I am a faculty member and licensed clinical psychologist in the University of Washington’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Before joining this department, I completed my Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Purdue University, residency at the University of Washington, and fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
My research interests primarily center around romantic relationship functioning and personality disorder (PD) measurement. My line of PD research centers around how the use of a trait-based, dimensional approach to assessing and measuring PDs may increase construct validity, reliability, and diagnostic accuracy relating to PDs. My romantic relationship research centers around how romantic relationship functioning and interpersonal behaviors are associated with psychopathology diagnoses and symptoms.
As a clinician, I specialize in treating suicidality and self-harm using comprehensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy; in treating PTSD using Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure; and in treating anxiety-related disorders using exposure therapies like Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD and Exposure for Social Anxiety. I am also passionate about providing couples’ therapy.
Dr. Adam Kuczynski is a clinical psychologist and Acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He received his PhD from the University of Washington in 2023 after completing his pre-doctoral internship at the same institution, training in serious mental illness and inpatient care at Harborview Medical Center and psycho-oncology Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Dr. Kuczynski currently works at the UW’s long-term civil commitment program and studies strategies to improve inpatient care for individuals with serious mental illness
I am a consult psychiatrist and clinical instructor at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. I work with people undergoing active cancer care. I previously practiced in the VA outpatient mental health clinic with veterans with mood disorders, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic and serious mental illness. I recently worked as a consult psychiatrist with the Swedish Primary Care Clinics, address a wide variety of concerns in a collaborative behavioral health care setting. I enjoy being a part of medical education, both learning and teaching. However, patient care always comes first.
Sheena Friesen, PhD (she/her), is the attending psychologist for the Child Program on the inpatient Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She has clinical expertise in disruptive behavior disorders, comprehensive assessment, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Exposure Therapies, Parent Training, and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Dr. Friesen’s research interests broadly focus on advancing knowledge of least restrictive interventions in acute and complex care contexts, trauma-informed care, and interventions designed to address children’s disruptive behavior problems. She has collaborated on and co-led efforts to design and implement a multi-tiered, Modified Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (M-PBIS) model of care aimed at increasing positive behavior interventions, reducing restraint and PRN use, and ameliorating racial gaps in care delivery.
Dr. Friesen received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She completed her pre-doctoral internship training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute and went on to complete her postdoctoral fellowship in acute care and clinical psychology at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
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.
My clinical and research work focus on ways to improve care for children with complex neurodevelopmental and behavioral concerns, especially in the context of prenatal substance exposures and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD).
Current projects include developing training to reduce stigma and improve accurate retrospective screening for prenatal alcohol exposure; examining factors influencing response to the Families Moving Forward Program for FASD; and, evaluating the clinical utility of the proposed diagnosis ND-PAE.
I am a Board-certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, a faculty member of the University of Washington School of Medicine since 2020, a board member of the ARC Trust of Washington. Clinically, I am an inpatient attending psychiatrist on the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit at SCH, and I also see children and families on an outpatient basis at the SCH Autism Center. In each of these roles I am involved in the teaching and supervision of medical students, residents, and fellows. Academically, I am the Director of Career Advising in Psychiatry, helping guide graduating medical students towards residency and careers in Psychiatry. In the CAP fellowship, I am the course director for the Genetics component of the didactics series, and also presenter for the Child Psychiatry portion of the Mind, Brain, and Body course. My professional interests include autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental and genetic disorders, catatonia, bullying, trauma-informed care, and anxiety in children of immigrant families. In all facets of my work I utilize evidence-based practices, and aim to to create strong partnerships with patients and families to achieve positive outcomes.
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.
I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and faculty member at the University of Washington Medicine. My SCH practice locations include the Gender Clinic (Adolescent Medicine), Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic, Autism Center, and the inpatient unit- Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine Unit (PBMU). I believe in delivering compassionate, evidence-based care in supporting patients and their families. My approach is both comprehensive and patient-centered, as it is important to consider the needs of the individual while also appreciating societal and cultural context. I specialize in working with diverse patient populations with various marginalized identities, such as those who identify as LGBTQ, gender diverse, and/or neurodiverse. I also work closely with the Adolescent Medicine Gender Clinic in supporting any mental health needs of transgender/gender diverse youth and their families. I also collaborate with colleagues in specialty medical clinics to coordinate care of medically complex patients. Additionally, I serve as a consultant with various school programs to support mental health initiatives and advocacy efforts.
Academically, I am involved with several initiatives both locally and nationally, particularly those that work to promote diversity and equity. I serve on committees supporting the SCH/UW CAP Fellowship Program, educating trainees and students through direct clinical supervision as well as with lectures and discussions. On a national level, I serve on the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues Committee (SOGIIC) for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). My clinical research focuses on finding strategies to better support the mental health and well-being of patients and families who are LGBTQ+. Additionally, I work on studies that explore the intersection between gender diversity and neuro diversity/autism spectrum.
Personal Statement
I am a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist in the Pediatric Clinic at Harborview, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in the Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine.
In my clinical work, I strive to create active partnerships with my patients and their families to achieve the best possible outcomes regardless of their needs and circumstances. I am lucky to have great behavioral health and primary care partners across the different clinics I work in, who are invaluable collaborators in caring for our patients and families.
I am involved in the child and adolescent training program and supervises trainees at several outpatient clinics. My clinical and research interests include integrating mental healthcare into primary care settings, ADHD, disruptive behaviors, aggression, trauma-related disorders, and improving clinical supervision of child and adolescent psychiatry trainees.
