Nodes

University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Children’s Medical Center (UT Austin DCMC)

Pediatric Behavioral and Mental Health

The University of Texas at Austin’s Dell Children’s Medical Center (UT Austin DCMC) Dr. Jeffrey Shahidullah, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Dell Medical School, serves as Node Lead for UT Austin DCMC. Dr. Jacquelyn LaGrone as Node Co-Lead.

We have expanded our MHU to a census of 18 and anticipate expanding to 24 in the next 2-4 months We have launched a new PHP that is DBT based that allows us to offer a full continuum of care from inpatient to PHP to IOP to outpatient We have embedded psychiatry in Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC), Endocrinology, and Children's Blood and Cancer Center (CBCC) We have embedded psychology (with psychiatric consultation available through TCSC) in CBCC, Cardiology, ENT (The Hearing Center), Cystic Fibrosis, Rheumatology, Neurology (specific to the Concussion/ Headache program and the PNEE program), GI, Nephrology (including our developing transplant service), and Endocrinology. We are also creating a psychosocial team to support the newly opened Comprehensive Fetal Care Center, Special Delivery Unit, and NICU.

All of this growth is just in the past 2.5 years.

Jeffrey D. Shahidullah

Jeffrey D. Shahidullah, PhD

Node Lead

Dr. Jeffrey Shahidullah is a licensed pediatric psychologist in UT Health Austin Pediatric Psychiatry at Dell Children’s, a clinical partnership between Dell Children’s Medical Center and UT Health Austin. He specializes in behavioral interventions for managing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive behavior disorders. Additionally, Dr. Shahidullah is an assistant professor in the Dell Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, an adjunct assistant professor in both The University of Texas at Austin Department of Educational Psychology and the Dell Medical School Department of Pediatrics, and a faculty affiliate in The University of Texas at Austin Center for Health Interprofessional Practice and Education.

Dr. Shahidullah earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Baylor University, where he also completed an educational specialist degree. He earned a doctorate in school psychology from Michigan State University. He completed an internship in pediatric psychology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a fellowship in pediatric psychology at Geisinger Health System. While at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Shahidullah was a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) fellow.

Dr. Shahidullah also serves patients and their families through the Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Clinic, a specialty clinic at Dell Children’s Medical Center. His clinical, research, and training interests pertain to integrating behavioral health services within schools and primary care settings. He is a productive researcher whose work has been published in peer-reviewed journals across many disciplines, including pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, and school, clinical, and pediatric psychology. Dr. Shahidullah has authored or edited four books on the topics of school mental health, pediatric mental health, pediatric behavioral health care, and interprofessional care for autism spectrum disorders.

Node Team
Afrah Shaik
Fernanda Pena Lozano
Helen Alvarez
Lexi Hughes
Olivia Askew
Tara Upchurch
Tyler Wilson