Background
Dr. Cwik received a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University (1999). She earned a M.A. (2002) and Ph.D (2005) in Child Clinical Psychology from Southern Illinois University, and completed a Pre-Doctoral Internship at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Cwik joined the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in July 2005 as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Walkup. Her background is in child clinical psychology and her fellowship has consisted of specialized training in youth suicide prevention and intervention, including Emergency Department settings. She served as a site project coordinator and therapist for the Treatment of Adolescent Suicide Attempters (TASA) study which is part of a national research effort, sponsored by NIMH, to develop and evaluate treatment strategies for this population.
Dr. Cwik joined the faculty at the Center for American Indian Health in July 2005 as an Assistant Scientist. She is currently working on three initiatives addressing youth suicide prevention through community-based participatory research with the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The first (NARCH III – Suicide Prevention: Grant # 904697) is assessing risk and protective factors, treatment experiences and preferences in a sample of youth (10-19 years old) who have attempted suicide. The second (SAMHSA/GLS grant # 906393) is an initiative to design, adapt and pilot a constellation of evidence-based youth suicide prevention strategies administered by Apache paraprofessionals. The third (SAMHSA/MACRO sub-contract MACRO sub-contract: #35126-8S-1137) will evaluate the impact of the prevention interventions designed by and for the White Mountain Apache community. Her primary responsibilities include adapting interventions for use on the reservation, as well as training and providing supervision to tribal partners. Finally, she serves as the evaluator for the Maryland SAMHSA GLS grant (# 058409).
Areas of interest include: developing emergency department interventions for suicidal youth; adapting and individualizing treatment to prevent youth suicide based on cultural and co-morbid issues; and improving service delivery and utilization for youth at risk for suicide.