Karin M.

Best

, PhD

Assistant Adjunct Professor Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences  David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Biography

Dr. Karin Best directs the UCLA Infant and Preschool Assessment Program and is an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She specializes in child clinical psychology. Dr. Best has been a licensed psychologist since 1994 and is licensed in both California and Massachusetts. Dr. Best’s clinical work is focused on assessment and brief treatment, with specializations in the assessment and differential diagnosis of young children and treatment with children and families. She has extensive experience in assessment and treatment planning for individuals with developmental challenges and individuals treated in partial day hospital and inpatient settings. Dr. Best received a B.A. in art history from Williams College and a B.A. in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Best completed her clinical pre-doctoral internship (general child psychology) and clinical post-doctoral training (developmental disabilities) at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Her post-doctoral research training was completed at Harvard Medical School (Judge Baker Children’s Center) with the multi-site Family Risk and Resilience Consortium. Dr. Best collaborates with many UCLA researchers.

Education

Williams College (Art History), B.A. 
UC Santa Barbara (Psychology), B.A.
  University of Minnesota (Psychology, supporting program in Child Development), Ph.D.

Research & clinical interests

Parenting
Positive adaptation in stressful circumstance (resilience)
Long-term adaptation in adults psychiatrically hospitalized as adolescents
Intervention to improve the functioning and adaptation of families with a disabled child
Access to care  

Roles within the division/Fellowship

Director, Infant and Preschool Clinic  
Co-Director, School Consultation Rotation
Lectures on such topics as child development, parenting