CARE Psychology Committee
Alessia Johns, PhD, ABPP
I am a board certified pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in the Division of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery and the University of Southern California (USC) University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Since 2007, I have focused on craniofacial diagnoses and represent psychology on several multidisciplinary teams, including Craniofacial, Craniosynostosis, Facial Paralysis, and Orthognathic Surgery. My work includes providing individual, family, and group therapy and assessment in English and Spanish and supervise psychology post-doctoral fellows. I serve as a co-editor for the Behavioral Sciences section of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal. I am honored to collaborate on multiple research projects, including several studies with children with craniofacial microsomia and their families.
Kristin Billaud Feragen, PhD, Clin.Psychol.
I am a clinical psychologist and the Research Coordinator at Centre for Rare Disorders, Oslo University Hospital (Norway). My main research and clinical interest is the individual’s and family’s adjustment to the challenges of living with a visible and/or audible medical condition. I worked as a clinical psychologist and researcher in a centralised Norwegian cleft lip and palate team for almost 15 years. Since 2015, my work has focused on more rare craniofacial conditions and other rare diseases, such as Huntington disease and congenital differences in sex development. I am responsible for ongoing intervention studies at Centre for Rare Disorders and am also supervising several master theses and PhD projects.
Matthew Hotton, DClinPsy
I trained at the University of Oxford, before joining the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, in 2016. I specialise in working with children and adults with conditions affecting facial appearance and function. I am the interim lead Clinical Psychologist for the Oxford Craniofacial Unit, Spires Cleft Centre and Oxford Facial Palsy Service. I also am currently funded by the Vocational Training Charitable Trust to develop and evaluate psychosocial resources for adults with facial palsy.
Canice Crerand, PhD
I am a Principal Investigator in The Center for Biobehavioral Health, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Plastic Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. As a clinical psychologist,I work with the Cleft Lip and Palate Center and the Center for Complex Craniofacial Disorders providing psychological assessment and treatment of patients with cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial conditions. My clinical and research interests focus on psychosocial adjustment and body image in children and adolescents with acquired and congenital medical conditions and psychosocial outcomes for youth with craniofacial conditions.
Leanne Magee, PhD
I am a pediatric psychologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, specializing in working with children with appearance differences. I have been a member of the CHOP Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Teams since 2009. My clinical and research interests include psychosocial adjustment in children and families affected by acquired and congenital appearance differences; psychological aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery; body image; and anxiety.
CARE Psychology Team Videos
Canice Crerand, PhD