AC21 - A1 - HealthySteps Toward Equity: Addressing Health Disparities at Well-Child Visits Through Integrated Behavioral Health Practice

Ayelet Talmi, PhD is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Talmi is the Clinical Director of the Division of Integrated Behavioral Health in the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division of the Department of Psychiatry, a Director of the Irving Harris Program in Child Development and Infant Mental Health, and the Director of Project CLIMB. Dr. Talmi engages in early childhood and integrated behavioral health systems building efforts, direct service, advocacy, and policy in Colorado and nationally. Her primary clinical and research interests focus on behavioral health service delivery systems for children and families, integrated behavioral health in primary care and community settings, early childhood mental health, and young children with special health care needs. Dr. Talmi is a Past President of the Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health and a Graduate Fellow of Zero To Three’s Leader’s for the 21st Century Fellowship.

Catherine Wolcott, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Catherine's interests include integrated behavioral health services for young children and pregnant women in primary care, access to culturally sensitive mental healthcare for Latinx families, and addressing exposure to toxic stress and trauma in demographically at-risk populations.

Dr. Devin Fields is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Childrens Hospital Colorado working in pediatric primary care in general pediatrics and a specialty young mothers clinic. She completed her graduate training at Pacific University outside Portland, Oregon and earned her PsyD with specialty training in children and adolescent psychology in August 2020. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in Huntington, West Virginia. She is passionate about working with children and adolescents from underserved communities and addressing health disparities in integrated behavioral health.

Melissa Buchholz, PsyD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is core faculty in the Harris Program for Child Development and Infant Mental Health at the University of Colorado. Dr. Buchholz is also the director of HealthySteps for the state of Colorado and has worked to scale the HealthySteps model across the state since 2012.  

She is passionate about disseminating health promotion and prevention services for young children and has spent her career focusing on integrating early childhood behavioral health services into medical settings, specifically pediatric primary care. Dr. Buchholz is particularly interested in improving access to behavioral healthcare for young children and building comprehensive systems of care for young children and their families. 

Dr. Buchholz is also a graduate of ZERO TO THREE’s fellowship program and a member of the Early Childhood Developmental Health Systems (ECDHS): Evidence to Impact Center’s National Advisory Board.