Heather Agazzi, PhD, MS, ABPP

 

I am a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and hold a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of South Florida. I am a Florida licensed psychologist (PY 7817) and I am board certified in Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. I have worked at USF since 2007 when I earned my PhD from the USF School Psychology program. In 2010 I earned an MS in Clinical and Translational Research. I am a within agency Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) trainer and a rostered Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) provider. Additionally, I have achieved endorsement as an Infant Mental Health Mentor-Research/Faculty.

 

My broad research interests include parent training for children with disruptive behavior disorders, developmental disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and trauma exposures. I am a co-developer of the HOT DOCS and DOCS K-5 programs and I currently disseminate these projects at the state, national, and international level (Australia, Carribean, Turkey). I am particularly interested in the application of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for children with ASD and trauma exposures. Along with collaborators, I developed a home visiting intervention named Smart Start: Parenting Tools for Children with Social-Emotional Problems, Developmental Delays, and Trauma.

 

My leadership roles include directing the USF Health Doctoral Internship in Professional Psychology, where I coordinated the training program of psychology interns and advanced practicum trainees from 2019-2024 and transitioned to a Co-Director role in August 2024. I am the Co-Director of a federal HRSA BHWET award which expands behavioral health workforce education and training.

 

Finally, I offer consultation services through Pediatric Psychology of Tampa, LLC on a limited basis. See Services for more information.