Dr. Eric Benson

Dr. Eric R. Benson is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Director of Clinical Outreach at the Boston Child Study Center. Prior to coming to the Boston Child Study Center, Dr. Benson had worked in a variety of school and hospital settings. These positions have included working as the Staff Psychologist for the McLean/Franciscan Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Unit, and as the Clinical Director for the UMass Adolescent Continuing Care Psychiatric Inpatient Unit, an extended-stay inpatient unit that is the highest level of care offered by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health.

In his role as the Director of Community Outreach, Dr. Benson develops collaborative relationships with schools, hospitals, and other community agencies to reach youth and families in need across the state.

As a clinician, Dr. Benson offers an attachment-based, developmentally sensitive approach that integrates evidenced-based treatments and maximizes therapeutic outcomes. He effectively uses humor and strength-based techniques to establish trusting relationships with youth and provides Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to support them in overcoming a variety of challenges. Dr. Benson has specialized training in the areas of trauma and mood disorders as well as suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury. Additionally, Dr. Benson has extensive training in using Applied Behavior Analysis and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy to help caregivers support young children with disruptive behavior disorders.

Dr. Benson received his B.S. in Psychology with Neuroscience Track from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst before earning his M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Kansas. Additionally, Dr. Benson has a M.S.Ed. in Intensive Special Needs Education from Simmons College and is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). He has presented at national conferences and co-authored several publications on school-based mental health interventions, pediatric obesity, and positive psychology. Dr. Benson has given invited conference presentations on the topic of restraint reduction, and has worked as a consultant on this initiative in school and inpatient settings.