My work focuses on extending the reach of effective psychosocial interventions for children and adolescents. To this end, my research to date reflects four interrelated pursuits: (1) enhancing provider training, using strategies such as coaching and tailored training opportunities, (2) expanding the mental health workforce to include care extenders (e.g., teachers, school nurses, paraprofessionals) to meet the growing demand for effective interventions, (3) exploring the unique considerations as psychosocial interventions move into new contexts such as primary care, child welfare, and education settings, and (4) improving treatment engagement to help youth and families connect with and stay in treatment. I have had past funding from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and currently am funded by the William T. Grant Foundation. This work involves testing new ways to organize existing research knowledge into practical resources that will be useful to mental health supervisors and providers who are working with youth and families who demonstrate risk for low treatment engagement. As a researcher, I am deeply dedicated to partnering with community stakeholders to collaboratively explore ways to enhance children’s mental health services. As a mentor, I am committed to guiding graduate students to develop a vision and execute a plan for how their own program of research can improve services for youth and families in need.
