Jeffrey Wood

Associate Professor, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Biography

Dr. Wood is a clinical child psychologist with a joint appointment as Associate Professor in the Division of Child Psychiatry and the Division of Psychological Studies in Education at UCLA. He is also a faculty member of the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment. He received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the UCLA Psychology Department, specializing in clinical trials of cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety disorders and OCD. As a doctoral student of Dr. Marian Sigman's and a psychology intern at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, he acquired expertise in the assessment and behavioral treatment of school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Wood was the PI of a CART Pilot Grant in 2004. Dr. Wood has also been the recipient of several awards from NIMH, AERA, and UCLA, and has attained multiple grants from NIMH, the Cure Autism Now foundation, Autism Speaks, and the Organization for Autism Research to study cognitive behavioral interventions for school-aged children with autism. His work has been published in well-regarded scientific journals such as Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Developmental Psychology, and Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Drawing upon contemporary cognitive science models of memory retrieval competition and cognitive neuroscience models of information processing in autism, Dr. Wood has been developing novel intervention techniques and adapting techniques from other areas of childhood psychopathology (e.g., emotional disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, and habit disorders) in the formation of a comprehensive cognitive behavioral therapy program for school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders and high levels of anxiety. Dr. Wood's research seeks to identify effective treatment methods that improve self-regulation, increase adaptive behaviors in social and academic contexts, and address the varying patterns of symptom expression (e.g., repetitive behaviors) and psychiatric comorbidity (e.g., anxiety, conduct problems) seen in many children with ASD. Dr. Wood is currently Principal Investigator on the Anxiety-Focused Interventions for Youth with Autism project, a 3-site study of CBT for early adolescents with autism funded by NIMH, and the Behavioral Interventions for Anxiety in Children with Autism study for elementary school aged children, which is funded by Autism Speaks and OAR.

Spiker Michael A, Lin C Enjey, Van Dyke Marilyn, Wood Jeffrey J   Restricted interests and anxiety in children with autism Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2012; 16(3): 306-20.

Wood Jeffrey J, Lynne-Landsman Sarah D, Langer David A, Wood Patricia A, Clark Shaunna L, Eddy J Mark, Ialongo Nick   School attendance problems and youth psychopathology: structural cross-lagged regression models in three longitudinal data sets Child development, 2012; 83(1): 351-66.

Piacentini John, Bergman R Lindsey, Chang Susanna, Langley Audra, Peris Tara, Wood Jeffrey J, McCracken James   Controlled comparison of family cognitive behavioral therapy and psychoeducation/relaxation training for child obsessive-compulsive disorder Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2011; 50(11): 1149-61.

Wood Jeffrey J, Drahota Amy, Sze Karen, Van Dyke Marilyn, Decker Kelly, Fujii Cori, Bahng Christie, Renno Patricia, Hwang Wei-Chin, Spiker Michael   Brief report: effects of cognitive behavioral therapy on parent-reported autism symptoms in school-age children with high-functioning autism Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2009; 39(11): 1608-12.

Chiu Angela W, McLeod Bryce D, Har Kim, Wood Jeffrey J   Child-therapist alliance and clinical outcomes in cognitive behavioral therapy for child anxiety disorders Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2009; 50(6): 751-8.

Wood Jeffrey J, McLeod Bryce D, Piacentini John C, Sigman Marian   One-year follow-up of family versus child CBT for anxiety disorders: Exploring the roles of child age and parental intrusiveness Child psychiatry and human development, 2009; 40(2): 301-16.

Wood Jeffrey J, Drahota Amy, Sze Karen, Har Kim, Chiu Angela, Langer David A   Cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders: a randomized, controlled trial Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2009; 50(3): 224-34.

Wood Jeffrey J, Wood Jeffrey   Effect of anxiety reduction on children's school performance and social adjustment Developmental psychology, 2006; 42(2): 345-9.

Wood Jeffrey J, Piacentini John C, Southam-Gerow Michael, Chu Brian C, Sigman Marian   Family cognitive behavioral therapy for child anxiety disorders Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2006; 45(3): 314-21.

Wood Jeffrey J   Parental intrusiveness and children's separation anxiety in a clinical sample Child psychiatry and human development, 2006; 37(1): 73-87.

Wood Jeffrey J, Repetti Rena L, Roesch Scott C   Divorce and children's adjustment problems at home and school: the role of depressive/withdrawn parenting Child psychiatry and human development, 2004; 35(2): 121-42.

Wood Jeffrey J, Repetti Rena L   What gets dad involved? A longitudinal study of change in parental child caregiving involvement Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 2004; 18(1): 237-49.

Wood Jeffrey J, McLeod Bryce D, Sigman Marian, Hwang Wei-Chin, Chu Brian C   Parenting and childhood anxiety: theory, empirical findings, and future directions Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2003; 44(1): 134-51.

Wood Jeffrey J, Piacentini John C, Bergman R Lindsey, McCracken James, Barrios Velma   Concurrent validity of the anxiety disorders section of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV: child and parent versions Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 2002; 31(3): 335-42.

Kelly Robert J, Wood Jeffrey J, Gonzalez Lauren S, MacDonald Virginia, Waterman Jill   Effects of mother-son incest and positive perceptions of sexual abuse experiences on the psychosocial adjustment of clinic-referred men Child abuse & neglect, 2002; 26(4): 425-41.

Wood Jeffrey J, Cowan Philip A, Baker Bruce L   Behavior problems and peer rejection in preschool boys and girls The Journal of genetic psychology, 2002; 163(1): 72-88.