Danielle Cornacchio, PhD

Dr. Danielle Cornacchio is a clinical psychologist specializing in evidence-based treatment for young children with anxiety, selective mutism, OCD, and behavioral problems. Dr. Cornacchio is a Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)-certified therapist and trainer, the gold standard treatment for early childhood behavior problems, and has additional expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood anxiety and related disorders, such as exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD. Dr. Cornacchio has particular expertise in behavioral treatment for children with selective mutism. She conducted the first randomized control trial of an intensive group treatment program for selective mutism and has led many innovative treatment programs for children with selective mutism. Dr. Cornacchio also co-instructs professional trainings for providers learning treatment for selective mutism, alongside Dr. Steven Kurtz, world-class selective mutism expert.

Currently, Dr. Cornacchio serves as a part-time clinical instructor at the UCLA Psychology Department. She previously served as a staff psychologist at the UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, in both a partial hospitalization program for children, and in an intensive outpatient program for children and teens with severe OCD. 

Dr. Cornacchio received her Bachelor of Science degree from New York University, her PhD in Clinical Science in Child and Adolescent Psychology from Florida International University, and completed her clinical psychology internship at UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

In her spare time, Dr. Cornacchio enjoys traveling, trying new foods, and exploring LA with her baby and husband!

License number PSY32194

Publications:

Martinez, R. G., McNeil. G. D., Cornacchio, D., Schneider, B. N., & Peris, T. S. (in press). Integrating individualized measurement into measurement-based care in pediatric partial hospitalization. Behavior Therapy.

Hong, N., Herrera, A., Furr, J.M., Georgiadis, C., Cristello, J., Heymann, P., Dale, C.F., Heflin, B., Silva, K., Conroy, K., Cornacchio, D., & Comer, J.S. (2022). Remote intensive group behavioral treatment for families of children with selective mutism. Evidence-Based Practice in Child & Adolescent Mental Health.

Comer, J.S., Conroy, K., Cornacchio, D., Furr, J.M., Norman, S., & Stein, M. (in press). Psychometric evaluation of a caregiver-report adaptation of the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) for use with youth populations. Journal of Affective Disorders. 

Wilson, M., Cornacchio, D., Brotman, M., & Comer, J.S. (in press). Assessing irritability in early childhood: A psychometric evaluation of the Affective Reactivity Index in a clinical sample of 3- to 8-year-old children. Assessment. 

Comer, J.S., Furr, J.M., del Busto, C., Silva, K., Hong, N., Poznanski, B., Sanchez, A.L., Cornacchio, D., Herrera, A., Coxe, S., Miguel, E., Georgiadis, C., Conroy, K., & Puliafico, A.C. (in press). Therapist-led, internet-delivered treatment for early child social anxiety: A waitlist-controlled evaluation of the iCALM Telehealth Program. Behavior Therapy. 

Barroso, N., Cornacchio, D., Chou, T., Furr, J.M, Kurtz, S.M.S., & Comer, J.S. (in press). Expanding Treatment Options for Children with Selective Mutism: Rationale, Principles, and Procedures for an Intensive Group Behavioral Treatment (IGBT). Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Cornacchio, D., Furr, J.M., Sanchez, A.L., Hong, N., Feinberg, L.K., Tenenbaum, R., Del Busto, C., Bry, L.J., Poznanski, B., Miguel, E., Ollendick, T.H., Kurtz, S.M.S., & Comer, J.S. (2019). Intensive group behavioral treatment (IGBT) for children with selective mutism: A preliminary randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 87(8), 720-733.

Hong, N., Cornacchio, D., & Comer, J.S. (2019). Coal mine canaries in clinical psychology: Getting better at identifying early signals of ultimate treatment non-response. Clinical Psychological Science, 7(6), 1207-1221.

Cornacchio, D., Sanchez, A. L., Coxe, S., Roy, A., Pincus, D. B., Read, K. L., Holaway, R. M., Kendall, P. C., & Comer, J. S. (2018). Factor structure of the intolerance of uncertainty scale for children. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 53, 100-107.

Crum, K. I., Cornacchio, D., Coxe, S., Green, J. G., & Comer, J. S. (2018). The co-occurrence of child posttraumatic stress and conduct problems following the Boston Marathon bombing: A latent profile analysis. Journal of Child and Family Studies 27(11), 3638-3649.

Sanchez, A.L., Cornacchio, D., Poznanski, B., Chou, T., Golik, A., & Comer, J.S. (2018). The effectiveness of school-based mental health intervention: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(3), 153-165.

Cornacchio, D., Sanchez, A.L., Chou, T., & Comer, J.S. (2017). CBT in children and adolescents. In S.G. Hofmann & G. Asmundson (Eds.), The science of cognitive behavioral therapy: From theory to therapy (pp. 257-288). New York, NY: Elsevier.

Cornacchio, D., Bry, L., Poznanski, B., Sanchez, A.L., & Comer, J.S. (2017). Psychosocial Treatment and Prevention in Early Childhood Conduct Problems. In J.E. Lochman & W. Matthys (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Disruptive and Impulse-Control Disorders (pp. 433-449). New York, NY: Wiley Press. 

Poznanski, B., Cornacchio, D., Coxe, S., McMakin, D., & Comer, J.S. (2017). The link between anxiety severity and irritability among anxious youth: Evaluating the mediating role of sleep problems. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 49(3), 352-359.

Comer, J.S., Furr, J.M., Miguel, E.M., Cooper-Vince, C.E., Carpenter, A.L., Elkins, R.M., Kerns, C.E., Cornacchio, D., Chou, T., Coxe, S., DeSeresiy, M., Sanchez, A.L., Golik, A., Martin, J., Myers, K.M., & Chase, R. (2017). Remotely delivering real-time parent training to the home: An initial randomized trial of Internet-delivered Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (I-PCIT). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(9), 909-917.

Strassnig, M., Kotov, R., Cornacchio, D., Fochtmann, L., Harvey, P.D., & Bromet, E. (2017). 20-year progression of BMI in a county-wide cohort of people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder identified at their first episode of psychosis. Bipolar Disorders 19(5), 336-343.

Cornacchio, D., Pinkham, A., Penn, D.L., & Harvey, P.D. (2017). Self-Assessment of Social Cognitive Ability in Individuals with Schizophrenia: Appraising Task Difficulty and Adjusting Effort. Schizophrenia Research, 179, 85-90.

Strassnig, M., Cornacchio, D., Harvey, P.D., Kotov, R., Fochtmann, L., & Bromet, E. (2017). Health status and mobility limitations are associated with residential and employment status in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 94, 180-185.

Miguel, E., Chou, T., Golik, A., Cornacchio, D., Sanchez, A., DeSerisy, M., & Comer, J.S. (2017). Examining the scope and patterns of deliberate self-injurious cutting content in popular social media. Depression and Anxiety, 34(9), 786-793.

Cooper-Vince, C.E., DeSerisy, M., Cornacchio, D., Sanchez, A.L., McLaughlin, K.A., & Comer, J.S. (2017). Parasympathetic reactivity and disruptive behavior problems in young children during interactions with their mothers and other adults: A preliminary investigation. Developmental Psychobiology, 59(4), 543-550.

Sanchez, A.L., Cornacchio, D., Chou, T., Leyfer, O., Coxe, S. & Pincus, D.B., & Comer, J.S. (2017). Development of a scale to evaluate young children’s responses to uncertainty and low environmental structure. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 45, 17-23.

Comer, J.S., Furr, J.M., Kerns, C.E., Miguel, E., Coxe, S., Elkins, R.M., Carpenter, A.L., Cornacchio, D., Cooper-Vince, C.E., DeSerisy, M., Chou, T., Sanchez, A.L., Khanna, M., Franklin, M.E., Garcia, A.M., & Freeman, J.B. (2017). Internet-delivered, family-based treatment for early-onset OCD: A pilot randomized trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85(2), 178-186.

Cornacchio, D., Crum, K. I., Coxe, S., Pincus, D. B., & Comer, J.S. (2016). Irritability and Severity of Anxious Symptomatology Among Youth With Anxiety Disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 55(1), 54-61.

Cornacchio, D., Chou, T., Sacks, H., Pincus, D., & Comer, J.S. (2015). Clinical correlates and consequences of the revised DSM-5 definition of agoraphobia in a treatment-seeking sample of anxious youth. Depression and Anxiety, 32(7), 502-508.

Crum, K. I., Cornacchio, D., Coxe, S., Green, J. G., & Comer, J.S. (2015). Conduct problems among Boston-area youth following the 2013 marathon bombing: the moderating role of prior violent crime exposure. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 45(3), 1-10.

Chou, T., Cornacchio, D., Cooper-Vince, C., Crum, K., & Comer, J.S. (2015) DSM-5 and the assessment of childhood anxiety disorders: Meaningful progress or persistent diagnostic quagmires? Psychopathology Review. 2(1), 30-51.

Awards & Honors

Behavior Therapy Outstanding Reviewer – November 2022

PCIT Steven Boggs Student Research Award – August 2019

NIH National Research Service Award – July 2017

Division 53 Routh Dissertation Research Award – July 2017

Association for Psychological Science Student Research Honorable Mention – May 2014