Alan E. Kazdin, PhD
Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Northwestern University in 1970. He is the John M. Musser Professor of Psychology, Child Psychiatry, and Institute of Social and Policy Studies at Yale University. He is also the director of the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic, an outpatient treatment service for children referred for aggressive and antisocial behavior.
Before Yale, he was on the faculty of Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He was a fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and president of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy. At Yale, he was the director of clinical training and chair of the psychology department, chair and director of the Child Study Center at the School of Medicine, and the director of child psychiatric services at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
His clinical work and research focus primarily on the development, treatment, and clinical course of oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial child behavior. He is a licensed clinical psychologist; a diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology; and a fellow of APA, the Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Association for Psychological Science. His honors include Research Scientist Career and MERIT Awards from the National Institute of Mental Health and awards for Distinguished Scientific Contribution to Clinical Psychology and Distinguished Professional Contribution to Clinical Child Psychology (Division 12: Society of Clinical Psychology), Outstanding Research Contribution by an Individual (Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy), and Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology Award (Connecticut Psychological Association).
He is actively involved in clinical work with children and families. He has directed inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services for children, and worked with children, adolescents, and adults in day treatment and inpatient settings for developmental disabilities. He has worked with the state legislature and managed care agencies to improve quality of patient care and to evaluate therapy practice statewide.
He has served as editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychological Assessment, Behavior Therapy, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, and Current Directions in Psychological Science, and as editor-in-chief of APA's Encyclopedia of Psychology (2000). He has served as associate editor of the Annual Review of Psychology and as the series editor of Perspectives in Psychology for Yale University Press and the Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry for series for Sage Publications. He has published more than 600 articles, books, and chapters. His more than 40 books focus primarily on psychotherapy research and clinical practice; child and adolescent disorders; parenting and child-rearing; and assessment, methodology, and research design. Although none of his books has been made into a movie or Broadway show, he remains cautiously pessimistic.
