School of Professional Psychology Faculty
Laura Edwards-Leeper, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Psy.D. Clinical Program
School of Professional Psychology
Pacific University
Education
Ph.D., Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, 2004
Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies, Bowling Green State University, OH 2003
B.A., Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR, 1997
Pre-doctoral Internship, Montana State University, Bozeman & Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital, Crow Agency, MT, 2003-2004
Postdoctoral Internship, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2004-2005
Previous Relevant Work Experience
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Staff Psychologist – Seattle Children’s Hospital, 2011-2012
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Staff Psychologist - Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center – Boston Children’s Hospital, 2005-2011
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Staff Psychologist and founding member of the Gender Management Service (GeMS) – Boston Children’s Hospital, 2007-2011
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Instructor in Psychology – Harvard Medical School, 2005-2011
Roles and Interests
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Core Faculty, Child Psychology Track
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Clinical Supervisor for practicum students at the Pacific Psychology Clinic – Child Team
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Supervise thesis and dissertation research
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Clinical and research interests: Gender identity issues, including issues related to gender non-conformity and transgenderism; Disorders of Sexual Development; Eating disorders and obesity with an emphasis on children and adolescents; prevention/early intervention of eating disorders and obesity, including focus on body image.
Professional Memberships & Involvement
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Member of American Psychological Association Task Force developing treatment guidelines for working with transgender individuals
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World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) – co-chair of Child/Adolescent Committee
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APA, Division 44 (LGBT) and 54 (Pediatric Psychology)
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Society for Pediatric Psychology
Selected Publications
- Edwards-Leeper, L. & Spack, N.P. (2012). Psychological Evaluation and Medical Treatment of Transgender Youth in an Interdisciplinary “Gender Management Service” (GeMS) in a Major Pediatric Center. Journal of Homosexuality, 59 (3), 321-336.
- Spack, N. P., Edwards-Leeper, L., Feldman, H.A., Leibowitz, S., Mandel, F., Diamond, D.A., Vance, S.R. (2012). Children and Adolescents with Gender Identity Disorder Referred to a Pediatric Medical Center. Pediatrics, 129 (3), 418-425.
- Spack, N. P. & Edwards-Leeper, L. Medical Treatment of the Transgender Adolescent. (2011). Textbook of Adolescent Health Care. Fisher, M., Alderman, E., Kreipe, R., & Rosenfeld W. (Eds). American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. & Spack, N.P. (2011). Gender Identity Disorder. In Augustyn M., Zuckerman B., & Caronna E.B. (Eds.), The Zuckerman Parker Handbook of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics for Primary Care (3rd edition, pp. 229-233). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
- Holub, S. C., Musher-Eizenman, D. R., Persson, A. V., Edwards-Leeper, L. A., Goldstein, S. E., Miller, A. B. (2005). Do preschool children understand what it means to “diet,” and do they do it?” International Journal of Eating Disorders, 38, 91-93.
- Mahoney, A., Carels, R., Pargament, K., Wachholtz, A., Edwards-Leeper, L., Kaplar, M., & Frutchey, R. (2005). The sanctification of the body and behavioral health patterns of college students. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15 (3), 221-238.
- Musher-Eizenman, D. R., Holub, S. C., Miller, A. B., Goldstein, S. E., & Edwards-Leeper, L. (2004). Body size stigmatization in preschool children: The role of control attributions. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29 (8), 613-620.
- Musher-Eizenman, D. R., Holub, S. C., Edwards-Leeper, L. A., Persson, A. V., & Goldstein, S. E. (2003). The narrow range of acceptable body types of preschoolers and their mothers. Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 259-272.
- Boxer, P., Edwards-Leeper, L., Goldstein, S. E., Musher-Eizenman, D. R., & Dubow, E. F. (2003). Exposure to “low level” aggression in school: Associations with aggressive behavior, future expectations, and perceived safety. Violence and Victims, 18 (6), 691-705.
Selected Presentations
- Edwards-Leeper, L. (2012, August). Assessing Gender Identity in Adolescents for Possible Medical Intervention. Gender Odyssey Professional Seminar, Seattle, WA
- Edwards-Leeper, L. (2012, March). Interdisciplinary Collaboration with Psychologists in Providing Recommended Treatment for Transgender Adolescents Seeking Medical Intervention. Pediatric Endocrinology Association for Research and Learning (PEARL), Tacoma, WA.
- Leibowitz, S., Spack, N., Edwards-Leeper, L., & Mandel, F. (2011, September). Gender-variant and transgender youth: A model for an interdisciplinary, collaborative treatment program in an academic children’s hospital. Panel presentation at the World Professional Association of Transgender Health Conference, Atlanta, GA.
- Edwards-Leeper, L., Coletti, K., Cella-Mowatt, A., Huntington, N., Cox, J. E. (2011, May). Parent-Child Discordance Surrounding Psychosocial Characteristics Associated with Childhood Obesity. Poster presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Conference, Denver, CO.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. & Spack, N. P. (2010, August). Psychology's Role in the New Recommended Treatment for Transgender Youth. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention, San Diego, CA.
- Edwards-Leeper, L., Cella-Mowatt, A., & Cox, J, (2010, May). Parents of Overweight Children: Common Concerns other than Weight. Poster presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Conference, Vancouver, Canada.
- Spack, N.P. & Edwards-Leeper, L. (2010, April). Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment for the Gender Dysphoric Student: Counseling, Testing, and Medical Interventions. Lesley University, Division of Counseling & Psychology Graduate School of Arts & Social Sciences, Cambridge, MA.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. (2010, February). Feminism Meets Medicine: Implementing an Empowerment Model for Treating Underserved Overweight Children in Primary Care. Paper presented at the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) Conference, Portland, OR.
- Edwards-Leeper, L., Cheng, J., Cella-Mowatt, A., & Cox, J.E. (2009, May). Preliminary Evaluation of Targeting Lifestyle Change (TLC), a Family-Based Empowerment Group for Overweight Children. Poster presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Conference, Baltimore, MD.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. (2008, October).Gender Identity Issues in Children and Youth. New England Child Life Professionals Conference. Boston, MA
- Edwards-Leeper, L. (2008, May). Helping Children & Families make Behavior Change as it Relates to Weight. Obesity Grand Rounds - Children’s Hospital Boston.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. & Ludlow, V. (2008, February). Childhood obesity: A weighty matter for families. Full day workshop (6 CEU credits offered). Rhode Island Psychological Association Continuing Professional Education Committee, Warwick, RI.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. & Knickmeyer, N. (2007, January). The Beat of a Different Drum: Lessons Lived and Learned While Working on the Crow Reservation. Paper presented at the APA National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Seattle, WA.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. A. (2006, March). A longitudinal investigation of the psychological benefits of a wilderness program for adolescent girls. Poster presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), San Francisco, CA.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. A., Boxer, P., Phillips, K., & Dubow, E. (2003, April). Brief cognitive intervention for body image and interpersonal conflict concerns for young girls. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Conference (SRCD), Tampa, FL.
- Edwards-Leeper, L. & Allgeier, E. R. (2002, April). The relationship between disordered eating and gender role identity/egalitarianism in adolescent females and their parents. Poster presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), New Orleans, LA.
Laura A. Edwards-Leeper, Ph.D.
School of Professional Psychology
Pacific University HPC2
190 SE 8th Avenue, Suite 260
Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
Phone: 503-352-2627
Toll Free: 1-877-PAC-UNIV ext. 7326
laura.edwards-leeper@pacificu.edu