I enjoy collaborating with patients and viewing their concerns through a holistic lens. I believe that transparent, integrated care is the most effective way to arrive at an accurate case conceptualization and treatment plan. My background in the neurosciences and medical psychiatry has offered me a comprehensive understanding of the biologic basis of psychiatric illness and the strength of the mind-body connection. My practice has span clinical, academic and research realms and afforded me opportunities to work with treatment-resistant depression, neuromodulation therapies, medical complexities and patients impacted by hormonal changes related to puberty, pregnancy, gender transitions and menopause. I enjoy learning from my patients and remain humbled by their resilience.
Condition: Anxiety disorders/social phobias
Kristine McKenna
My clinical and research interests are strongly anchored in efforts to improve the quality of life and coping of children and adolescents with chronic illness. As a pediatric psychologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, I provide assessment and intervention services to patients within the Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Program. My role involves assisting with issues such as adherence to medical regimens, teaching long-term stress reduction strategies to families, and empowering adolescents as they move toward adulthood and assume greater responsibility for their care. I am currently involved in QI projects including screening for psychological coping and risk factors as well as to help prepare our patients for transition to adult transplant programs.
Katherine Walukevich-Dienst
Dr. Walukevich-Dienst (hear my name) is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington.
Her research is focused on identifying psychosocial and contextual factors associated with alcohol and cannabis misuse and co-use among young adults, including social influences (e.g., romantic partners, use partnerships), affect management motives, co-occurring mental health concerns, and high-risk substance use events and contexts.
Dr. Walukevich-Dienst aims to leverage this information to develop and test innovative, technology-informed prevention and intervention efforts to disseminate in real world settings.
She also provides psychotherapy to patients at the University of Washington’s Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic and provides supervision and training to psychology graduate students and psychiatry residents in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Link to Dr. Walukevich-Dienst’s CV.
Koriann Cox
Koriann Cox, Ph.D. graduated from Northeastern University and is licensed in the state of Washington. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in co-occurring addiction and mental health and has a range of clinical experience with a variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, trauma, reproductive mental health, and substance and behavioral addictions. Dr. Cox’s strengths-focused approach emphasizes the mutual development of goals for therapy and ongoing collaboration between herself, the patient, and the care team. Dr. Cox uses a number of therapeutic modalities including but not limited to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Cognitive Processing Therapy.
Alissa Hemke
I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist with interests in medical education, infant and early childhood mental health, and psychotherapy. I direct psychotherapy training for child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) fellows, co-lead the CAP fellows’ didactic curriculum, and coordinate the CAP training experiences of general psychiatry residents.
My clinical work includes treatment in the outpatient setting for young children through adolescents, working closely with their families. I am passionate about psychiatrists supporting families comprehensively. I seek to use not only medications (if appropriate) but also behavioral/psychotherapeutic approaches.
I have done research on expanding behavioral treatments for young children by involving peer supports—caregivers who have previously participated in the programs for their own children—as members of the care team.
Jessica A. Blayney
Dr. Blayney’s research aims to understand the risks for and consequences of sexual victimization. More specifically, this work centers around how social contexts influence sexual victimization risk as well as variation in post-victimization recovery, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol use, and sexual risk behaviors.
Susan Stoner
Jen Beighley
My primary research and clinical interests are in diagnosis and management of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly, autism spectrum disorder. I am a psychologist at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center where I participate in team evaluations for children and teens with co-occurring medical or psychiatric complexity, and I also see patients through our Gender Clinic. I also work at the University of Washington’s Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD) where I see patients in the Infant Development Follow-up Clinic and in the Child Development Clinic. I love the interdisciplinary nature of CHDD and I am proud to be a faculty mentor for the LEND program (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities). Overarchingly, I am invested in learning more about how to support individuals and families, how to embrace the neurodiversity movement, encourage affirming care where strengths are celebrated, and work toward equitable treatment for the families I serve.
Nancy Lau
I am a clinical psychologist and researcher. My research focuses on pediatric psychology, intervention science, and leveraging digital technologies to disseminate and implement evidence-based psychosocial interventions for children, teens, and young adults with serious medical conditions and co-occurring anxiety, stress, and depression. Digital mental health care initiatives have the potential to scale-up interventions and overcome structural barriers and unequal access to psychosocial care. Current and future research investigations aim to help improve patient and family coping skills, psychosocial well-being, and quality of life by developing and implementing evidence-based mental health interventions.
