Claudia W Allen, PhD

Claudia Allen, PhD, (pronouns: she/her) is the director of the Family Stress Clinic and the director of behavioral science in the Department of Family Medicine at UVA. Her clinical interests include family therapy, resilience and self-care in the helping professions, problems in parenting, marital and family functioning, grief, adoption, custody arrangements after divorce, and strengthening healthy coping skills.

She uses interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, narrative therapy and family therapy. Fundamentally, though, she loves talking with people about their lives and how they can get the most health and joy from each day.

Dr. Allen was born in New Hampshire and returns to Maine every summer. The beautiful mountains and woods of central Virginia remind her of northern New England.

She graduated from Yale College in 1983 and Yale Law School in 1986. After a few years practicing law, she returned to graduate school in clinical psychology and received her doctorate from UVA in 1996. She trained here at UVA and did an internship at UVA’s counseling center and a residency in family medicine. 

Dr. Allen is married and has three grown children and two labs. She serves on the board of the local community mental health organization, Region Ten, and is the steward of a Little Free Library. For fun, she enjoys making art, hiking and travel.  

Gender

Female

Languages

English

Age Groups Seen

Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)

Certification

American Board of Professional Psychology (Clinical Psychology)

Additional Specialties

Psychology