01/04/10 - Behavioral health practitioner joins pediatric center to provide counseling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 4, 2010
Contact: Seth Seymour
423.648.1709
seth.seymour@siskin.org

Doctoral-level behavioral health practitioner to provide counseling to children with special needs and their families
Therapist joins Center for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Siskin Children's Institute and T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital have a new way to help make life better for children with special needs and their families: a doctoral-level behavioral health practitioner who will provide psychological evaluations and counseling services.

Beginning tomorrow, Brandon Rodgers, Ph.D., will consult with patients and families at the Siskin Children's Institute-T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital Center for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics. The center provides assessment, diagnosis and treatment to children with or at risk for developmental delays and disorders.

With his counseling services, Dr. Rodgers will work towards strengthening the center's holistic approach to improving the quality of life for the entire family. He also will conduct intellectual, educational and behavioral assessments for cognitive, learning and behavioral conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.

A Chattanooga native, Dr. Rodgers received his Ph.D. in human development with a specialty in marriage and family therapy from Virginia Tech. He earned his master's degree in school psychology from Appalachian State University.

He is a licensed marital and family therapist by the Tennessee State Board of Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists and Clinical Pastoral Therapists. In addition to being licensed as a certified psychological assistant by the Tennessee State Board of Examiners in Psychology, he is a nationally certified school psychologist and licensed as a school psychologist in North Carolina, where he previously worked.

His research focuses on mental health stigma, cultural-health beliefs, parenting styles and grandparents raising grandchildren. His work has been published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy and other scholarly research journals. He has also presented at conferences and workshops, including the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Annual Conference.

The Center for Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, which opened in July, is a partnership between the Institute and the children's hospital. The center features a developmental behavioral pediatrician as well as medical and therapy staff.

About Siskin Children's Institute
Siskin Children's Institute makes life better for children with special needs and their families. Founded in 1950, the non-profit organization achieves its mission locally and nationally through four initiatives: education, outreach, health care and research. The Institute provides early childhood education where children with and without disabilities learn together; family support and professional development programs; developmental behavioral pediatric health care; and innovative research in early childhood development and special education. For more information about Siskin Children's Institute, visit www.siskin.org.

About T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger
As the only medical center in the Chattanooga and tri-state region devoted solely to children, T. C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger provides the best in children's health care by viewing the world from a unique perspective of children and understanding what they need. This special environment of healing for all children, regardless of their ability to pay, is the daily and ultimate goal of everyone at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital. No other facility in the region can say they do the same. For more information about T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger, visit www.erlanger.org/childrens.