Shivali Sarawgi, PhD

As a pediatric psychologist specializing in evidence-based treatment, I am firmly committed to providing and educating about evidence-based practice for mental health care. I enjoy partnering with patients and families in a way that recognizes the patient as a whole person interacting with larger systems, including family, school and community.

I love watching patients develop and build on the skills and abilities they already have to tolerate challenges and grow through periods of distress.

I treat obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, body-focused repetitive behaviors, anxiety and tic disorders; I also provide services to address psychiatric concerns for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Additionally, I am interested in providing a high level of care in acute and intensive outpatient settings, family-based behavioral interventions and social-skills development. I currently serve as a psychologist in the Norwood Intensive Outpatient Program.

The resiliency of children and adolescents drew me to this work, as well as the opportunity for preventative and early intervention in mental health care. My desire to work with youth also stems from my early training with adults who often expressed a wish that they had been able to access mental health services as a child.

The common misrepresentation and misconception of obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorder, even within the health care community, further sparked my desire for continued research in these areas and my passion for teaching and training.

I am passionate about collaborations across disciplines in providing patients and families the best care. Before joining the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, I began my career as an outpatient psychologist at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island and as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. There, I worked on an interdisciplinary intensive outpatient team that fostered this passion and my desire to provide intensive services with the goal of reducing unnecessary hospitalizations.

When I was at the Warren Alpert Medical School, I also developed an interest in teaching and supervision of evidence-based practice across various disciplines and levels of training. The inclusion and supervision of trainees in clinical care and the continued learning of professionals, are essential to increasing the availability of quality mental health services. Relatedly, I am interested in health care equity and increasing access to gold-standard psychological assessment and treatment.

My research has focused on factors that contribute to the maintenance of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. I am interested in translational science and understanding the need for quality in different levels of care. Currently, I am working on projects related to the effective implementation of exposure and response prevention in pediatric populations and factors associated with accessing higher levels of care for patients with ASD and developmental disabilities.

In my free time, I enjoy being with family, traveling to see friends, finding new restaurants and spending time with my cat.