Karen Bearss, PhD

Karen Bearss is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. She serves as Clinical Director of the Seattle Children’s Autism Center where she also directs the RUBI Clinic. Dr. Bearss earned her B.S. in Psychology as well as her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida. She is a leading expert in the development, testing, and implementation of caregiver-mediated interventions for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and co-occurring challenging behaviors.

Dr. Bearss was a Co-Investigator on the multi-site NIMH collaborative study of parent training for disruptive behaviors in youth with ASD and was designated as the first author on the primary paper from this trial, published in JAMA. She also is the first author of the RUBI Parent Training Manual, now available as part of the Programs that Work series at Oxford University Press.

Disclosures:
Financial: Honorarium for speaking, employed by University of Washington, book royalties
Non-Financial: None