Lauren Mednick

Lauren Mednick received her PhD in Child Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in health psychology, from The George Washington University in 2005. Since completing her clinical training at BCH in 2006, she has worked in the Medical Coping Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry. In 2013 she was promoted to the director of this clinic and all of the Outpatient Psychiatry Service. She joined The Department of Surgery in 2020. Her time in Surgery is split between providing consultation and short-term treatment to patients seen in the The Colorectal and Pelvic Malformation Center and building a program to enhance pre- and post-operative psychological services for the larger population seen in surgery.

Dr. Mednick’s clinical and academic focus is on helping children and families effectively cope with acute and chronic medical conditions. She has a particular expertise and passion for preparing patients and families for medical interventions, which began when she worked as a certified Child Life Specialist prior to getting her PhD. To this end she has written about and taught many lectures locally and nationally to medical providers and families about the importance of psychological preparation for procedures. In addition, she helped to develop the patient and family focused side of the Simulator Program.