Christopher A. Kearney, Ph.D.

Christopher A. Kearney, Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is also the Director of the UNLV Child School Refusal and Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Dr. Kearney received his B.A. in psychology and sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology (clinical) from the State University of New York at Albany. He completed his internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center before moving to Las Vegas.

Dr. Kearney’s research interests include school attendance problems and school refusal behavior, selective mutism, posttraumatic stress disorder in maltreated youth, perfectionism, and other anxiety-related conditions in children and adolescents as well as issues of quality of life in persons with severe disabilities. He has published several books and numerous book chapters and journal articles on these topics (see links in left column for full information). Dr. Kearney also conducts workshops for school districts and mental health and other agencies regarding school attendance problems and selective mutism (contact Dr. Kearney for more information at chris.kearney@unlv.edu).

Dr. Kearney is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 12; Clinical Psychology) and a Fellow of the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53 of the American Psychological Association).  He has received the William Morris Award for Scholarship, the Barrick Scholar Award, the Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award, the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award, the Distinguished Teaching Award, the Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Award, the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award, the Academic Advisor Award-Graduate, the Donald Schmiedel Service Award, the James Frey Senior Faculty Excellence in Scholarship Award, the Outstanding Chair Award, and a Black Mountain Institute Research Fellow Award from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi.

Last updated: October 3, 2024.