Dr. Denise Chavira
Originally from Los Angeles, I attended UC Berkeley where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.  I received my doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the San Diego State University/University of California Joint Doctoral Program and completed my clinical internship at Brown University. Thereafter, I returned to University of California San Diego, where I completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and joined the faculty in 2005.  In November, 2012, I joined the Department of Psychology at UCLA, where I enjoy my  roles as a researcher, teacher, mentor, and colleague.

​I have been fortunate enough to have a research program that addresses that needs of marginalized groups including children with anxiety and depressive disorders, Latinx, and rural populations.  My research program has  focused both on understanding factors that facilitate and inhibit appropriate utilization of mental health services, as well as improving both the detection and treatment of mental health problems in community settings, such as pediatric primary care. The integration of mental health interventions into medical settings represents a viable means of improving access and the quality of care for children with a variety of emotional disorders. Additionally, the use of novel modes of treatment delivery such as telephone based, parent-mediated, interventions, provides another means to extend mental health treatment to minoritized groups such as children in rural and low-income neighborhoods.

Given the multiple contextual factors that influence the etiology of child anxiety and depression, our research team is also examining how family environment and cultural factors such as acculturative stress, immigration, and conceptualizations of psychological problems influence anxiety and depression in US and foreign born Latinx families. These efforts will further inform potential adaptations of existing evidence-based practices to better meet the needs of children who have been historically underrepresented in treatment development research.