• Ph.D., University of California , Los Angeles , Psychology, 2000.
• M.A., University of California , Los Angeles , Psychology, 1995.
• B.A., Linfield College , Psychology, 1993.

• Faculty Scholar, William T. Grant Foundation, 2004-2009.
• Beck Scholar, Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2005-2006.
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Youth Depression, Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation, 2002-2004.
• Michael J. Goldstein Distinguished Dissertation Award in Clinical Psychology, UCLA, 2000.
• Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award, NIMH, 1997-1999.
• Pauley Fellowship, Pauley Family Foundation, UCLA, 1994-1998.
• University Fellowship, Psychology Department, UCLA, 1994-1995.

My research interests include the identification of risk factors to anxiety in children and adolescents, as well as the dissemination of effective treatment. Additionally, I have become increasingly  interested in the development of treatments for youth with comorbid  diagnoses, as such children often require more intensive, specialized  treatment, and have more difficulty making and maintaining treatment gains.

My honors thesis examined the factors that predict therapist use of family therapy techniques in a large, urban community mental health center.

My research interests are in child anxiety and depressive disorders and factors that influence the use of mental health services, as well as mental health outcomes for these youth. I am very interested in anxiety and depression because research shows that many afflicted youth do not receive services and such problems tend to continue into adulthood, presumably causing distress and impairment. My past research focused on the use of school-based mental health services by families of anxious youth, as well as treatment barriers to receipt of these services. I hope to examine such factors in the future, as additional investigations in barriers to receipt of treatment may lead to reduction in barriers and increase in parental engagement in services. I am also interested in learning more about the effectiveness of treatment (such as CBT) in primary care and school settings, two less conventional avenues that may help make services more accessible.

I am broadly interested in child and adolescent development. Specifically, my interests include the genetic and environmental factors during these years that contribute to the development and progression of mood and personality disorders. In the future, I hope to perform research that examines the effectiveness of different treatment types on such disorders.

Erin Warnick, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator, Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic for Children
Yale University Child Study Center
Email: erin.warnick@yale.edu

Melanie Dirks, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
McGill University
Email: melanie.dirks@mcgill.ca

Laura Skriner, Graduate Student, Rutgers University

Kestrel Homer , Graduate Student, Missouri University

Andres De Los Reyes, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

Jenna McKenney, BA Psychology, San Diego State University

Melanie Dirks, Assistant Professor, McGill University