National Network of
NICU Psychologists
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 in Anaheim, California.
$75 or FREE for NPA Members.
meet with us virtually or in-person
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The National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP)
is an initiative of the National Perinatal Association.
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MISSION.
VISION.
VALUES and
CORE BELIEFS.
GOALS and
OBJECTIVES.
We will always work to optimize care for all infants and their families in NICU settings through direct family involvement, staff support, research, and education.
We strive to be the leading voice and resource for mental health services in NICU settings.
Psychologists have unique training and skills to optimize medical, socioemotional, and neurodevelopmental outcomes for NICU infants and families. Psychology services should be integrated into every NICU in the United States.
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Implementation of evidence-based, targeted interventions to improve parental, familial and infant mental health is critical to the long-term health and well-being of each child and family.
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National collaboration among NICU psychologists is essential to state-of-the art education, clinical research, and advocacy for policy development and change.
As a group we will provide mentorship to those entering our profession and advocate for the role of psychologists and other mental health providers in the NICU setting. We shall facilitate collaboration between members of our organization and other medical and mental health advocacy organizations in the field of postpartum and perinatal mental health.
An Essential Tool for Providers
Behavioral Health Services with
High-Risk Infants and Families
Meeting the Needs of Patients, Families, and Providers in Fetal, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and Neonatal Follow-Up Settings
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Provides a comprehensive, practical resource for behavioral health clinicians for multiple settings related to care of high-risk infants
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Presents a foundation for best practices to improve behavioral health care
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Includes a broad range of experts who work with this population, including psychologists, physicians, nurses, social workers, and parents
EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL.
NPA is the home for innovative programs and practitioners.
What began as an idea at a NICU psychologists' retreat has become a professional organization.
The National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) is a critical next step to improving perinatal care
as it coordinates, connects, and educates psychologists around the country who work in the NICU setting.
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Co-chairs Drs. LaTrice L. Dowtin and Elizabeth Fischer are leading the development of advocacy, research, and professional training committees that will transform and elevate the role of
mental health care providers in the support of fragile NICU families.
LaTrice L. Dowtin, PhD, LCPC, NCSP, RPT
Executive Council Co-Chair
LaTrice L. Dowtin, PhD, LCPC, NCSP, RPT, (she/her/Dr.) Executive Director of PlayfulLeigh Psyched, a playful center for social and emotional wellness.
I have the honor of serving as the Co-Chair of the National Network of NICU Psychologists as a Black hearing cisgender woman, along with Dr. Fischer. Previously, I served a 3-year term as co-chair for the Training & Education committee, and I am currently a member of NPA’s Perinatal Mental Health Workgroup. Clinically, I am trained as an identity affirming trauma interventionist with focus on NICU follow-up, infant and early childhood mental health, perinatal mental health across genders, and transgenerational trauma with hearing and Deaf populations. I am natively fluent in AAVE and English, and proficient in American Sign Language (ASL). I am a published researcher and author with several book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on topics related to NICU, parental mental health, and social justice for preschool aged children. My research interests include NICU follow-up care, social justice for racially and linguistically marginalized young children and their families, and equitable social justice training for developing providers.
Elizabeth Fischer, PhD
Executive Council Co-Chair
Elizabeth Fischer, PhD, Assistant Professor and Associate Chief, Division of Pediatric Psychology and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin.
I am honored and pleased to serve as Co-Chair of National Network of NICU Psychologists, along with Dr. Dowtin. I have previously served as a member of the communications committee for NNNP. I have many years of experience working with children and families in hospital acute care and intensive care settings, including consultation in the NICU. In the past four years I have been an embedded psychologist in a Level IV NICU providing patient and family care, and complex NICU follow up. I have clinical interests in early childhood care, pediatric psychology, pediatric feeding, and hospital-based psychology consultation & liaison. Working in a large academic medical setting allows me to pursue teaching and training, along with research interests in outcomes for neurologically complex NICU patients, Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders in the NICU setting, and family support.
Tiffany Willis Gladdis, PsyD
Executive Council Secretary and Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee
Tiffany Willis Gladdis, PsyD. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Associate Professor at University of Missouri at Kansas City. Currently, I serve as the Neonatal Psychologist working in the Fetal Health Center, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Neonatal follow up clinic. I received my training in Infant Mental Health through the University of Colorado’s Harris Infant Mental Health Fellowship program. I am on the Executive Council of NPA’s National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) and the co-chair for the Advocacy committee. My research interests include the impact of psychosocial support for parents on the well-being of their baby and the power of attachment on the developing brain. Additionally, I participate in several hospital and community initiatives that support diversity, equity and inclusion in the healthcare setting and beyond.
Pamela A. Geller, PhD
Executive Council / Chair of Research Committee
Pamela A. Geller, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training/Clinical Psychology PhD program at Drexel University, and Research Associate Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology at Drexel's College of Medicine. I am honored to serve on the Executive Council of the National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP) and to chair the NNNP Research committee. For over 25 years, my research has focused on psychological aspects of adverse events surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, such as infertility, pregnancy loss, and NICU hospitalization. At Drexel, I am a founder and co-director of Mother Baby Connections, an interdisciplinary, intensive outpatient mental health program for pregnant and postpartum women experiencing anxiety and depression and their infants. With a Visiting Professorship in Neonatology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, I collaborate with colleagues on addressing the experiences of NICU parents with projects relevant to parental distress and adjustment, and nurse education. I also am proud to serve as the founding faculty supervisor for the recently formed Drexel chapter of the National Perinatal Association Student Society (NPASS).
Amy Baughcum, PhD
Executive Council / APA Liaison Society of Pediatric Psychology (Division 54)
Amy Baughcum, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I am honored to serve on the National Perinatal Association’s (NPA) Board and as chair of the American Psychological Association’s Special Interest Group (SIG) of Division 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology). I have been involved in NICU work for over 10 years, providing intervention services to families and serving as the clinical lead of neonatal psychosocial services. I supervise pre- doctoral psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows within the NICU. My research interests include family risk and resiliency in the NICU, psychosocial screening, and improving neonatal end of life/bereavement care.
Michael T. Hynan, PhD
Executive Council Advisor
Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Allison Dempsey, PhD
Founding Co-Chair
Allison G Dempsey, PhD. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine. I have had the privilege of serving as the Co-Chair of the National Network of NICU Psychologists, along with Dr. Saxton. I have worked in the NICU, neonatal follow-up, and fetal care settings since 2010 in Texas and Colorado. My clinical focus is on providing services to medically complex infants and their families from pregnancy through early childhood and am thrilled to be involved in training the next generation of NICU psychologists at various levels of development (externship to post-doc). My research focuses on individual, family, and systems level factors that affect an infant’s neurodevelopment, health, and family wellness. I am particularly interested in intervention approaches that can be implemented in the perinatal and neonatal periods.
Sage N. Saxton, PsyD
Founding Co-Chair
Sage Nottage Saxton PsyD, PMH-C, Professor, Pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). I am honored to serve on the National Perinatal Association’s (NPA) Board and as past Co-Chair with Dr. Dempsey of the National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP). I have been involved in NICU work for the last 13 years and direct the NICU Follow Up Program. I am passionate about training and have practicum students, pre doctoral interns, and post-doctoral fellows rotate within my NICU Follow Up program and serve as our LEND Training Director. My research interests include improving the patient and family experience within the NICU, executive functioning and early intervention in preschool populations, and assessment and treatment of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).
