Background

Dr. Tuerk’s therapeutic approach is behavioral and goal-oriented, with an emphasis on evidence-based interventions to optimize children’s long-term developmental trajectory. She specializes in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Children (DBT-C) and their families. This treatment develops a “change-ready environment” for caregivers to support children who frequently experience strong emotions and related behavioral outbursts. Dr. Tuerk incorporates essential DBT treatment components to support families’ progress, including phone coaching, skills training, and provider team consultation.

Dr. Tuerk’s longstanding research and clinical interests target improving children’s functioning by addressing factors that are most predictive of long-term outcomes, including: caregiver stress and self-regulation, warmth and reciprocal engagement among family members, effective behavior management strategies, child self-regulation and resilience to stress, and increasing children’s successful engagement in prosocial, competency-building activities. Dr. Tuerk is licensed to practice clinical psychology in Virginia and is eligible see telehealth clients via Psypact in over 30 states.

Dr. Tuerk lectures on child therapy in the UVA School of Ed. Programs in Clinical and School Psychology. She also trains and supervises parent training interventions at the UVA Sheila Johnson Center (SJC). Previously, Dr. Tuerk was a faculty member at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where she conducted research and consultation for national and international agencies developing multisystemic (MST) interventions for youth and families. She currently consults on MST-related dissemination efforts for ages 2-10.

Education

* B.A., Psychology, Columbia University, 2002

* M.Ed., Clinical and School Psychology, University of Virginia, 2003

* Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of Virginia, 2007

Primary Professional Trainings

Multisystemic Therapy (MST): Clinician-, Supervisor-, and Consultant-level

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Adult, Adolescent, and Child

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)

Elena Hontoria Tuerk, Ph.D.