I am a pediatric psychologist who specializes in working with children, teens and young adults with cystic fibrosis. I help them balance the demands of their treatment regimen with living a life that is really meaningful to them. I also specialize in treating preschool children with emotional and behavioral concerns, including tantrums, anxiety, sleep and toileting.
Helping support family wellness, fun and connection has always been meaningful and rewarding for me. I partner with my patients and families to help them build the skills that will be theirs to keep, and allow them to be the healthiest family they can be. My care is grounded in the importance of building healthy and enduring parent-child bonds early in life. I help parents understand what we would expect for the child's development and life experiences, and how best to teach, model and build skills needed to meet expectations and thrive. We actively set goals and track progress toward these goals. We work hard together and have fun while building important skills that can last a lifetime.
In addition to my clinical care of patients, I lead and partner with others on research. My research focus is broadly in early intervention to improve the health and wellness of children and their families, including emotion and behavior, nutrition and school functioning. Much of my research is in chronic illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and obesity, and is focused on wellness, education and care improvement. I also educate medical trainees in behavioral healthcare.
I find balance in listening to music, cooking, enjoying art, and being with friends and family.
PhD: University of Nevada, Reno, NV, 2007.
Internship: Boystown, Nebraska Internship Consortium of Professional Psychology, Omaha, NE, 2006-2007.
Fellowship: Pediatric Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2007-2009.
Behavior management in toddlers and preschoolers; adherence to treatment in chronic illness (CF and obesity); coping and adjustment; child anxiety; toileting
Behavioral Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, Cystic Fibrosis, Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology
Early intervention; adherence to treatment in chronic illness (CF and obesity); development and testing of brief behavioral interventions; quality improvement
Clinical Psychology
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Giving adolescents with cystic fibrosis a voice: Predicting cystic fibrosis nutritional adherence from their decision-making involvement. Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 2024; 49:491-500.
Education-related needs for children with cystic fibrosis: Perspectives of US pediatric care teams. Pediatric Pulmonology. 2024; 59:95-100.
Longitudinal mental health trends in cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2023; 22:1093-1099.
507 “Everything has changed”: Dietitians’ perspectives on supporting adolescents with cystic fibrosis in following nutritional recommendations in the era of CFTR modulator therapies. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2023; 22:s268.
478 High school completion rates for youth with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2023; 22:s251.
500 Development and implementation of a standardized process for anxiety and depression screening for youth with cystic fibrosis aged 8 to 11. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2023; 22:s263-s264.
506 Cystic Fibrosis Teens Talk Project: a mixed-methods evaluation of adherence to nutritional recommendations in adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2023; 22:s267-s268.
Abstract P616: Implementing a Dietary Energy Density Intervention in Preschool Children. Circulation. 2023; 147:ap616.
Longitudinal Assessment of Educational Risk for K-12 Students with Cystic Fibrosis. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2023; 253:238-244.e3.
Management of Mental Health in Cystic Fibrosis. Clinics in Chest Medicine. 2022; 43:791-810.
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