Services may include parent education and support, medication management, multiple modalities of psychotherapy, school advocacy, and psychological testing and assessment. Faculty are also available for second opinions or one-time consultations to families and clinicians.
Child & Adolescent Faculty:
University of Florida College of Medicine's Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry featured in Gainesville Today Magazine's September issue
Dr. White talks to abc
affilate WCJB-TV 20 about the rise in teen drug use 
The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (DCAP) at the University of Florida offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient clinical care by Board Certified Child an
d Adolescent Psychiatrists and Child Psychologists for a range of conditions. Our programs are organized to reflect the expertise of our faculty. Each program offers a team of professionals collaborating to meet the comprehensive evaluation and treatment needs of children and their families.
We draw upon expertise from other professions, including: Child Psychology, Pediatric Neurology, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Addictions Medicine, and other administrative case management veterans from foster care, juvenile justice, legislative interfacing, and education.
Daniel M. Tucker, MD is an Associate Professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Chief of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Tucker graduated from Yale University before attending medical school at the University of Florida. He completed his residency and a fellowship in Child Psychiatry at the University of Louisville, and was an NIMH postdoctoral research fellow in Child Psychiatry at Yale University’s Yale Child Study Center.
He developed his research interests and received a Stanley Grant to evaluate and study the role of infectious diseases in Obsessive Complusive Disorder (OCD), autism, and other childhood psychiatric diseases. Dr. Tucker has taught psychiatrists how to be excellent, compassionate and empathic child psychiatrists at the University of Louisville, Yale and now the University of Florida.
As Chief of the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at his medical alma mater, he asserts a wealth of experience in general child & adolescent psychiatry at all levels of the continuum of care, and brings his dedicated mission of keeping the best of old psychiatry (talking and listening) to the best of new psychiatry (modern diagnostics, psychopharmacology, inter-disciplinary collaboration, historic-socio-anthropologic perspectives, and a pragmatic, non-dogmatic approach) to the treating of children, adolescents, and their families.
His current research interests include post infectious, immunologic aspects of psychiatry, neuroimaging, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette's disorder, ADHD, and the Autism spectrum of disorders. In his commitment to teaching the next generation of psychiatrists and nurturing in them the truest flame of his accumulated expertise, he brings dedication to leaving no effort unspent helping his patients.
Kimberly A. White, M.D. received her medical degree from the University of South Florida. After graduation from medical school, Dr. White completed her general psychiatry training and fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry and substance abuse at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. White is board certified in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry and ASAM Board Certified in Addiction Medicine.
Dr. White brings a diversity of clinical experience to her position as a clinical assistant professor in the Child Psychiatry Division of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida's College of Medicine. She spent the first five and a half years of her medical practice at a community mental health center serving two large rural Florida counties. This center provided a full continuum of psychiatric services, ranging from outpatient services to a crisis stabilization unit.
In addition to her experience in rural-based community mental health, Dr. White worked for one year at an urban community mental health center providing child and adolescent outpatient services. Dr. White was employed by a long-term child and adolescent residential treatment facility south of Tampa. The patient population of this facility consisted of youth with serious mental health issues, including those with co-occurring substance abuse. Dr. White’s most recent clinical experience, before joining the UF faculty, was with a private behavioral healthcarethat provided adult patients with a partial hospitalization program, as well as outpatient services for patients of all ages, ranging from young children to senior adults.
Dr. White received a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Florida. Thus, in addition to her clinical experience as a physician, Dr. White has more than five years experience as a practicing nurse in medical oncology and critical care, both before and during medical school.
Clinical Interests:
Dr. White’s clinical interests include adolescent substance abuse, bipolar affective disorder in youth, conduct disorder, and eating disorders. She welcomes the challenge of working with families struggling with the problems associated with chronic medical illnesses, as well as clinically difficult to treat patients.
Leadership and Service:
Dr. White serves as the assistant medical director at Shands at Vista. Before holding this assistant directorship, she held the position of interim medical director on two previous occasions during her employment at a community mental health center. Dr. White has also served in various leadership positions throughout her professional training. Since completion of her fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry and substance abuse, she has held numerous offices in her local chapter of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). She has also served in other administrative capacities in other professional organizations. Dr. White’s administrative and leadership perspective capitalizes on her extensive experience as an intensive care nurse, as well as her training as a physician.
Assistant Professor
Vero Beach
Dr. Bartucci graduated from Rush Medical School. After 2 years in Internal Medicine, he came to the University of Florida, College of Medicine. Dr. Bartucci is well known to many of our faculty as he was both a General Psychiatry Resident and Child and Adolescent Fellow at the University of Florida. Dr. Bartucci is also exceptionally well-trained in Medicine, and Board Certified in Geriatric Psychiatry. Some of the faculty may also know Dr. Bartucci from his 5 years as an Assistant Professor in the Department ending in 1992.
Since leaving UF, Dr. Bartucci has been a Medical Director of Suncoast Mental Health Center and Charlotte Community Mental Health as well as a Children’s Diagnostic and Evaluation Unit Director. He held other positions in the Public Psychiatry sector in Georgia, Louisiana, and Florida. Dr. Bartucci is the author or co-author of 5 peer reviewed papers mostly dealing with children and Child Psychiatry. He worked with Drs. Kemph, Voeller and Jon Stewart in these studies. Dr. Bartucci has been a well-respected expert for the Florida Department of Health’s Board of Medicine and local expert in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for the communities he has lived and worked in.
Regina Bussing, M.D., M.S.H.S.
Professor
Research Chief, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Dr. Bussing’s major clinical interests include comprehensive treatment approaches to disruptive disorders of childhood, combining pharmacotherapy, parent training, clinical group therapies, and school interventions. She enjoys treating the entire spectrum of child and adolescent disorders.
Of special clinical interest is the comprehensive outpatient treatment of disruptive disorders of childhood, combining evidence-based pharmacological and psychosocial therapies. She adapted an established parent group intervention for ADHD, combining it with a child social skills group, into an 8-week manual-based program. Another related project has been the development of a school-problem clinic in conjunction with our psychology services. This clinic provides multidisciplinary assessment of the various school problems children get referred for, with comprehensive treatment planning including medication regimens, behavioral interventions, and tutoring.
Associate Professor
Departments of Psychiatry and Clinical and Health Psychology
Chief, Division of Medical Psychology
Dr. Geffken completed a B.A. in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and his M.A. and Ph.D in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. His Internship was completed at the West Virginia University Medical Center, and he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida Medical Center.
Dr. Geffken directs the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Clinic (CBT) for the UF-OCD program and is Chief of the Division of Medical Psychology. The CBT Clinic operates on an outpatient basis where patients with treatment refractory Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are seen on a daily basis. Dr. Geffken also supervises a clinic that conducts weekly or biweekly outpatient Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, and other anxiety related disorders. He treats both children and adults, and has received additional training in Exposure-Response Therapy (ERP) from the Behavior Therapy Institute formed by the OC Foundation (OCF).
Susan M. Hill, M.S.N., A.R.N.P.
Associate in Psychiatry and Pediatrics, College of Medicine
Affiliate Associate In Nursing, College of Nursing
Ms. Hill is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) in Psychiatry. She brings to the faculty greater than 25 years of clinical and teaching experience in the field of Child Psychiatry and a strong medical background in Oncology and Palliative Care nursing. She has previously served as the Administrative Assistant to the Child Psychiatry Division Chief from 1985 to 1999, directed daily operations on the Children's Mental Health Unit for children with severe developmental disabilities, served as Director of the ADHD clinic, served on the Child Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison service to Pediatrics for 15 years, served as a therapist on the Adolescent Inpatient Unit, and currently provides clinical evaluation and treatment services in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic.
Ms. Hill has also served as the Medical Student Coordinator for their outpatient clinic rotation and currently continues to teach Medical students during their Psychiatry clerkship and elective rotations. Ms. Hill has also served as the research coordinator for two multi-center inpatient clinical trials; involving the use of Depakote in the treatment of patients with Bipolar Disorder and the treatment of memory loss in patients receiving Electro-Convulsive Therapy. She has been a member of the Department of Psychiatry Institutional Site Review Committee for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), and has conducted site visits at DCF facilities. In addition, Ms. Hill lectures and provides clinical supervision in both the General Psychiatry Residency Training Program and Child Psychiatry Fellowship.
She currently serves as a Consultant to the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) located at the University of Florida, regularly consulting with school districts and providing community outreach services and trainings on Autism and related issues. She is responsible for developing and integrating Medical Student and Resident training opportunities into the CARD model. Ms. Hill also holds faculty appointments in the Department of Pediatrics and in the College of Nursing.
In addition to a broad background of clinical experience, she has special interest and expertise in treating children with Autism and related developmental disabilities.
She is a committed clinician and teacher, who models a client-centered, capacity building, and advocacy-based approach to working with patients and families.
Assistant Professor
Director, Autism Clinic
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Dr. Soo-Jeong Kim, board certified in Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University of Florida. Dr. Kim graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and completed her residency program in Adult Psychiatry at Seoul National University. Dr. Kim received postdoctoral training studying molecular genetic bases of childhood-onset psychiatric disorders with Dr. Edwin Cook at University of Chicago. Subsequently, Dr. Kim completed residency and the first year of Child Psychiatry fellowship at University of Chicago, and the second year of the fellowship at University of Illinois at Chicago.” Dr. Kim’s major clinical interest is focused on comprehensive phenotypic assessment and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). She is also interested in assessment and treatment of maladaptive repetitive behaviors among individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Dr. Kim works with trainees and staffs from the Center for Autism and Related Disability (CARD) office in her clinics to provide children with developmental disorders with comprehensive evaluation and medical treatment planning.
Assistant Professor
Program Director, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Dr. Lall’s main interests focus on clinical care and all aspects of resident education/training. She is well versed in treating pediatric mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD/disruptive behaviors, and developmental disorders. She is also experienced in providing pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, including family and behavioral modalities of treatment. As a clinician, she sees outpatients at Shands/UF, Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, and in the department’s clinical psychopharmacology research trials. She is currently also involved in a pediatric Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) clinical trial.
Dr. Lall has worked on articles and publications involving psychopharmacology, family-focused treatment of ADHD and anxiety disorders, and enhancing the educational process for trainees. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Dr. Lall is deeply committed to the education and training of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows and general Psychiatry residents. She is the Program Director for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship, and coordinates all aspects of the training program. She is the course director for the PGY-2 seminar series on “Introduction to Child and Adolescent Psychiatry” and is actively involved in teaching the Child Psychiatry fellowship seminars as well as providing therapy supervision. Dr. Lall routinely lectures to medical students who rotate on their Psychiatry clerkship and has lectured to Physician’s Assistant students. She was named as an Exemplary Teacher by the UF College of Medicine in 2009 and again in 2010.
Assistant Professor
Division of Medical Psychology, Department of Psychiatry
Dr. McNamara’s training includes the completion of Ph.D. programs in both Counseling and Developmental Psychology, an Internship in Clinical and Health Psychology, and Psychology Residency in the Division of Medical Psychology at the University of Florida. Over the course of his training, he sought out an array of clinical experiences in a variety of settings such as counseling centers, psychiatric outpatient facilities, and hospitals. These training experiences provided him with a solid foundation for treating a variety of disorders from a cognitive behavioral perspective. Moreover, Dr. McNamara has worked with patients across the lifespan, ranging from ages 4 to 83. He treats both children and adults and has received additional training in Exposure-Response Therapy (ERT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). He has also received training in the treatment of insomnia. Within the teaching domain, Dr. McNamara is qualified to teach Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), therapeutic treatment of anxiety disorders, therapeutic treatment of depression, psychotherapy, supervision, and typical development.
Dr. McNamara conducts clinical research with patients as part of daily, biweekly, and weekly outpatient CBT for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, and other anxiety related disorders. His research interests are concerned with the development of executive functioning, the role sleep plays in executive functioning, and the impact of executive function and sleep on 1) adherence to psychological recommendations, 2) medical regimen adherence, and 3) treatment outcome. Currently, Dr. McNamara’s research team has 26 undergraduate students working on a seven different research projects.
Assistant Professor
Medical Director and Clinical Assistant Chief
Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Dr. Nguyen is the Medical Director and Clinical Assistant Chief for the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, overseeing the various clinical services, and Chief of the Psychiatry Consultation/Liaison Services at Shands Teaching Hospital. His interests focus on Anxiety Spectrum Disorders in children, with knowledge in both pediatric psychopharmacology and various therapy modalities, including cognitive behavioral therapy and insight-oriented therapy.
Dr. Nguyen also focuses on psychotherapy training for Adult Psychiatry residents and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellows. He supervises the trainees in behavioral modification, cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy: "A non-biological approach to Psychiatry in today's atmosphere of newer medications and managed care is becoming more a lost art form, and it is important for our trainees to be able to conceptualize patients in a more global fashion."
His other main area of interest involves the treatment of psychiatric illness in the medical setting. He is well-versed in treating medically and surgically complicated patients with co-morbid psychiatric illnesses, consulting to general services as well as the varied Intensive Care Units. As Chief of the Psychiatry Consultation/Liaison Services, he interfaces with the other major medical services within Shands, but also collaborates with Dr. White at Shands Vista to manage medically ill children and adolescents and also those patients with Somatoform symptoms on the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit.
In addition to his administrative and clinical roles, Dr. Nguyen serves as the clerkship director for Psychiatry C/L and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 4th year electives for MS-4s. He has a strong focus on medical student and resident education and has received several awards in these areas, including the William Rufkin Outstanding Resident Teacher Award, the Carlos E. Muniz Resident Mentor Award, and the UF College of Medicine Medical Student Exemplary Teaching Award.
Robert Bartucci, M.D.
Gary Geffken, Ph.D.
Soo-Jeong Kim, M.D. 
Ayesha Lall, M.D. 
Joseph McNamara, Ph.D.
Mathew Nguyen, M.D.