Draft:Julie Kaplow

Julie Kaplow is an American psychologist specialized in child and adolescent psychology who serves as the CEO of the Lucine Center.

Kaplow has extensively researched the impact of adverse life events on children. She has held executive roles at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and The Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center, and has served as the chief of psychology at Texas Children’s Hospital. She founded the inaugural SAMHSA-funded TAG Center at the University of Michigan and established the Harvey Resiliency and Recovery Program post-Hurricane Harvey. Additionally, she set up the Santa Fe Strong Resiliency Center following the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting.

Kaplow has also consulted for various prominent entities, including the DSM-5 Sub-Work Group and the National Academy of Medicine.

Early life and education
Julie Kaplow got her Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. After which she obtained her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Clinical Psychology at Duke University.

During her doctoral studies, her research focused on the impact of adverse life events, encompassing instances of abuse and traumatic loss, upon the lives of children. Her academic journey continued with an internship at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Following her internship, she pursued specialized postdoctoral training in childhood trauma at the Center for Medical and Refugee Trauma, situated at Boston Medical Center.

Career
Kaplow serves as an executive at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and The Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center at The Hackett Center for Mental Health in Houston. She also runs the TAG Center at Children’s Hospital New Orleans and is a professor of psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine

In addition, she has also served as the chief of psychology and vice chair for behavioral health at Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine. She also founded and served as the inaugural director of the Trauma and Grief Center (TAG) at Texas Children’s Hospital, starting in 2014.

Julie Kaplow initiated the establishment of the inaugural Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-funded Trauma and Grief (TAG) Center at the University of Michigan. Recognizing the need for trauma- and grief-informed services in the state of Texas, she subsequently established a TAG Center within the Greater Houston area now housed at The Hackett Center for Mental Health. The principal objective of the TAG Center is to elevate the quality of care and augment the accessibility of mental health services for youth and families exposed to trauma and loss. This mission is pursued through the development of interventions, research endeavors, training initiatives, and policy advocacy.

After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Kaplow established the Harvey Resiliency and Recovery Program. . This program played a role in the dissemination of evidence-based risk screening and intervention programs, specifically designed for children and families impacted by the hurricane and its enduring aftermath. Additionally, Kaplow and her team extended their reach by providing trauma- and grief-informed training to mental health professionals and educators in communities across Greater Houston and the Gulf Coast region.

Following the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, Kaplow collaborated with the Gulf Coast Center and various partners within the Santa Fe community to establish the Santa Fe Strong Resiliency Center. The center was established to furnish essential mental health services and support to children and families who bore the brunt of the shooting's traumatic aftermath. Kaplow's oversight included the provision of evidence-based assessments and treatments to those directly impacted by the tragedy, coupled with comprehensive training programs for clinicians embedded within the Santa Fe school system and broader community.

Following the Robb Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022, Kaplow and her team received the mandate from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to coordinate and execute extensive training initiatives targeting school- and community-based clinicians. These efforts were aimed at addressing the pressing trauma- and grief-related needs of affected children and families in the aftermath of the tragic event.

Drawing upon her time navigating the complexities of trauma and grief in youth, Kaplow has lent her insights and counsel as a consultant to various prominent entities. Her consultancy roles have encompassed engagement with the DSM-5 Sub-Work Group on Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder, the ICD-11 Work Group on Disorders Associated with Stress (including PTSD and Prolonged Grief), the National Academy of Medicine in her capacity on the Scientific Advisory Council on Child Death, and collaboration with the Mass Violence and Children Working Group of the FBI.

Honors and awards

 * Outstanding Product 2007 iParenting Media Award for “Samantha Jane’s Missing Smile: A Story about Coping with the Loss of a Parent”
 * Todd Ouida Clinical Scholars Award, 2008
 * Houston Business Journal’s Health Care Hero Award, 2019
 * New Orleans City Business Health Care Hero Award, 2023

Scholarship
Kaplow's primary research pursuits center on investigating the psychological and behavioral consequences arising from childhood trauma and bereavement, with a specific focus on identifying modifiable factors conducive to informing intervention strategies. She has amassed an extensive body of work comprising over 85 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, all dedicated to the realms of childhood trauma and grief. Noteworthy among her achievements is her lead authorship of "Multidimensional Grief Therapy," recognized as the nation's inaugural evidence-based intervention crafted to ameliorate maladaptive grief reactions and enhance adaptive grief responses in children and adolescents. Additionally, Kaplow co-authors influential works such as "Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents" and "Collaborative Treatment of Traumatized Children and Teens: The Trauma Systems Therapy Approach." Her contributions extend further to encompass the co-authorship of several validated risk screening and assessment tools, including the "Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) Checklist for Bereaved Children and Adolescents."

Selected editorials and media appearances

 * Cloud, A., Kaplow, J.B., & Pozmantier, J. (2017). Harvey trauma notably hard on youth. Editorial, Houston Chronicle.
 * Sawyer, A., Kaplow, J.B., Moore, K., & Fishbein, D. (2017). In the face of natural disasters, let’s not forget the mental health needs of the kids. Editorial, The Hill.
 * Kaplow, J.B., & Blau, G. (2021, February). Children’s mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: What can parents and caregivers do to provide support? Houston Branch of the International Dyslexia Association Resource Directory.
 * Kaplow, J.B. (2021). Sometimes they blame themselves: How to help grieving kids who lost parents to COVID. Editorial, Houston Chronicle
 * Kaplow, J.B. (2022). How to support grieving children over the holidays: 5 tips from a child psychologist Editorial, USA Today
 * Kaplow, J.B. (2023). Good grief: How to mourn in a healthy way. Editorial, MindSite News.
 * Jetalina, K. & Kaplow, J.B. (2023). Social media, terrorist attacks, war, and vicarious trauma. Your Local Epidemiologist
 * Kaplow, J.B. (2019) Tackling the silent epidemic of childhood trauma, U.S. News and World Report
 * Kaplow, J.B. (2022) Grief and trauma training is unexpectedly healing for school district staff in Texas, National Public Radio (panel interview)