Beyond Brick and Mortar: Leveraging Technology to Expand the Reach and Scope of Children’s Mental Health Care

Dr. Comer is a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Florida International University, where he directs the Mental Health Interventions and Technology (MINT) Program, an interdisciplinary clinical research program devoted to expanding the quality, scope and accessibility of quality mental health care. He is president-elect of the Society of Clinical Psychology, and a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Clinical Psychology, and the Society for Children and Family Policy and Practice. Dr. Comer received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and went on to receive his master’s degree and doctorate in clinical psychology with a concentration in developmental psychopathology from Temple University. Dr. Comer completed his clinical psychology internship training in the Child and Adolescent Track of the NYU-Bellevue Clinical Psychology Internship Program and the NYU Child Study Center, after which he completed an NIH-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in child psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also served as chief research fellow in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Dr. Comer’s program of work examines four areas of overlapping inquiry. First, his research evaluates mental health treatments and services, with particular focus on the development of innovative methods to reduce systematic barriers to effective care. To this end he conducts research examining the role of new technologies, such as videoconferencing and mobile platforms, for meaningfully expanding the reach of mental health care. He also uses epidemiologic datasets to document problems in the quality of mental health services and geographic disparities in care. Second, his work examines the assessment, phenomenology and course of anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior disorders and traumatic stress disorders, with particular focus on early-onset problems. Third, his work examines the psychological impact of disasters and terrorism on children and families. He has published extensively on children affected by the 9/11 terror attacks and on children affected by the Boston Marathon bombing, and he served as a consultant throughout the federal trial of United States v. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Fourth, in recent years, Dr. Comer’s work has expanded to also consider biological markers of child psychopathology and neurocircuitry patterns associated with the intergenerational transmission of internalizing problems.

CME Accreditation:

Northwell Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation:

Northwell Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credits ™.  Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure Policy:

Northwell Health adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers or others are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with commercial interests. All relevant conflicts of interest will be resolved prior to the commencement of the activity.

Planner and Speaker’s Disclosures: 

Harold Koplewicz, MD, Ron Steingard, MD, and John Q. Young, MD, have nothing to disclose. Jonathan Comer, PhD, has nothing to disclose.

Recognition of Program Support:

An announcement of program support will be made to all attendees at the beginning of each Regularly Scheduled Session.