Pediatric Psychologist Joins Portland Shriners Hospital Medical Team

Filling the role of pediatric psychologist, Catherine McClellan, Ph.D., recently joined the medical team at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Portland, where she will work closely with care providers and the behavioral health team to provide psychological support for patients. Dr. McClellan joins the Portland Shriners Hospital after her time at Metropolitan Pediatrics in Beaverton, Oregon, where she provided a broad range of behavioral health assessment, triageand therapy services for pediatric patients.

With the development of this new role, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Portland is taking a big step in bridging a gap identified by the results of their patient survey platform, PROMIS. The findings from the survey identified a correlation between patients’ psychosocial health and their physical health, and a need to provide consistent care for patients’ behavioral and emotional well-being. Dr. McClellan is a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked extensively in health care settings as part of a multidisciplinary team. She graduated from Reed College, earned her doctorate from West Virginia University and completed her internship at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange, California. Dr. McClellan completed her fellowship at University of South Carolina/Richland Children’s Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina.

In order for patients and families to understand her role, providers and staff will often introduce Dr. McClellan as “a feeling and thinking doctor.” At the Portland Shriners Hospital, her focus will be on developing quality improvement programming to evaluate and improve care, provider and staff education surrounding pediatric behavioral health. Her focus will also be on delivering brief interventions. Areas of intervention include pain management, medical phobia, sleep disruption, anxiety and depression.

“My interventions are designed to be brief, pragmatic, and incorporate parents whenever possible. Incorporating the family unit is especially important, as parents have the greatest opportunities to observe and assist their youth as they face challenges associated with their medical care,” said Dr. McClellan.

In her free time, Dr. McClellan is an avid gardener and enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest with her two children, her husband and two dogs. A fun fact about Dr. McClellan is that she is bilingual in French! Growing up, she stayed with her grandparents in France most summers and has maintained the language ever since.

The Portland Shriners Hospital is happy to welcome Dr. McClellan to the team, where her role will help advance their mission of providing the most advanced wrap-around care for children with orthopaedic conditions.