Who We Are

Personal Statement

My research interests can be summarized as falling into three categories: Care coordination models for youth with the most complex behavioral health needs, school mental health, and public sector implementation of research-based practices. Since 2003, our research team has used a combination of expert consensus, measure development studies, field-based effectiveness trials, and dismantling studies borne of the opportunities presented by natural experiments to define quality standards that are predictive of system and child outcomes for the “Wraparound”  integrated care model. Along the way, we have developed and  disseminated fidelity tools and implementation support technologies and  produced over 40 peer reviewed papers on the topic.

With respect to school mental health, our interdisciplinary UW School Mental Health Assessment, Research, and Training (SMART) Center currently has three federal and multiple local and foundation grants focused on how best to ensure that evidence for effective mental health intervention and prevention is translated into programming that leverages the diverse set of roles of the school-based workforce and is contextually appropriate to schools. The results of this research agenda include documentation of the effectiveness of mental health programming in “real-world” school-based health centers, barriers to improving academic achievement through school mental health and other support services “as usual” (and what might actually provide this mechanism of effect) and development and testing of a brief evidence-based mental health intervention with good contextual fit to schools.

Education

Clinical internship, Georgetown University Medical Center, 1996-1997
PhD, Clinical Psychology , University of Vermont, 1992-1997
BA, Psychology, University of Virginia, 1986-1990

Department Affiliations