Acute, Intensive, & Residential Services SIG Update

Acute, Intensive, & Residential Services SIG Update

By Elisabeth Frazier, PhD
AIRS Special Interest Group Chair

Welcome Summer!

The AIRS SIG is starting the summer with a big congratulations to our 2026 AIRS award winners! Thank you to everyone who submitted nominations and bravo to all of our awardees!

Alison Tebbett-Mock, Ph.D. has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 AIRS Distinguished Professional Contributions Award.

This award recognizes Dr. Tebbett-Mock’s significant efforts to promoting awareness, accessibility, and implementation of evidence-based mental health services within the area of acute, intensive, and/or residential services with youth. Dr. Tebbett-Mock is the Lead Psychologist at Northwell Health’s Zucker Hillside Hospital and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Tebbett- Mock has worked diligently throughout her career on a wide range of initiatives, including serving as the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Team Lead for the acute-care adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit. Notably, this was one of the first adherent DBT inpatient programs for adolescents worldwide. In addition to Dr. Tebbett-Mock’s dedication to the dissemination of evidence-based treatment with acute populations, she also works to be affirming, inclusive, and responsive to a wide range of patient needs. Dr. Tebbett-Mock is a sought-after speaker on DBT and inpatient care, as well an accomplished supervisor, mentor, and leader. Dr. Tebbett-Mock has been a champion and pioneer in the AIRS arena throughout her career.

Jennifer Wolff, Ph.D. has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 AIRS Distinguished Research Contributions Award.

This award acknowledges Dr. Wolff’s significant efforts in conducting and disseminating research within the area of acute, intensive, and/or residential services for pediatric populations. Dr. Wolff is a Professor and Clinician Educator in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Wolff also serves as a Staff Psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital, the Director of Pediatric Biopsychology Core at Bradley Hospital, and is a Consulting Psychologist for the Bradley Hospital Adolescent Inpatient Unit. Dr. Wolff has an extensive list of awards and accomplishments, making her extremely deserving of this recognition. This includes winning the Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research Award from the American Psychological Association in 2023. Dr. Wolff has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, with over 25 of these being specifically related to work on inpatient or intensive treatment services. She has contributed to more than 28 grants, holding many roles. Within this, she has disseminated her work locally, nationally, and internationally, while also working to develop the next generation of researchers by supervising numerous trainees.  Dr. Wolff is the true demonstration of passion within the field of acute psychiatric care, dedicating her career to bettering these services through research findings.

Carl Waitz, Psy.D. has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 AIRS Distinguished Early Career Psychologist Contributions Award.

This award acknowledges Dr. Waitz’s significant efforts within the early stages of his career to grow and develop evidence-based and efficacious services within the area of acute, intensive, and/or residential services for pediatric populations. Since 2019, Dr. Waitz has served as an Attending Psychologist on the inpatient psychiatry services at Boston Children’s Hospital. Throughout Dr. Waitz’s early career, he has developed a particular expertise in the use of patient reported outcome measures within a psychiatric inpatient unit, as well as developing one of the first Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills-based groups within this service line. Dr. Waitz is also a dedicated trainer, having training over 100 staff members on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. In addition to the aforementioned contributions, Dr. Waitz also has numerous publications related to this area of expertise and has been a Principal Investigator on a study examining outcome measures used in child and adolescent inpatient psychiatry. The AIRS SIG has been lucky to have Dr. Waitz on our executive board, serving as one of the Marketing and Membership Members at Large. Dr. Waitz is a true advocate for the AIRS community, and we believe he will continue these efforts as he progresses throughout his career.   

Brianna Jurosic, Psy.D. from Eastern Kentucky University, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 AIRS Distinguished Student Contributions Award.

This award recognizes Ms. Jurosic’s significant efforts in practice, research, and development within the field of child and adolescent acute psychology throughout her years of clinical training . Ms. Jurosic has a specific interest and focus on working with high-acuity populations. She demonstrates exemplar performance in working with pediatric patients in various settings of higher clinical acuity, including inpatient psychiatric care. She has developed an expertise within Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), both disseminating and implementing these evidence-based practices within her clinical work. She is truly passionate about working with patients who experience severe mental illness or suicidality. Ms. Jurosic has also engaged in research practices within this field, including leading professional presentations and lectures. Ms. Jurosic is dedicated to improving her knowledge and professional development, attending numerous specialized trainings and participating in various community service initiatives. With this, our board is also lucky to have Ms. Jurosic as one of the current Trainee Members-at-Large for the AIRS SIG. Throughout the past several years, Ms. Jurosic’s contribution to the field have been immense. Ms. Jurosic is dedicated to continuing her expertise in the treatment of pediatric acute presentations, and therefore, we believe she will be a wonderful addition to our community as her training continues.

Congratulations once again to all of our award winners! Your research and contributions to clinical practice highlights all of the incredible impacts AIRS SIG members make each and every day. Thank you for all that you do for your patients, trainees, colleagues, and the field of child psychology. You are very much appreciated!

Throughout the summer, we encourage you to keep a healthy work-life balance. If you find yourself looking for ways to stay busy this summer, here are some great options for work and play from our board members!

• Check out the ongoing AIRS early-career consultation groups via zoom, which are all announced in the listserv.
• Join us at APA in August!
• Keep your eye out for more AIRS Coffee Hours. We recently hosted discussions on conducting assessments in acute care settings in April and screening and treating problematic sexualized behaviors on acute care units in March. Do you have a topic you’d like to see discussed in a future coffee hour? Please reach out to Dr. Jennifer Hellmuth (Hellmuth@brownhealth.org) with your ideas.
• Get inspired by our board members and enjoy some of their favorite summer activities, including: reading a book at the beach, going swimming, roasting marshmallows by the firepit, camping and hiking, going on a road trip, and running through the sprinkler!

We wouldn’t want you to miss out! If you are not yet a member of the AIRS SIG, what are you waiting for? We would love for you to join us. Simply log in to the SCCAP website and sign up on our webpage. If you have any questions about the AIRS SIG, please reach out to Elisabeth Frazier, PhD at elisabeth.frazier@osumc.edu.