Faculty

Kelly B Beck

Kelly B Beck, PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Contact Details

3811 O'Hara St.
Pittsburgh
 
PA
 
15213
Email
Website
REAACT Lab

Education & Training

PhD
Rehabilitation Science, University of Pittsburgh
Rehabilitation Science, UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine

Specialty Certifications

Board Certification
Licensed Professional Counselor
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Qualified Teacher

Professional Affiliations

Member, International Society for Autism Research
Member, American Psychological Association
Member, American Counseling Association

Research Interests

Develop/implement mental health interventions; Community-based participatory research; Supporting neurodivergent children in schools
Selected Research Publications & Products
  1. White SW, Conner CM, Beck KB, Mazefsky CM. Efficacy of the Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) program in autism: A randomized controlled trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2025.07.1058.
  2. Beck KB, MacKenzie KT, Kirby AV, McDonald KE, Moura I, Breitenfeldt KE, Rutenberg E, Kumar T, Mancino J, Sabatello M, Roth S, Nicolaidis C, and the Working to increase Inclusivity in Research Ethics (WIRE) Consortium. Guidelines for the creation of accessible consent materials and procedures: lessons from research with autistic people and people with intellectual disability. Autism in Adulthood. 2025; https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0263
  3. Beck KB, MacKenzie KT, Kumar T, Breitenfeldt KE, Chang J, Conner CM, Mandell DS, White SW, Mazefsky CA. The world's really not set up for the neurodivergent person: Understanding emotion dysregulation from the perspective of autistic adults. Autism in Adulthood. 2024. DOI: 0214 https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0214
  4. Beck KB*, Northrup JB*, Breitenfeldt KE, Porton S, Day TN, MacKenzie K, Conner CM, Mazefsky CA. Stakeholder informed development of the Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement team-based program (EASE-Teams). Autism. 2021;26(3):586-600. doi:10.1177/13623613211061936 *Joint First Author
  5. Beck KB, Conner CM, Breitenfeldt KE, Northrup JB, White SW, Mazefsky CA. Assessment and treatment of emotion regulation impairment in autism spectrum disorder across the life span: Current state of the science and future directions. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics. 2020;29(3):527-542.

From Surviving to Thriving in the Autism Community

Mosaic of Photos from the From Surviving to Thriving Event

The University of Pittsburgh’s National Institute of Mental Health-funded Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) recently hosted “From Surviving to Thriving: Lived Experiences and Practical Tips for the Autism Community,” a special event focused on thriving within the autistic community. From Surviving to Thriving featured speakers with varied connections to autism, with the goal of highlighting how to support positive...

Pitt Psychiatry Investigator Kelly Beck, PhD Receives YourMomCares Research Award

Kelly Beck, PhD Accepts Your Mom Cares Award

Congratulations to Kelly Beck, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has received the 2024 YourMomCares Brilliance in Research Award. YourMomCares is a kids’ mental health nonprofit, founded by the moms of musicians, actors, and athletes, to fund innovations in kids’ mental health and wellbeing. Dr. Beck’s project focuses on the Schools Unified in Neurodiversity (SUN) Project, designing school classrooms and...

The Department of Psychiatry Welcomes Kelly Beck, PhD, LPC, CRC, to the Faculty

Department Welcomes Dr. Kelly Beck to the Faculty

Pitt Psychiatry extends a warm welcome to new faculty member Kelly Beck, PhD, LPC, CRC (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry). Dr. Beck earned her PhD in rehabilitation science from the University of Pittsburgh, and was named doctoral student of the year by the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association. Her research interests include mental health intervention development and implementation for autistic...

Pitt Psychiatry Awarded $11.5M National Institute of Mental Health Center Grant Focused on Investigating Emotional and Mental Health in Autistic Adults

ACE Center Grant Investigators

The National Institute of Mental Health has awarded the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry an Autism Center of Excellence (P50) grant to fund “Mental Health in Autistic Adults: An RDoC Approach.” The University of Pittsburgh Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) will be led by Carla Mazefsky, PhD (Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science). The University of Pittsburgh...