Karen Levine, PhD

Karen Levine, PhD, is a psychologist in private practice in Maine and Massachusetts, and a part-time lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She was the co-founder and co-director of the Autism program at Boston Children’s Hospital in the late 1990s, and later of the Autism Center at Cambridge Health Alliance.

Dr. Levine works primarily with young children and their parents, including neurotypical and neurodivergent children, with a special focus on treating anxiety. She developed a treatment model integrating gradual exposure (a key part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and playful attuned interactive humor, to treat fears and phobias in young children. This approach is currently being studied and manualized by Bonnie Klein-Tasman, PhD and her research team at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with promising initial published findings.

With Naomi Chedd, LMHC, Dr. Levine has co-authored three books including Attacking Anxiety: A Step-by-Step Guide to an Engaging Approach to treating Anxiety and Phobias in Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities (JKP, 2015) and many articles. She received the 2012 Lesley University Autism Heroes Award, the 2010 Federation for Children with Special Needs Founders Award, and the 2000 BIDIP (Boston Institute for the Development of Infants and Parents) Award for Excellence.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Karen Levine maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Harvard Medical School. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Levine receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr, Karen Levine has no relevant non-financial relationships.