Julie Kaplow – Childhood Trauma

Dr. Julie Kaplow serves as head of psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of psychology at Texas Children’s Hospital. An expert in childhood trauma and bereavement, Dr. Kaplow directs the Texas Children’s Trauma and Grief Center, a SAMHSA-funded Treatment and Service Adaptation Center of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, where she oversees evidence-based assessment, treatment and research with youth and families exposed to traumas and/or losses, and develops and disseminates trauma- and bereavement-informed “best practices” to community providers nationwide.

A strong proponent of a scientist-practitioner approach, Kaplow’s primary research interests focus on the biological, behavioral and psychological consequences of childhood trauma and bereavement, with an emphasis on therapeutically modifiable factors that can be used to inform psychosocial interventions. Kaplow’s ongoing studies examine the effectiveness of treatments for various populations of youth, including those with a history of trauma, youth exposed to traumatic bereavement, and youth anticipating the death of a loved one.

Kaplow earned her Ph.D. degree in clinical psychology from Duke University in 2002. She completed her internship at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship in childhood trauma at Boston Medical Center. She is board-certified by the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology.