Caitlin M Conner, PhD

Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Areas of Expertise

  • Mood Disorders
  • Anxiety, OCD & Trauma Disorders
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Children & Adolescents
  • Suicidality & Self-Harm
Caitlin M Conner, PhD
Expertise & Interests Selected Publications Education & Credentials Related News

Expertise & Interests

Research Interests

Emotion awareness and regulation in autism; Suicidality in autism; Adapting mindfulness for autistic clients

Clinical Interests

Co-occurring psychopathology in autism; Adapting mindfulness for autism; Adult diagnosis

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Medical student/resident/fellow education

Selected Publications

  1. Conner CM, Yu L, MacKenzie KT, Zeglen KN, Rutenberg E, Pilkonis PA, Eack SM, Mazefsky CA. The Relationships, Employment, Autonomy, and Life Satisfaction (REALS) Measures for Autistic Adults and Adults with Other Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Psychometric Testing of the Self-Report and Proxy Versions. Autism Res. 2025 March; 18 (3): 583-603. doi: 10.1002/aur.70002
  2. White SW, Conner CM, Beck KB, Mazefsky CA. Efficacy of Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) Program in Autism: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2025.07.1058
  3. Conner CM, Kim PS, White SW, Mazefsky CA. The role of emotion dysregulation andintolerance of uncertainty in autism: Transdiagnostic factors influencing co-occurring conditions. Res Dev Disab. 2022 Nov; 130: 104332. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104332.
  4. Conner CM, Golt J, Shaffer R, Righi G, Siegel M, Mazefsky CA. Emotion dysregulation is substantially elevated in autism compared to the general population: Impact on psychiatric services. Autism Res. 2021 Jan; 14:169-181. doi: 10.1002/aur.2450. PMID: 33815651.
  5. Conner CM, Golt J, Righi G, Shaffer R, Siegel M, Mazefsky CA. A comparative study of suicidality and its association with emotion regulation impairment in large ASD and US census-matched samples. J Autism Dev Disord. 2020 Oct; 50(10):3545-3560. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04370-1. PMID: 31939083.
  6. White SW, Conner CM, Beck KB, Mazefsky CA. Clinical update: The implementation of evidence-based emotion regulation treatment for youth with autism. Evid Based Pract Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2021 Jan.; 6(1): 1-10. doi:10.1080/23794925.2020.1796551
  7. Beck KB, Conner CM, White SW, Mazefsky CA. Mindfulness 'here and now': Strategies for helping adolescents with autism. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry. 2020 Oct.; 59 (10): 1125-1127. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2020.07.004. PMID: 32981632

Education & Credentials

Education & Training

Education
PhD, Clinical Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Internship
Clinical Psychology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine
Postdoctoral
Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, International Society for Autism Research
  • Member, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies

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