Heidi Ellis

Heidi Ellis, Ph.D. (@heellis), is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and a licensed clinical psychologist. She is also the Director of the Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, a partner in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Dr. Ellis’ research and intervention work related to understanding and promoting refugee youth mental health and well-being, with a particular emphasis on understanding how trauma exposure, violence, and social context impact developmental trajectories.  Over the past 18 years she has conducted a Community Based Participatory Research program with Somali youth and was Principal Investigator of a multi-site, longitudinal research project examining developmental pathways to and away from violence, including ideological violence, gang involvement, and constructive civic engagement. She is an author of Trauma Systems Therapy for Children and Teens (Guilford Press 2015) and Mental Health Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Youth (American Psychological Association 2018).