Cathy L. Guttentag, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Tel:713-500-3719
Cathy.Guttentag@uth.tmc.edu

Cathy Guttentag is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Pediatrics. Dr. Guttentag is a licensed psychologist and has both clinical and research duties in the department. In the Developmental Pediatrics Clinic, she provides evaluations to children with various learning and behavioral disorders. Diagnoses typically seen in the clinic include Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Language Disorders, Learning Disorders, and other developmental and psychological difficulties. Dr. Guttentag also conducts developmental evaluations of infants removed from their homes by Children's Protective Services due to abuse or neglect.

Dr. Guttentag serves as a Co-Investigator and clinical supervisor for a large, multi-site preventive intervention study funded by the National Institutes of Health and headed at U.T. by Dr. Susan Landry. This study is evaluating the effectiveness of an intensive parenting intervention program designed to prevent child neglect in teenage mothers and other mothers with limited resources. The home-based intervention program includes a number of different modules that teach young mothers about infant health and safety, early literacy and reading with babies, the use of gentle touch infant massage to connect with their babies, how to read their babies' signals effectively and respond in ways that enhance their children's development and learning, and how to manage behavioral issues as they arise during toddlerhood.

Dr. Guttentag's other responsibilities include giving lectures to medical students on child development, developmental assessment, and developmental disorders. With her colleagues she has developed a series of training videos for early childhood teachers on the topics of emotional support, behavioral guidance, and cognitive stimulation in the childcare classroom. She has also provided consultation and training to preschool and Head Start teachers, and has presented at state and local conferences on topics in early childhood development and learning.

Prior to joining the faculty at UT-Houston, Dr. Guttentag completed her doctorate in Child Clinical Psychology at the Pennsylvania State University, interned at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Learning Support Center at Texas Children's Hospital. She has experience providing assessment and therapeutic services to children with a variety of issues including post-traumatic stress, oppositional/defiant behavior problems, poor social skills, autism/pervasive developmental disorders, generalized anxiety, and adjustment to physical disabilities. Dr. Guttentag has particular interests in the areas of early childhood development, emotion regulation and social skills, children of parents with life-threatening illness, and collaboration between psychologists and pediatricians.