Clinical Roots. Systems Thinking.
I've spent my career at the intersection of pediatric trauma, caregiver engagement, and clinical training.
I'm a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. My book, Has Your Child Been Traumatized?, has been translated internationally and is used by clinicians and caregivers alike.
But the work I'm most focused on isn't a book. It's a gap.
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What I Kept Seeing
Early in my career, I noticed a pattern that kept repeating.
The children who recovered most reliably weren't necessarily receiving the most sophisticated treatment. They had something else: a caregiver who knew how to show up.
The research confirmed what I was seeing clinically. The caregiver-child relationship is one of the strongest predictors of post-trauma recovery.
But most clinical training focuses almost exclusively on the child.
The evidence was clear. The implementation was not.
That gap — between what the research shows and what clinicians are trained to do — became the center of my work.
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What I Do Now
Today, I train clinicians, hospital systems, and national organizations to integrate caregivers into pediatric trauma treatment.
My work spans:
- Clinical training programs for psychologists, therapists, and social workers
- Institutional consulting on treatment protocol design
- Keynotes and workshops for conferences and organizations worldwide
- Media commentary that translates trauma science for broader audiences
I work across clinical, academic, and public domains — connecting what happens in the treatment room with how systems are designed, clinicians are trained, and families are supported.
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Why This Work Matters
Pediatric trauma affects millions of children each year.
The capacity of any system to respond depends on how effectively it leverages its most abundant resource: the adults who care for those children.
Therapy is time-limited. The caregiver relationship is not.
When we invest in the latter, the impact of the former multiplies.