Samantha C. Butler, PhD

As an academic pediatric psychologist, the focus of my work has been directed at improving the quality of hospital care and long-term outcomes for high-risk infants, young children and their families through clinical innovation and investigation. My interest lay in promoting resilience and adaption in medically compromised youth through intervention for children, their families, and the health care environment. In collaboration with Dr. Heidelise Als’ and the Neurobehavioral Infant and Child Studies research team at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), we develop, implement, and disseminate information on Newborn Individualized Development Care and Assessment Program (NICAP), an approach which improves outcomes for children born preterm. In addition, as part of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program (CNP), I work to enhance the clinical care of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) through development of a neurodevelopmental service in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit …(CICU), providing inpatient neurodevelopmental consultation, infant/family assessment and therapeutic intervention as part of routine CICU care delivery.