Deborah Perry is the Director of Research and Evaluation and Professor at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. Dr. Perry’s research focuses on approaches to designing and testing preventive interventions for low-income young children and their caregivers. One main focus of her research is the prevention of postpartum depression in women in home visiting, WIC and prenatal care.
Dr. Perry has been with Georgetown University for the past decade where she has helped establish the evidence based program for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation in early childhood settings. In addition, Dr. Perry serves as the evaluator for DC’s MIECHV award.
Early in Dr. Perry’s career she provided national technical assistance (TA) for the implementation of Public Law 99-457—the legislation that created the Infants and Toddlers program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She has also served as the national TA provider for SAMHSA’s Project LAUNCH initiative and the Project Director for the Office of Head Start’s national Center on Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. She has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed and scores of translational publications and edited a book on integrating mental health into early childhood systems. She has a Ph.D. in maternal and child health from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in psychology.
Dr. Perry can be reached at dfp2@georgetown.edu.
Education
- Undergraduate: Vassar College, BA Psychology
- Graduate: New School for Social Research, MA Psychology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, PhD Maternal & Child Health
Areas of Expertise
- Early Childhood Mental Health
- Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
- Evaluation (Program, Effectiveness)
Selected Publications
- Perry, D. F., & Conners-Burrow, N. (2016). Addressing Early Adversity Through Mental Health Consultation in Early Childhood Settings. Family Relations Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 65(1), 24-36.
- Conners-Burrow, N., McKelvey, L.M., Perry, D.F., Whiteside-Mansell, L., Kraleti, S., Mesman, G., Holmes, K., & Kyzer, A. Low-level symptoms of depression in mothers of young children are associated with behavior problems in middle childhood. Maternal and Child Health Journal. (2015, October; in press).
- Perry, D. F., Le, H. N., Villamil, C., Yengo, J., & Boateng, A. O. (2015). Policy and practice: integrating perinatal depression screening into WIC at a federally qualified health center. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action.
- Le, H.N., Perry, D.F., Mendelson, T., Tandon, S.D., & Munoz, R. (February, 2015). Preventing perinatal depression in high risk women: moving the Mothers and Babies course from clinical trials to community implementation. Maternal and Child Health Journal. DOI 10.1007/s10995-01501729-7
- Leis, J.A., Solomon, B.S., Wasserman, K.E., Carter, T.N., Mendelson, T., Perry, D.F., and Tandon, S.D. (2014). Preventing postpartum depression in a pediatric primary care clinic: a pilot study. Clinical Pediatrics. DOI 10.1177/0009922814536775
- Le, L.T., Anthony, B.J., Bronheim, S.M., Holland, C.M., & Perry, D.F. (2014). A technical assistance model for guiding service and systems change. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 1-15 [ePub]. DOI 10.1007/s11414-014-9439-2
- Lieberman, K*., Le, H. N., & Perry, D. F. (2014). A systematic review of perinatal depression interventions for adolescent mothers. Journal of Adolescence, 37: 1227-1235.
- Goodson, B.D., Mackrain, M., Perry, D.F., O’Brien, K., & Gwaltney, M.K. (2013). Enhancing home visiting with mental health consultation. Pediatrics, 132: S180-190.
- Mendelson, T., Leis, J., Perry, D.F., Stuart, E.A., & Tandon, S.D. (2013). Impact of a preventive intervention for perinatal depression on mood regulation, social support, and coping. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 16: 211-218.
- Le, H. N., Perry, D. F., Genovez, M*., & Cardeli, E.* (2013). In their own voices: Latinas’ experiences with a randomized controlled trial to prevent perinatal depression. Qualitative Health Research, 23: 834-846.
- Pooler, J., Perry, D.F. & Ghandour, R. (2013). Prevalence and Risk Factors for Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Among Women Enrolled in WIC. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10: 1969-80.