
Tessa Kritikos, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology,
College of Human Sciences and Humanities
Contact number: 281-283-3464
Email: kritikos@uhcl.edu
Biography
Tessa Kritikos, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of clinical psychology. She earned
her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Boston University; completed a pre-doctoral
internship in child, adolescent, and pediatric psychology at Rush University Medical
Center; and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Loyola University Chicago.
Dr. Kritikos is the director of the MAGNIFY (Meaning And Growth Nurtured In Families
& Youth) Lab. The core mission of the lab is to understand and improve the psychological
health of families experiencing stress as a result of trauma, medical conditions,
or mental health concerns. This program of research draws from clinical psychology,
pediatric psychology, and developmental psychology. Lab projects aim to magnify the
strengths of populations that are often characterized in terms of their vulnerabilities
through intervention research and the development of new measures.
Dr. Kritikos has experience conducting individual, family, and group therapy using
principles from a variety of evidence-based treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy
(DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy, Parent
Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and behavioral parent training.
She has an active research lab and is committed to mentoring students in the master’s
clinical psychology and doctoral health psychology programs.
Areas of Expertise
- Clinical psychology
- Pediatric psychology
- Parenting
- Family-focused assessment and intervention
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Trauma and coping
Publications
1) Kritikos, T.K., Winning, A.M., Smith, Z.R., & Holmbeck, G.N. (2022). Trajectories
of marital satisfaction among parents of youth with spina bifida. Journal of Pediatric
Psychology. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsac059
2) Kritikos, T.K., Stiles-Shields, C., Winning, A.M., Starnes, M., Ohanian, D., Clark,
O.E., del Castillo, A., Chavez, P. & Holmbeck, G.N. (2021). A systematic review of
benefit-finding and growth in pediatric medical populations. Journal of Pediatric
Psychology, 46(9): 1076-1090.
3) Kritikos, T.K., Stiles-Shields, C., Shapiro, J.B., Holmbeck, G.N. (2021). Benefit-finding
among young adults with spina bifida. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(5), 1176-1186.
doi: 10.1177/1359105321990804
4) Stiles-Shields, C., Kritikos, T. K., Ridosh, M. M., Starnes, M., & Holmbeck, G.
N. (2021). “We Are Anxious Every Day”: COVID-19 Impacts on Youth with Spina Bifida.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology. 46(9): 1040-1050. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsab070
5) Stiles-Shields, C., Kritikos, T. K., Starnes, M., Smith, Z. R., & Holmbeck, G.
N. (2022). The transition from pediatric to adult healthcare in young adults with
spina bifida: Demographic and physician-related correlates. Journal of Developmental
& Behavioral Pediatrics, 43(3), e179-e187. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000001001
6) Kritikos, T.K., Driscoll, C.F.B. & Holmbeck, G.N. (2021). Discrepancies in parent
perceptions of child vulnerability in youth with spina bifida. Journal of Pediatric
Psychology, 46(4), 392-403. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsaa115.
7) Ohanian, D.M., Kritikos, T.K., Clark, O.E., Shirkey, K.C., Starnes, M., & Holmbeck,
G.N. (2021). Stress and coping in youth with spina bifida: A brief longitudinal study
in a summary camp setting. Frontiers in Psychology 12:682169. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682169.
8) Holmbeck, G.H. & Kritikos, T.K. (2021). Psychosocial adjustment in emerging adults
with and without Spina Bifida: A 14-year, longitudinal follow-up. Journal of Developmental
and Behavioral Pediatrics. doi 10.1097/dbp.0000000000000956
9) Kritikos, T.K. & Holmbeck, G.N. (2020). Family functioning guidelines for the care
of people with spina bifida. Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine: An Interdisciplinary
Approach, 13, 535-542. doi: 10.3233/PRM-200720.
10) Kritikos, T.K., Smith, K., & Holmbeck, G.N. (2020) Mental health guidelines for
the care of people with spina bifida. Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine:
An Interdisciplinary Approach, 13, 525-534. doi: 10.3233/PRM-200719.
Courses (Current Academic Year)
- Clinical Practicum
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Personality Assessment