Carla D. Chugani, PhD, LPC

Carla D. Chugani, PhD, LPC, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh and licensed professional counselor currently practicing DBT at Western Psychiatric Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked as a college counselor and developed a DBT program for Florida Gulf Coast University. As such, she is intimately familiar with the implementation challenges and solutions associated with DBT programs on college campuses.

She has conducted outcome research demonstrating the effectiveness of brief DBT interventions with college students, implementation research specific to the college counseling practice setting, and also partnered with Behavioral Tech, LLC to co-host the first DBT Intensive Training in the State of Florida. Her current research includes a multi-site trial investigating the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of an undergraduate college course designed to teach DBT skills as universal prevention (in partnership with course developer Dr. James Mazza) and a pilot trial of the DBT STEPS-A curriculum in a low-income high school.