Goals of this new structure
- Help streamline the process from assessment to intervention
- help match families with the service that best fits their needs.
Currently, these services include
- individual and family psychotherapy
- clinic- and community-based behavioral intervention services
- training for professionals and families
A number of new services are also under development, again in response to growing needs for intervention. Advancing Intervention Services
Micah Mazurek, Ph.D.
Serving in a new role as the Director of the division, Dr. Micah Mazurek is very excited about the division’s overall focus, stating:
“Our services aim to be comprehensive in many different senses of the word. Children and families with autism and other developmental disorders face a range of challenges, including behavioral, emotional, developmental, social and adaptive. With that in mind, we serve a wide range of ages and presenting concerns. We also recognize that helping an individual child may mean supporting the entire family – for example, through family therapy, parent training, or group support. Our division also seeks to tailor our services to best meet the needs of the child and family, whether that means long-term community-based services, or short-term, clinic-based services.”
To achieve these goals, the division offers a variety of clinics and services. These include:
As the Director of Intervention Services, Dr. Mazurek wears many hats. She is responsible for overseeing the operation of the division’s clinics, supervising divisional faculty and staff, and providing clinic-based individual, family, and group therapy. Mazurek particularly enjoys connecting with children and families in her clinical work, stating,
“It’s an honor to join with families as they face challenges – and it’s also rewarding to see individuals and families meet their goals.”
A Clinical Child Psychologist and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Psychology, Mazurek earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Yale University, and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where she received specialty training in developmental disorders. Mazurek received her post-doctoral training at the University of Missouri. Prior to joining the Department of Health Psychology, she was a clinical faculty member in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology and served as the Assistant Director of Clinical Services at the MU Assessment and Consultation Clinic.
The division has also recently welcomed two new additional faculty members, Dr. Jessa Love and Dr. Jennifer Sellers, who both play important roles in the division’s mission.
Jessa Love, Ph.D.
A board certified behavior analyst (BCBA-D) and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the MU Department of Special Education, Love earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology at Western Michigan University and serves as the supervisor for the division’s Early Behavioral Intervention Services program, which includes Early Intensive Behavior Intervention (EIBI) and the Plan for Developmental Intervention (PDI) program.
Both programs focus on children between the ages of 18 months and 8 years.
- The PDI program is a short-term clinic-based service that provides developmental assessments of skills and behaviors, along with short-term consultation and training, and development of an intervention plan.
- The EIBI program focuses on the developmental needs of young children with an emphasis on broad-based developmental and behavioral assessment, intervention planning, training, and follow-up.
As an undergraduate studying Psychology at the University of Michigan, Love’s work in a clinic-based preschool for children with autism instilled in her a desire to specialize in working with young children who have autism spectrum disorders and their caregivers.
Serving in the role of supervisor of Early Intervention Services, Love is able to utilize her experience in early behavior intervention by developing, overseeing and guiding services aimed at children 18 months to eight years old.
When asked about her work Love emphasized the enjoyment she finds from combining evidence-based clinical practice with real-world relationships, commenting, “My job is a good balance of evidence-based practices and interacting with kids.”
Jennifer Sellers, Ph.D.
Dr. Sellers oversees the division’s Behavioral and Educational Consultation services, which focus on the developmental needs of children and adolescents with an emphasis on behavioral and educational assessment, intervention planning, training, and intervention. Dr. Sellers also provides and oversees clinic-based services in the Behavior Supports Clinic (BSC), whose goal is to reduce inappropriate behaviors while increasing positive and functional behaviors and adaptive skills.
Sellers came to the Thompson Center from AdvoServ in Bear, Del., where she worked as a Behavior Analyst, assessing and treating individuals diagnosed with a variety of behavioral and developmental disabilities.
Sellers earned her doctorate in School Psychology from the University of Florida. She completed her Masters degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, and her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Iowa, Iowa City. She is a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA-D) and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the MU Department of Health Psychology.
“I am happy to be back in the midwest.” said Sellers upon her arrival at the Center on November 1, 2009.
With several services already in place and more to come, the Intervention Services Division is living up to its new name by providing assessment, intervention and training to enhance the lives of individuals and families.
