Melanie M Nelson

Melanie M Nelson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department: MD-PSYCHIATRY
Business Phone: (352) 265-9173
Business Email: nelsonm@ufl.edu

About Melanie M Nelson

Melanie Nelson, PhD, earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and mathematics at Illinois Wesleyan University and received her doctorate in clinical child psychology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She completed an APA-approved internship at Wayne State University working with children and families in various settings, including an inpatient psychiatric hospital, an outpatient clinic and hospital-based medical clinics. After her internship, she completed a three-year, postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida in the department of clinical and health psychology, during which she focused on treatment outcomes research. 

From 2005 to 2013, Dr. Nelson was a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. There, she specialized in clinical practice, training and research in disruptive behavior disorders and autism spectrum disorders for approximately seven years. 

In 2014, Dr. Nelson joined the faculty at UF. She directs the parent-child interaction therapy, or PCIT, program at UF Health Psychiatry. PCIT is an empirically supported therapy designed for young children who are displaying disruptive behavior and was developed by Sheila Eyberg, MD, UF distinguished professor emeritus.  

Dr. Nelson is one of only 20 Certified Master Trainers in PCIT in the U.S., and she supervises PCIT training and treatment at UF. She is also developing a research program to add to the evidence base that supports PCIT. Clinically, she specializes in assessment of and treatment for families with young children, ages 2 to 8, who have a wide range of concerns, including disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

Additional Positions:
Training Director
2016 – Current ·

Accomplishments

Exemplary Teaching Award
2020 · UF College of Medicine
Exemplary Teacher Award
2017 · University of Florida, College of Medicine
Labeled Praise Award for Significant and Sustained Contributions to the Advancement of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
2011 · PCIT International, Inc.
Oscar Parsons Distinguished Lectureship Award
2009 · Oklahoma Psychological Association

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2018-2019
CLP6948 Advanced Practicum in Clinical Child Psychology
2016
CLP6905 Individual Work

Board Certifications

  • Global Trainer in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
    PCIT International, Inc.

Clinical Profile

Specialties
  • Psychology
Areas of Interest
  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Depression
  • Generalized anxiety disorder
  • Psychoeducational and Neuropsychological Assessment

Research Profile

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0002-0935-0782

Areas of Interest
  • Treatment outcome research
  • autism spectrum disorders
  • disruptive behavior disorders

Publications

2022
PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION THERAPY (PCIT): THE EVIDENCE BASE AND APPLICATIONS TO NEW POPULATIONS
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 61(10) [DOI] 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.07.777.
2020
Leveraging parent–child interaction therapy and telehealth capacities to address the unique needs of young children during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. 12(S1):S82-S84 [DOI] 10.1037/tra0000863.
2019
Commercial mindfulness aid does not aid short-term stress reduction compared to unassisted relaxation.
Heliyon. 5(3) [DOI] 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01351. [PMID] 30923771.
2013
Fatal child maltreatment: Characteristics of deaths from physical abuse versus neglect.
Child abuse & neglect. 37(10)
2012
Therapists’ attitudes toward evidence-based practices and implementation of parent-child interaction therapy.
Child maltreatment. 17(1):47-55 [DOI] 10.1177/1077559512436674. [PMID] 22353671.
2009
Low-level lead exposure and contingency-based responding in preschoolers: an exploratory study.
Developmental neuropsychology. 34(4):494-506 [DOI] 10.1080/87565640902964565. [PMID] 20183713.
2008
Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents with disruptive behavior.
Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53. 37(1):215-37 [DOI] 10.1080/15374410701820117. [PMID] 18444059.
2005
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for children with disruptive behavior and developmental disabilities
. 28(2)
2004
The contribution of executive functions to emergent mathematic skills in preschool children.
Developmental neuropsychology. 26(1):465-86 [PMID] 15276905.
2002
Executive functions in preschool children born preterm: application of cognitive neuroscience paradigms.
Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence. 8(2):83-92 [PMID] 12638062.
2001
New procedures to assess executive functions in preschool children.
The Clinical neuropsychologist. 15(1):46-58 [PMID] 11778578.
1999
Executive functioning in preschool children: performance on A-not-B and other delayed response format tasks.
Brain and cognition. 41(2):178-99 [PMID] 10590818.

Grants

Jun 2022 – Jun 2023
PCIT International Independent Contractor Agreement 2022
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: PCIT INTERNATIONAL via ADMN FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Education

Post-doctoral Fellowship: Child Clinical Psychology
2002-2005 · University of Florida
Internship: Child Clinical Psychology
2000-2001 · Wayne State University
PhD, Child Clinical Psychology
1998-2002 · Southern Illinois University
MA, Child Clinical Psychology
1996-1998 · Southern Illinois University
BA, Psychology and Mathematics
1989-1993 · Illinois Wesleyan University

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 265-9173
Emails:
Business:
nelsonm@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 103424
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
Business Street:
4197 NW 86TH TER
GAINESVILLE FL 32606