Diane Jacobstein, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Senior Policy Associate, Georgetown National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health
Clinical Psychologist, Center for Child and Human Development

• Ph.D., Catholic University of America , 1982

Contact Information:

Center for Child and Human Development 3300 Whitehaven St NW, Suite 3300 Washington , DC 20007 T: 202-687-5372 Contact Information

Diane M. Jacobstein, PhD is a Senior Policy Associate in the Georgetown National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health and a Clinical Psychologist in Georgetown's Center for Child and Human Development, where she has worked with children and families with complex needs since 1977.

Dr. Jacobstein has been involved in two national policy initiatives through the National TA Center, one concerning federal and state policy related to children with co-occurring developmental disabilities and mental health needs and the second concerning the workforce crisis in children's mental health. Her interest in dual diagnosis stems from her past service as psychologist and then Director of the Georgetown University Diagnostic and Treatment Team, an outreach clinic that served children and adults with co-occurring intellectual disability and serious mental health needs. She currently serves on the DC Health Resources Partnership through Georgetown and the National Policy Committee of the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed.

Over the years, Dr. Jacobstein has been involved with numerous Georgetown projects that served children with developmental disabilities and/or mental health needs. These included an initiative to train Head Start teachers in a seven state region about integrating children with disabilities, an interdisciplinary preschool diagnostic team, a developmental outreach team in inner-city Catholic schools, and a support and evaluation project for preschool children and their families in homeless shelters (Knock on Every Door). Her current work includes evaluation of very young children with Georgetown's Autism and Communication Disorders Clinic, and for the last twelve years, consultation to Bright Beginnings, a Head Start/Early Head Start Program for children in transitional housing and homeless shelters.

Dr. Jacobstein's current clinical and policy efforts are informed by her experience as a psychologist and mental health consultant in pediatric specialty teams at Georgetown. She served for thirteen years with the Renal Dialysis and Transplant program, for six years with the Pediatric Oncology Program, as well as with other intensive care and inpatient services at Georgetown. She also worked for many years with Georgetown's Pediatric Mobile Clinic, which brings pediatric and specialty care to children in underserved areas of Washington, DC. For the last fifteen years, she has also worked with children and their families, as well as with adults, as a part-time psychotherapist and consultant in a Maryland pediatrics practice.

Representative Publications:

• Jacobstein, D., Custody Relinquishment - An Avoidable Tragedy: U.S. Public Policy Update, The NADD Bulletin, 2005, v. 8(1), pp. 9,16.
• Huang, L., Macbeth, G., Dodge, J., and Jacobstein, D. Transforming the Workforce in Children's Mental Health, in Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 2004, v. 32(2), 167-187.
• Jacobstein, D. and Cattan, L. Mending Cracks in Service Delivery for Children: Interagency Strategies That Really Work, The NADD Bulletin, 2004, v. 7(2), pp. 23-27.

More Publications at PubMed

Related Links:

• Center for Child and Human Development