Pediatric Psychology

Whether your child is coping with anxiety, adjusting to a medical diagnosis, or navigating learning or behavioral concerns, our pediatric psychology team is here to help.

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1-888-573-5437

Whether your child is struggling with anxiety, mood changes, behavioral issues, or adjusting to life changes, our pediatric psychology team at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital is here to support your child and your family with compassionate, expert care.

We offer evaluations, therapy, and consultation services tailored to your child’s unique needs. Our psychologists work closely with pediatricians and specialists to support children facing a wide range of challenges, including challenging behavior, pain, treatment adherence, and coping with medical diagnoses.

We’re committed to helping your child build resilience, develop healthy coping strategies, and thrive.

Specialized care for your child's needs

Our pediatric psychology specialists provide personalized care to support your child’s emotional, behavioral, and developmental well-being. We offer services in several key areas:

Health psychology

If your child is receiving care for a chronic or complex medical condition, our psychologists work closely with their medical team to support both physical and emotional health. We help children and families with:

Adjusting to a new diagnosis
Following treatment plans
Managing chronic pain and feeding challenges
Coping with mood and anxiety symptoms related to medical conditions
Strengthening family communication and resilience

Neuropsychology

Our neuropsychologists evaluate thinking, learning, and emotional functioning in children with medical or developmental concerns. These evaluations help families, schools, and care teams better understand your child’s strengths and needs. We provide:

ADHD and learning disorder evaluations
Neurocognitive assessments for conditions such as epilepsy, cancer, and brain injury
Developmental follow-up for children who spent time in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)
Specialized craniofacial neuropsychology services

Behavioral psychology

If your child is showing challenging behaviors such as aggression, self-injury, or severe tantrums, our behavioral psychologists can help. Using a behavior-analytic approach, we:

Identify the causes of challenging behaviors
Create individualized, function-based intervention plans
Provide caregiver training and support

State and national leaders in mental health care

Our pediatric behavioral health program is ranked among the nation’s top children’s hospitals for behavioral health by U.S. News & World Report. Our specialists are leaders in state and national organizations focused on learning and developmental concerns and are committed to providing care that reflects the latest research and best practices.

Our psychologists are fully integrated into pediatric subspecialty clinics, meaning your child can receive emotional and behavioral support as part of their broader medical care.

We’re one of the few programs in the region to provide targeted assessments for ADHD and learning disabilities, complete with academic recommendations to support your child’s success in school.

We are also the only program in Iowa offering Medicaid-covered services for challenging behavior and are a leader in delivering these services through telehealth.

Our approach to psychological care

We use a multidisciplinary, family-centered approach to care. Families are active participants in care, and we provide tools and guidance to help you support your child’s development and well-being. This includes family-based therapy options, such as parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) and collaborative problem solving (CPS).

Our psychologists are fully integrated into pediatric specialty clinics and collaborate with providers in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, and more. We offer evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and applied behavior analysis (ABA) to meet your child’s needs and help them thrive.