Caroline Gillenson is a child and adolescent psychology predoctoral intern at Stanford Children’s Hospital/Children’s Health Council while earning her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Florida International University. Caroline strives to take a culturally-sensitive, individualized approach to build an effective therapeutic alliance and guide children, adolescents, and families to reach their goals.

Caroline has been trained in evidence-based assessments and treatments for children and adolescents with a range of psychological and comorbid physical health conditions. Caroline uses a combination of therapy approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy to best meet the needs of her clients and families. Caroline has been involved in clinical intervention research for young children with behavior problems and developmental delay, which has directly influenced her approach to clinical care and appreciation for evidence-based interventions. Caroline enjoys working on multidisciplinary teams and in a range of settings, including community mental health clinics, hospitals, medical subspecialty clinics, and schools.

Education

• PhD, Clinical Psychology, Florida International University, July 2025
• Predoctoral Clinical Internship, Stanford/Children’s Health Council
• MS, Florida International University
• BA, Ohio State University

Professional Affiliation

• APA Society of Child Clinical and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53)
• APA Society of Pediatric Psychology (Division 54)
• APA Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12)

Recent Presentation

• Gillenson, C., Malik, J., Mali, L., Dolan, L., & Delamater, A. (April 2024). Self-Management Behaviors Mediate the Relationship between Distress and Glycemic Control in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes. Poster Presentation at the Society for Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Gillenson, C., & Thompson, W. (April 2023). Compassion Fatigue Among Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurses. Talk presented to University of Miami/Jackson Health System, Holtz Children’s Hospital Quality Improvement Project.
• Gillenson, C., & Fallah-Sohy, N. (April 2023). Mental Health Tok: What Providers Need to Know about Teen Social Media Use. Talk Presented to University of Miami, Mailman Center for Child Development (UM MCCD) in Case Conference Series.
• Gillenson, C., Valente, M., Hagan, M., Mac-Niven, A. C., Bagner, D. (March 2023). Impact of a Brief Parenting Intervention on Parent and Infant Imitation. Flash Talk Paper Presentation at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT.
• Heymann, P., Moreira, E., Wilson, M., Heflin, B., Hagan, M., Gillenson, C., Neuman, K., & Bagner, D. (November 2021). Adapting the Infant Behavior Program for remote delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presentation at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), Virtual Convention due to Covid-19.
• Heflin, B.H., Gillenson, C., Neuman, K., Heymann, P., Comer, J., & Bagner, D.M. (May 2021). Role of parenting skills on the associations between parental depression and stress symptoms and observed aggressive behavior in children with developmental delay. Poster presented at the Association of Psychological Science (APS), Virtual meeting due to Covid-19.
• Gillenson, C., Comer, J., Bagner, D. (April 2021). Bedtime Resistance in Preschoolers with Delays: Examining Birthweight, Caregiver Tolerance for Misbehavior, and Caregiver Effectiveness. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Virtual Biennial Meeting

Recent Publications

• Gillenson, C. J., Valente, M. J., Hagan, M. B., Cafatti Mac-Niven, A., Bagner, D. M. (2024). Impact of a brief parenting intervention on parent and infant imitation. Behavior Therapy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.08.007
• Blanchet, B. H., Hayes, T., Gillenson, C. J., Neuman, K. J., Heymann, P., Comer, J. S., & Bagner, D.M. (2024). Caregiver distress and child behavior problems in children with developmental delay from predominantly minoritized backgrounds. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2024.2317409
• Gillenson, C. J., Bagner, D. M., Darcy Mahoney, A., & Baralt, M. (2023). A preliminary study of executive functioning in preterm-born children: A bilingual advantage. Advances in Neonatal Care. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANC.0000000000001106