The beginning of the year 2013 brought good things to the Child Study Center. Dr. Wendy Silverman started at the Center as the Director of the Yale Child Study Center Program for Anxiety Disorders.
Before joining the Child Study Center, Dr. Silverman’s outstanding career spanned several important positions amongst which her latest was at Florida International University where she directed a child anxiety research clinic for over two decades, as well as founded and directed the child and adolescent clinical science doctoral program. Dr. David Barlow, a well-known scientist in the areas of anxiety and related emotional disorders, was an important mentor when Dr. Silverman first began her academic career at the University at Albany, SUNY and contributed to her strong interest in research on anxiety.
Dr. Carla Marin joined Dr. Silverman from Florida in the effort to develop the anxiety disorders programs. Other current members of the anxiety team include Drs. Michael Crowley, Eli Lebowitz, Nicole Gentili, Caroline Adelman, and Lindsey Scharfstein. An overall objective of the Anxiety Disorders Program is to develop and evaluate innovative multilevel measurement and intervention approaches. A main interest of the team is to focus on conducting randomized controlled trials, but also to understand why a particular treatment has an effect and for whom. A current project underway by Dr. Silverman is on how to best involve parents in anxiety treatment for children so that their involvement can enhance the outcomes of the children as well as their families. When asked about the future of anxiety research, Dr. Silverman says that she expects some of the core characteristics of anxiety to always be a part of a child’s life, for example, basic separation anxiety and social anxiety in terms of world events. More children are concerned now about their personal safety and the safety of their parents, especially in a time when the media highlights potential sources of danger in our society. How research can best help to address these mounting difficulties in the development of children remains an important part of the work at the Child Study Center in order to contribute to the betterment of children. We express our sincere welcome to this extraordinary researcher and wish her and her team success with their important work.