Dustin E. Sarver, PhD

Specialties: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Development, Psychology

Gender: Male

Biography: Dustin Sarver, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior and Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Sarver earned his B.A. degree in 2005 from Oklahoma Baptist University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Central Florida in 2013. He completed his clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina and his research postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia in 2014. His interests and expertise involve infant and early childhood neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders as well as parenting interventions. Dr. Sarver directs several clinical, research, and training programs at UMMC. He founded and is the Clinical Director of the Child Access to Mental Health and Psychiatry (CHAMP) telepsychiatry access program; founded and directs the MAGNOLIA scholar training program in child integrated behavioral health for predoctoral psychology and masters counseling trainees; directs the Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Disorders Research and Services Lab at UMMC. He served as the founding Director (2018-2022) of the Child Health and Development Promotion Interdisciplinary Fellowship. At UMMC, Dr. Sarver initiated and developed the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program in 2016 at the Center for Advancement of Youth, the first in the state. He is involved in multiple training programs from student to post-doctoral and postgraduate. Trainees under his mentorship have been awarded clinical, research, and training fellowships from NIH, SAMHSA, and NSF. He is the author or coauthor of over 63 peer-reviewed publications and chapters, a former NIH LRP awardee, and his work has been federally and nationally funded since 2017. He is on the editorial board of the journal Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. Outside of UMMC, he enjoys spending time with his wonderful and perfect wife (Katy) and two scoundrel dogs (Rockie and Kia), as well as enjoying football, cooking, and whisky, and traveling.