Linda Pfiffner, PhD

Linda Pfiffner, PhD is a Professor in Residence and Director of the Hyperactivity, Attention and Learning Problems (HALP) Program in the Department of Psychiatry and is a licensed Clinical Psychologist. She received her B.A. from UCLA and her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Prior to joining UCSF in 2001, she held academic appointments at UC Irvine and the University of Chicago. Her program of research centers on the development and evaluation of collaborative school-home psychosocial treatments for school-aged children with ADHD, the inattentive presentation of ADHD, and family/social factors in developmental models of ADHD and related problems. She has over 200 refereed articles, chapters, and scientific conference abstracts and has published a second edition to her handbook for teachers “All About ADHD: The Complete Practical Guide for Classroom Teachers,” Scholastic, 2011. For the past 25 years her research has been supported by multiple grants from NIMH and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), US Department of Education.

She developed the Child Life and Attention Skills (CLAS) Program, an integrated multi-component behavioral intervention for children with ADHD-Inattentive Presentation. CLAS has been evaluated in two NIMH-funded RCTs, one being a dual-site study, with positive effects on inattention symptoms and impairments. The program was awarded Innovative Program of the Year in 2004 by CHADD. She and her team adapted the program for youth with attention and behavioral concerns, developing the Collaborative Life Skills Program (CLS) for delivery by school-based mental health professionals in school settings. A recently completed IES-funded RCT shows significant treatment-related improvement on children’s ADHD symptoms, behavior, and academic and social functioning. She is currently developing a web-based, remote training program for school mental health providers in implementation of CLS with funding from IES. She also is developing a dHealth tool (parenting app) for parents of youth with attention and behavior challenges with funding from NIMH.

Dr. Pfiffner serves as Director of the Clifford Attkisson Clinical Services Research Training Program, an NIMH funded T32 which provides education and support to postdoctoral scholars from a variety of disciplines who plan to pursue careers in mental health services research. She serves on multiple editorial boards of leading psychology journals, was a former standing member of the NIMH ITVC IRG study section and a principal member of the Institute of Education Sciences’ Social and Behavioral Education Research Scientific Review Panel.