Cheryl McNeil, Ph.D.
Dr. Cheryl McNeil received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (Child Specialization) at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1989. Dr. McNeil also completed a Pre-doctoral internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and received an M.S. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida, and a B.S. in Psychology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Dr. McNeil is a licensed psychologist in the state of West Virginia, and is currently a Full Professor at the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University. Dr. McNeil has extensive clinical and research experience related to childhood disruptive behavior problems and parent-child interactions. Dr. McNeil has research interests in disruptive behavior disorders of children, assessment methods for behavior problems among children, and treatment outcomes—particularly treatment outcomes of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Currently, Dr. McNeil is one of only 15 Certified PCIT Master Trainers in the world, and is a nationally-renowned authority on PCIT. Dr. McNeil has published several books and approximately 100 peer reviewed chapters and articles. Additionally, Dr. McNeil has published instructional videos related to PCIT and children with oppositional behaviors, as well as treatment programs that can be implemented in classroom environments. Dr. McNeil has served as a principal investigator and consultant on a number of grants.
Anthony Puliafico, Ph.D.
Anthony Puliafico, Ph.D. specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and panic disorder, as well as the treatment of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). He has extensive experience in cognitive-behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), and parent and family-based treatments. Dr. Puliafico is an assistant professor at Columbia University and currently serves as co-director of psychology at the New York State Psychiatric Institute Children’s Day Unit, a unit for adolescents with anxiety and mood disorders. At the Children’s Day Unit, Dr. Puliafico is involved in research examining the treatment of pediatric anxiety and mood disorders, and provides supervision in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of children and adolescents.
Dr. Puliafico received his B.S. with Distinction from Cornell University, where he majored in Human Development, and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Temple University. Dr. Puliafico completed his clinical psychology internship at Bellevue Hospital Center/NYU Medical Center, during which time he served as a clinician at the NYU Child Study Center. He most recently served as a senior psychologist at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders.
Dr. Puliafico is actively involved in research activities, with particular focus on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and the treatment of anxiety in young children. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has given numerous presentations on anxiety disorders and managing anxiety in school settings. Dr. Puliafico is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and the International OCD Foundation. He currently serves as president of the ABCT Child and Adolescent Anxiety Special Interest Group.
Jim Elder, MS, LCDP, CADC
Mr. Elder has worked in the behavioral health profession since 1995 earning progressive responsibilities as Counselor, Clinical Supervisor, Program Director and as a National Director of Behavioral Health Treatment for a large private firm. Jim earned his Masters Degree in Community Counseling from Wilmington College in 2000 where he was honored with the Behavioral Science Division’s Academic Achievement Award. His involvement with Wilmington College continued after graduation as an adjunct faculty member where his course assignments included: Orientation to the Counseling Process, Cultural Anthropology and Therapeutic Strategies for the Criminal Offender.
Jim is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDP), a board Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC) in the state of Delaware and an Internationally Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (ICADC). He has been a certified auditor for the American Correctional Association since 2004 and has provided technical assistance and training for numerous mental health and substance abuse providers across the country and abroad.
As a consultant Mr. Elder has worked under contract with Bermuda’s Department for National Drug Control since 2009 to help craft and implement a strategic plan for addressing the island nation’s problems with drugs and crime. Additionally, in his role as consultant Mr. Elder has worked with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Unlimited Path, Inc. of Panama City, FL, the Colorado Department of Corrections and Delaware Guidance Services, Inc. Additionally, in his role as a consultant, he has provided motivational interviewing information and implementation strategies to various organizations across the country.
Mr. Elder has presented as a subject matter expert on numerous national platforms including the 2008 American Correctional Association’s conference in New Orleans; 2012 the 2014 Florida Annual Alcohol and Drug Abuse (FAADA) Association Annual Conference in Orlando; the 2011 Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association, Inc. (IAODAPCA) in Itasca, Illinois and at the 2012 Pennsylvania’s 2nd Annual Veterans Trauma and Recovery Conference in Harrisburg, PA.
Jim views his work in the field as more of a personal calling than a professional vocation. His commitment to social responsibility evokes a passion within him to be of meaningful service to others. His approach to treatment recognizes that when researched based methods are applied, the impact reaches far beyond the individual client being served. In addition to Jim’s formal educational training and professional work experiences, he is married to Dr. Katherine Elder with three children and trains as a triathlete.
Katherine (Katie) Elder, Ph.D.
Dr. Katherine Elder is a Ph.D. in Psychology, a Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Certified Co-occurring Disorder Diplomat. Dr. Elder has practiced in the behavioral health field for 10 years, specializing in serving high risk, difficult to treat and vulnerable populations. Dr. Elder, along with her husband Jim is co-founder of a private behavioral health clinic located in Lewes, DE focusing on the mental health and substance abuse treatment needs of children, youth and families.
Dr. Elder’s dissertation focused on the research of personality traits and continues to apply the role of personality traits in her clinical practice. Areas of specialization include: parent-child relationships, ADHD, severe behavioral challenges in children and youth. Dr. Elder has a knack for working with teenagers confronted with the issues related to teen psychosocial development. She also enjoys challenging clinical cases including the symptomatic interplay between substance abuse and mental health disorders. She is certified in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and has expertise in a variety of evidenced based practices. Dr. Elder is also an adjunct instructor at Wilmington University where she teaches undergraduate courses. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and training for her next marathon or triathlon.
Ronald Gallimore, Ph.D.
Ronald Gallimore, Ph.D. (Northwestern, 1964); Grawemeyer Laureate (1993). Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, UCLA; Affiliated Professor Psychology & Education, University of Delaware; Longitudinal projects include Kamehameha laboratory school, immigrant Latino students and families, families of children with early developmental delays, instructional improvement, & teaching practices of Coach John Wooden. Co-directed 1999 TIMSS International Video Studies of Teaching. Currently, he conducts research on improvement of teaching and coaching and problems of implementation. Ronaldgallimore.com
Joshua Masse, Ph.D.
Joshua Masse is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He has written several articles and book chapters on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, has presented at national and international PCIT conferences, and has extensive experience training the model to clinicians and students. He is one of 19 Certified PCIT Master Trainers. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a children and adolescent specialization from West Virginia University. He completed his pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Children's Memorial Hospital, the pediatric teaching hospital of Northwestern University in Chicago.
His research interests lie broadly in the implementation of empirically-supported treatments for young children, namely
with specialized populations (e.g., autism) and settings (e.g., home-based, classrooms). His research also focuses on
developing an understanding of factors that predict successful adoption of evidence-based treatments within community
mental health settings.
December 11, 2014
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
B.E.S.T.
FEST
Delaware's
3rd Annual PCIT Conference
in partnership with
