In Memoriam: Karen Saywitz

Share This Post

Dr. Karen Saywitz, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UCLA School of

Medicine, received the Research Career Achievement Award from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, the Child Abuse Professional of the Year Award from the California Consortium to Prevent Child Abuse, and the Distinguished Service Award from the California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, which she helped found. Dr. Saywitz also formerly served as President of the American Psychological Association’s Division 37 and of its Section on Child Maltreatment. She was world renowned for her research on child forensic interviewing and a much loved professor, child advocate, and friend. Dr. Saywitz spent her entire career as a successful scientist and practitioner working tirelessly to ameliorate the trauma of child maltreatment and its legal aftermath for children and their families. Her research spanned clinical psychology, developmental psychology, and law; was funded by such prestigious federal agencies as the National Institute of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services; was published in our field’s top journals; and was cited by courts across the nation including the U.S. Supreme Court. She was a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and winner of two distinguished senior contributions awards: the Division 37 Nicholas Hobbs Award for Child Advocacy and the Division 37 Lifetime Advocacy Award. These awards recognized her innovative research and important articles on child maltreatment, child forensic interviewing, foster care, and child mental health, as well as her service and policy activities, such as providing Congressional Briefings in DC and helping to establish California’s Child Advocacy Centers. Dr. Saywitz educated and trained many undergraduate, graduate, medical, and postdoctoral students who have gone on to have successful careers themselves and who carry forward Dr. Saywitz’s mission to contribute to scientific knowledge and advocacy for children.

Read a tribute to Dr. Saywitz from the APA.

Tags:

Memorials