Dr. Jolie Straus is a clinical psychology postdoctoral fellow at the Boston Child Study Center. Dr. Jolie specializes in evidence-based treatment for children, adolescents, and college-aged adults with autism, selective mutism, OCD, anxiety, ADHD, and tic disorders. She has extensive experience in exposure and response prevention (ERP), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), including for selective mutism (PCIT-SM), and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for children, teens, and their families. Additionally, Dr. Jolie has conducted diagnostic evaluations for autism, as well as, administered neuropsychological and developmental assessments.
During her predoctoral internship at the Child Mind Institute, Dr. Jolie leveraged her background in therapy, assessment and education to provide quality care to children and their families. Within her work, Dr. Jolie prioritizes collaboration with the child, their family, and multidisciplinary providers to build a comprehensive understanding of the whole child. During treatment, Jolie utilizes therapeutic techniques to build rapport with her patients and to create a safe and welcoming environment.
During her PhD program at UCLA, Dr. Jolie pursued her passion in working with children, adolescents, and their families through evidence-based therapeutic interventions. At both UCLA’s OCD & Anxiety Disorders Clinic and the WaveMind Clinic, Dr. Jolie provided intensive outpatient therapy to children and adolescents, advocated for their support needs and provided behavioral parent training. Dr. Jolie speaks Spanish and provided outpatient therapy to Spanish-speaking families.
Dr. Jolie received her B.A. in Child Development and Psychology from Tufts University, and her M.A. in Child Study and Human Development from Tufts University. After working in clinical research at Boston Children’s Hospital, Dr. Jolie pursued her M.A. and PhD in Human Development and Psychology at UCLA. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Child Mind Institute in New York. Her previous clinical training sites include Boston Children’s Hospital, the WaveMind Clinic in Los Angeles, CA, and the OCD & Anxiety Disorders Clinic and Intensive Outpatient Program at UCLA. Dr. Jolie trained under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Catherine Lord through the Autism Across the Lifespan Clinical and Research Program at UCLA.
Dr. Jolie has experience working at various levels of care, including outpatient, school, and summer camp settings. She enjoys teaching undergraduate students, and taught a foundational undergraduate psychology course at UCLA.