Merrill Berger

I am a seasoned clinical psychologist who has worked with children and adults in a wide variety of settings.  Currently, I provide evidenced based psychotherapies in the Adult Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Washington Medical Center.  This includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Cognitive Processing Therapy for trauma, Trauma informed care, CBT for anxiety and depression, and  CBT for Adult ADHD.

I am particularly interested in providing care to health care professionals who have met many challenges over the last few years.   I also provide treatment to adults experiencing psychosis and bipolar disorder.

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.

Jessica Chen

Dr. Chen is a clinical psychologist, chronic pain specialist, and health services researcher. Her research focuses on social determinants of health and the implementation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions for chronic pain and trauma. Dr. Chen is currently supported by a VA Career Development Award and other VA and NIH grants focused on increasing patient involvement in treatment decision-making and leveraging VA’s national healthcare system data to examine disparities in access to telehealth treatments for chronic pain and co-occurring opioid use disorder.

Erin Dillon-Naftolin

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist with experience in delivering evidence based care for youth with psychiatric disorders.  My clinical work is primarily in the outpatient setting and I have experience with telehealth, community mental health, consultation to primary care and developing integrated care systems with pediatricians.  I am a psychiatrist on the Partnership Access Line, which provides phone consultation  regarding diagnosis and treatment to pediatricians and other primary care physicians throughout Washington, Wyoming and Alaska.  I have worked as part of an integrated care team by providing consultation in person at Kent-Des Moines and Roosevelt clinics.  I have expertise in the treatment of common childhood psychiatric disorders  and I am particularly interested in treating anxiety and ADHD.  I am also trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and incorporate this background in my work.  I value working collaboratively with patients and their families to make a decision about treatment options based on the best evidence we have for safe and effective treatment.
Academically, I have enjoyed being part of the fellowship training program teaching about Integrated Care and currently co-chair the child and adolescent curriculum for the University of Washington Integrated Care Fellowship.

Robert Hilt

Robert Hilt, MD is a Professor in the UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a psychiatrist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He is the program director for the Partnership Access Line (PAL), a child mental health consultation service for primary care providers in Washington, Wyoming and Alaska. He is the Program Director for the Medicaid Medication Second Opinion Programs of Wyoming, Washington and Alaska, and Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Psychiatric Consult Service in Wyoming for children in foster care. He has been involved in several collaborative care projects, in school support projects, and has helped to establish a statewide mental health referral service in Washington.  Dr. Hilt’s primary interest is to increase professional collaboration between child psychiatrists and pediatric medical providers, and to increase access to high quality care.

William French

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.

Ryan Kimmel

Personal Statement

I am the Psychiatry Chief of Service for both campuses of the University of Washington Medical Center. I also direct our Psychiatric Consultation and Telepsychiatry Program. My clinical focus is on patients who are hospitalized with simultaneous psychiatric and medical issues.  Academically, I most often teach psychiatry trainees about psychopharmacology for refractory mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders.

Douglas Russell

Dr. Russell’s professional interests include ADHD, integrated/collaborative care, prevention and complementary/integrative approaches to child and adolescent mental health. He takes a holistic approach to psychiatric well-being that extends beyond medications and psychotherapy to include other evidence-based practices shown to improve brain health including regular exercise, time in nature, supportive social interactions, mind-body activities, good nutrition and sleep hygiene.

Julia Ruark

Personal Statement

I am a board certified psychiatrist and work at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. I am a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington.  I obtained a fellowship in consultation-liaison psychiatry, a specialty that focuses on providing psychiatric care for people with complex medical conditions.  My primary clinical focus is people with cancer. I love my work.  Being ill is a vulnerable time and my goal is to ease suffering and provide a sense of connection and understanding for all I work with.  I believe in working collaboratively with patients and families. We work together to identify what the goals of treatment are. I have expertise in diagnosis, psychopharmacology and psychotherapy and adapt my recommendations to best serve the goals of the person before me. I am also passionate about education. I am the site director at Fred Hutch Cancer Center for our Psycho-oncology Fellowship Program. I supervise Cl fellows, addiction fellows, psychiatry residents and provide education to social workers and psychology trainees.