program for Kids (SPK). He most recently externed at New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Medical Center's (NYSPI/CUMC) Pediatric Anxiety and Mood Research Clinic (PAMRC)/Children's Day Unit (CDU) under the supervision of Anthony Puliafico, PhD, and adult Anxiety Disorders Clinic (ADC) under the supervision of Sapana Patel, PhD. His clinical training has focused on CBT for ADHD, DBDs, and anxiety and mood disorders, with an emphasis on OCD and related disorders. He has provided school consultation services for children and adolescents, and treated children, adolescents, families, and adults. Chris's clinical and research interests currently focus on using technology to disseminate evidence-based treatments.
Elizabeth Reichert, Ph.D. Leader, is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is Assistant Director of Outpatient Services in Child Psychiatry and also serves as Co-Section Chief of General Child Psychiatry where she is Co-Director of the Stanford Parenting Center (SPC). She is the former Director of the Pediatric Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Clinic at Stanford. Elizabeth received her Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island and completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the UC Davis Children's Hospital, CAARE Center. Elizabeth specializes in evidence-based treatments of anxiety, trauma and disruptive behaviors and her research interests have focused on the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders with an emphasis on familial influences and promoting health and resiliency within family systems. Her most recent work focuses on the impact of family accommodation in the development and maintenance of anxiety and disruptive behavior, and she is focused on creating digitally accessible parenting interventions aimed at increasing access and preventing and/or reducing risk for these disorders. Elizabeth is committed to the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments and prevention-based interventions for children and their families, with a particular focus on digital health initiatives, and she greatly values her role training psychology and psychiatry trainees in evidence-based practices for anxious youth.
Jen Blossom, Ph.D., Immediate Past Leader, is a Clinical Child Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maine. As a member of the Clinical Faculty at UMaine, Dr. Blossom maintains an active program of research, mentors doctoral and undergraduate students, and teaches at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Dr. Blossom has clinical expertise in youth internalizing problems, including anxiety, depression, and suicidality and maintains an active clinical role through consultation and training of primary care-based clinicians and community providers. Dr. Blossom's program of research employs an implementation science approach to improve community capacity to identify and intervene for youth with mental health problems, including enhancing service delivery, efficiency, access, and engagement. In particular, Dr. Blossom's research evaluates the effectiveness and implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) within pediatric primary care and community settings with the ultimate goal of realizing a public health impact of EBIs for common youth mental health concerns.
Jennifer Hudson, Ph.D., Emeritus Leader/Listserve Manager, founded the Child and Adolescent SIG in 2002. She is currently Associate Professor and research fellow at the Centre for Emotional Health in the Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. In 2008, she commenced a QEII fellowship funded by the Australian Research Council at Macquarie University. Her research has been funded by the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Mental Health (United States) and Macquarie University. Assoc. Prof. Hudson received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Macquarie University and completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic, Temple University, Philadelphia under the supervision of Professor Philip Kendall. Her research focuses on anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, specifically the role of parents in the aetiology of anxiety disorders in youth and the treatment of internalizing disorders using cognitive behavioural and cognitive behavioural family therapies. Assoc. Prof. Hudson has published her research in international journals. She has co-authored a book 'Treating anxious children: An evidence-based approach' (2000) and edited a book "Psychopathology and the Family" (2006). She is also currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology. In recognition of her achievements as an early career researcher, Assoc. Prof. Hudson has received awards from a number of organisations including Scopus, Australian Psychological Society, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, The Australian Association of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and The Australian Institute of Political Sciences.
Rachel Terry, Student Representative, is a graduate student in the Combined Clinical Psychology and School Psychology Psy.D. Program at Yeshiva University. Under the mentorship of Sarah Kate Bearman, Ph.D. she has developed a strong interest the dissemination and implementation of empirically supported practices (ESPs) for underserved youth in community settings. Rachel is currently a clinical extern at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD), under the direction of Anne Marie Albano, Ph.D., ABPP. Prior to graduate school, she worked in medical research and non-profit management to help children impacted by chronic illness and physical disabilities.
Sophie Palitz, Student Representative, is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at Temple University. Sophie graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Psychology and subsequently worked at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) studying anxiety disorders and complicated grief under the direction of Dr. Naomi Simon. Now pursuing her PhD, Sophie works under the mentorship of Dr. Philip C. Kendall, researching child and adolescent anxiety disorders and their treatment. Her specific clinical and research interests focus on mechanisms of change in cognitive behavioral therapy for youth with anxiety and treatment optimization. Sophie is currently a clinical extern at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).