New faculty spotlight: Whitney Strong-Bak, Ph.D.

Whitney Strong-Bak, Ph.D.

Whitney Strong-Bak is a new faculty member at UNMC.

  • Name: Whitney Strong-Bak, Ph.D.
  • Hometown: Sioux City, Iowa
  • Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor of pediatric psychology, Munroe-Meyer Institute

Research/professional interests:

  • Early childhood development;
  • assessment and intervention for autism spectrum disorders;
  • parent management training;
  • skill acquisition training: and
  • interdisciplinary treatment approaches.

How I fell in love with behavioral health: I wanted to be a psychologist since I was 13 years old, but I never knew what kind of psychologist I would be. I spent one day working in a behavioral pediatrics clinic and watched how dramatically behavior can change with a few simple strategies. I loved the family-system focus and the emphasis on positivity. I still use those same strategies today.

Degrees:

  • Ph.D., psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2018

Memberships:

  • National Association of School Psychologists
  • Applied Behavior Analysis International
  • American Psychological Association Division of Pediatric Psychology

Three things people may not know about me:

  • I mountain bike and kayak on weekends.
  • I love really bad movies almost as much as really good movies.
  • I talk about the Marvel Universe or the Legend of Zelda with almost every kid I meet.

Clinic location: Developmental Pediatrics, Munroe-Meyer Insitute Diagnostic Center, 412 S. Saddle Creek Road, Omaha.

For appointments and referrals: Contact the Munroe-Meyer Institute Diagnostic Center at 402-559-6403.