Brenda A Wiens, Ph.D.

Dr. Wiens is a Clinical Associate Professor and Child/Pediatric Area Head in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology in the College of Public Health and Health Professions. Dr. Wiens completed an internship in clinical child and pediatric psychology at the University of Florida, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, in 2000. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 2003.

Dr. Wiens’ specialty area is clinical child psychology, and she has experience working with a wide range of child populations and clinical concerns. Her areas of clinical interest include assessments for neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and language and learning disorders, as well as associated behavioral/emotional concerns. Dr. Wiens is involved in both the UF Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment (UF Health CAN) and the UF Multidisciplinary Diagnostic and Training Program (UF MDTP). She also supervises therapy cases through UF Health Psychology Specialties clinic. Dr. Wiens is a Co-Investigator on the UF project team for the longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD; PI’s Cottler and Nixon) project).

Dr. Wiens’ specialty area is clinical child psychology, and she has experience working with a wide range of child populations and clinical concerns. Her areas of clinical interest include assessments for neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, language disorders, intellectual disorders, learning disabilities) and associated behavioral/emotional concerns. Dr. Wiens supervises graduate practicum students, psychology interns, and postdoctoral fellows on child assessments and child and family therapy cases at UF Health Psychology Specialties. Dr. Wiens is involved in the UFHealth Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, and consults with participating team members, including the disciplines of medicine, nursing, behavior analysis, pediatric neuropsychology, rehabilitation (speech/language, occupational, physical therapy), and University of Florida CARD. She is additionally involved in the UF Multidisciplinary and Diagnostic Training Program (UF MDTP), where she conducts assessments and consults with other team members. Further, she supervises psychology interns in providing consultation services for the UF Health Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic.

Dr. Wiens is currently a Co-Investigator as part of the UF site for the NIH funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) project (https://abcdstudy.org/), which is the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States. Dr. Wiens has previously been the principal evaluator for evaluation and services contracts on several Department of Education grants awarded to the Columbia County School District, focusing on expanding counseling and prevention services for elementary school students, implementing mentoring programs for middle school youth, and implementing prevention programs to decrease youth alcohol and other substance use. Dr. Wiens also previously collaborated with Jeanne Marie Stacciarini, Ph.D., in the College of Nursing on her projects related to social isolation and mental wellness for immigrant Latinos in rural areas.