Mary Fristad

Dr. Fristad is a 1986 graduate of the University of Kansas clinical psychology program. She completed her clinical child psychology internship at Brown University and is board certified both in clinical psychology and in clinical child and adolescent psychology. She is a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Ohio State University, where she has been on faculty since 1986. Dr. Fristad is the Director of Research and Psychological Services in the OSU Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which contains inpatient, day treatment, outpatient and clinical research programs. Dr. Fristad’s area of specialty is childhood mood disorders. She has published over 135 articles and book chapters addressing the assessment and treatment of childhood-onset depression, suicidality and bipolar disorder (manic-depression). Dr. Fristad recently co-wrote several books for clinicians-- A Clinical Manual for the Management of Bipolar Disorder in Children and Adolescent; Childhood Mental Health Disorders: Evidence Base and Contextual Factors for Psychosocial, Psychopharmacological and Combined Interventions; and one for families entitled Raising a Moody Child: How to Cope with Depression and Bipolar Disorder. Dr. Fristad has served on and chaired many NIMH review panels. She has been a member and now is President of the Executive Board for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (APA Division 53) and serves on the American Academy of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Board. She chaired the Serious Emotional Disturbance committee of the American Psychological Association Task Force for Serious Mental Illness/Serious Emotional Disturbance and served on the APA Task Force, Psychotropic Medications & Children. She serves on the Board of Directors for five web-based education and support groups for children and families with mood disorders. Dr. Fristad has been the principal or co-principal investigator on over three dozen federal, state, local grants. Recent grants include: a 5-year NIMH funded investigation of the efficacy of Multi-Family Psychoeducation Groups in treating childhood mood disorders; a 2-year Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) funded study of Individual Family Psychoeducation in treating early-onset bipolar disorder; a 5-year multi-site NIMH grant to determine how children with manic symptoms progress over time; and a 4-year grant from the national Agency for Health Research & Quality to monitor emergent adverse events in youth newly prescribed antidepressant medication.