Roles
Associate Professor of Clinical
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Biography
Dr. Michelle Berkovits is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, in the Division of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. As a licensed psychologist, she serves as director and psychology coordinator for the North Dade Early Steps Program at the Mailman Center for Child Development, including the high-risk NICU follow-up program. She graduated with a BS in Psychology from the University of Florida in 2001, as valedictorian of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Dr. Berkovits completed her MS in 2003 and her PhD in 2003, both in clinical psychology at the University of Florida, with a concentration in Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology. She completed her internship and post-doctoral training at the A. I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware in 2007.
Since joining the UM faculty in 2007, she has worked within the Early Steps program, which offers early evaluation and intervention services for families with infants and toddlers (birth to thirty-six months) with developmental delays or established conditions likely to result in developmental delays. Early Steps is part of a statewide, family-focused, multidisciplinary system of early intervention services for eligible children and their families. She supervises Infant Toddler Developmental Specialists (ITDS) and psychology interns and practica students in conducting multidisciplinary developmental evaluations at the Mailman Center for Child Development, developing Individualized Family Support Plans, and providing consultations to families regarding behavioral or emotional difficulties and possible autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Berkovits also assists with training neonatology fellows, education students, and other healthcare and educational professionals who complete training rotations and observerships with the Early Steps program. She provides lectures and trainings focused on early childhood development, assessment, and early intervention for Mailman Center for Child Development faculty, trainees, and staff, contracted Early Steps providers, and community partners.
Within the Mailman Center, her administrative roles include leading the Neurodevelopment Intervention Science Interprofessional Collaborative (IPC), which focuses on building a community of practice that promotes opportunities for professional development and community based research and advocacy for the enhancement of early social-emotional development, communication, and literacy. She is also a co-facilitator of a joint IPC Early Childhood Collaborative. Dr. Berkovits participates in a variety of state workgroups led by the Early Steps State Office (ESSO) and the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Service that focus on ensuring accurate developmental assessments, enhancing quality of coaching-based early intervention services, and improving child and family outcomes. Her professional memberships include the APA Divisions 53 (Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology), Division 54 (Pediatric Psychology), and Neonatal Special Interest Group, as well as the National Network of NICU Psychologists and Florida Association for Infant Mental Health. She has Florida Association for Infant Mental Health (FAIMH) Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice in Promoting Infant Mental Health in the category of Mentor – Policy. She is certified as a Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Therapist and Level 1 trainer through PCIT International. Her research interests relate to development and evaluation of prevention and early intervention services for young children. Her research collaborations and publications focus on topics such as developmental outcomes for children born prematurely, applications of PCIT, and early childhood assessment and intervention. -
Education & Training
Education
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Teaching Interests
Dr. Michelle Berkovits provides clinical training and supervision to Early Steps Infant Toddler Developmental Specialists, psychology practicum students, and psychology interns. Dr. Berkovits assists with training for neonatology fellows, education students, and other healthcare and educational professionals who complete training rotations and international observerships with the Early Steps program. Dr. Berkovits provides lectures and trainings focused on early childhood development, assessment, and early intervention for Mailman Center for Child Development faculty, trainees, and staff, contracted Early Steps providers, and community partners. Primary goals for teaching are to provide both students and early intervention professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to build on their current areas of strength and enhance their ability to provide effective care for young children and their families. She primarily teaches at an individual or small group level, enabling her to tailor her teaching strategies to best fit with the unique needs and goals of each person or group. This teaching occurs within the context of clinical supervision for psychology graduate practica students and interns within the Early Steps Program, the early intervention program for children birth to three with developmental delays and disabilities. Dr. Berkovits provides direct teaching on developmental assessment tools that trainees will be administering during their rotation and supervise psychology trainees to conduct their evaluations as part of a multidisciplinary team. Each year, she leads lectures for the clinical psychology trainees and faculty as part of the Mailman Center for Child Development Pediatric Psychology Seminar series on topics such as Poverty and Early Childhood Development and Infant and Toddler Developmental Assessments. Trainings for local Early Steps Staff and contracted community early intervention service providers have ranged from topics focused on implementation of state policies and procedures to topics focused on enhancing the quality of clinical care with families. As a PCIT International certified PCIT Therapist and PCIT Level 1 Trainer, she also assists with training for the UM Parent-Child Interaction Therapy Training Institute. She also provides mentorship for psychology interns and post-doctoral fellows as they pursue the next stage in their psychology training and careers. -
Research Interests
Dr. Michelle Berkovits's research interests relate to the development and evaluation of prevention and early intervention services for young children. Dr. Berkovits is focused on research examining neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants born extremely prematurely, early childhood assessment and intervention, and applications of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Dr. Berkovits is interested in examining developmental progress of children receiving Early Steps services and developing strategies to enhance the effectiveness of these services.
Dr. Berkovits is collaborating on an NHLBI R01 funded multi-site study examining the consequences of neonatal intermittent hypoxia in preterm infants at preschool age. She also served as a co-investigator on a Florida Department of Health funded research grant examining developmental outcomes of infants with prenatal Zika exposure and collaborate on a UM COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant to assess risk and resiliency in the early childhood community in response to the Coronavirus pandemic and implement a targeted online toolkit to support families and providers. She has also collaborated with colleagues at Florida International University (FIU) on grants to examine internet delivery of PCIT tor children exiting Early Steps and to implement mental health services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays to enhance use of evidence-based strategies by Early Steps community providers. Applications of the two abbreviated versions of PCIT (Primary Care-PCIT and PCIT-Anticipatory Guidance) that she developed and implemented within a randomized controlled preventive intervention trial for her dissertation are continuing within research and clinical practice within the University of Miami and by professionals across the country. She has published 17 peer reviewed journal articles and has had numerous presentations at state, national, and international conferences. She also serves as an Ad-Hoc reviewer on multiple journals. -
Publications
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