Shivali Sarawgi, PhD

As a pediatric psychologist, I am firmly committed to providing and educating about evidence-based 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 treat obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), body-focused repetitive behaviors, anxiety and tic disorders. Additionally, I provide services to address psychiatric concerns for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Fragile X and other developmental disabilities. I specialize in exposure-based and family-based behavioral interventions, as well as social skills development.

I love watching patients develop and build on their skills and abilities to manage challenges and grow through periods of distress. I want those I work with to believe they can do hard things.

The resiliency of children and adolescents drew me to this work. My desire to work with youth also stems from 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 and autism spectrum disorders, even within the healthcare community, further sparked my passion for continued research, training and education in these areas. I am also interested in healthcare equity and increasing access to gold-standard psychological assessment and treatment.

 

I value collaborating across disciplines to provide patients and families with the best care. Relatedly, I am engaged in regular education about evidence-based practice across various disciplines and levels of training. The inclusion and supervision of trainees in clinical care and continued learning for professionals are essential to increasing the availability of quality mental health services. These interests were fostered when I began my career as an outpatient psychologist in interdisciplinary teams at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island and as a clinical assistant professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. I have maintained these priorities at Cincinnati Children's through my participation in OCD and tic service lines, collaboration with Dr. Rebecca Shaffer's lab and the Fragile X Center, an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) education series and trainee education.

My research has focused on factors that contribute to the maintenance of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. I am interested in translational science and efforts to increase the provision of high-quality care, including the effective implementation of exposure and response prevention in pediatric populations. I also participate in research that addresses emotion dysregulation in autistic youth.

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