Biography

Christopher A. Kearney is Distinguished Professor and chair of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is also the director of the UNLV Child School Refusal and Anxiety Disorders Clinic.

Kearney’s research interests include school refusal behavior, selective mutism, posttraumatic stress disorder in maltreated youth, perfectionism, and other anxiety-related conditions in children and adolescents as well as issues of quality of life in persons with severe handicaps. He has published several books and numerous book chapters and journal articles on these topics. Kearney also conducts workshops for school districts and mental health and other agencies regarding school refusal behavior and selective mutism.

Kearney is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 12; Clinical Psychology). He has received the William Morris Award for Scholarship, the Barrick Scholar Award, the Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award, the Harry Reid Silver State Research Award, the Distinguished Teaching Award, the Alumni Association Outstanding Faculty Award, the UNLV Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award, the Academic Advisor Award-Graduate, and a Black Mountain Institute Research Fellow Award from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi.

Kearney received his B.A. in psychology and sociology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. He completed his internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center before moving to Las Vegas.