Anne Gearity, PhD

I earned my PhD in Clinical Social Work from the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, IL. Research from my dissertation was foundational for Developmental Repair, an intervention manual for behaviorally challenged and challenging children, written in collaboration with the Washburn Center for Children in Minneapolis. This manual is now used extensively throughout the state. I taught for 25 years in the U of MN School of Social Work and was faculty of the U’s Infant and Early Child Mental Health Certificate program in the Institute for Child Development. I completed a Master’s in Social Work from the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work of New York, NY, and have had an independent mental health practice that serves children, adolescents, and adults since 1987. 

My initial role in Psychiatry was teaching normal child development to child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. In 2017, I started the family consult clinic to help families navigate potentially confusing diagnoses, treatment plans, and related family needs, and provide fellowship with family engagement experiences. 

I provide mental health therapy at MIDB, and in the community, as well as consulting with agencies and schools about the developmental needs of children and adolescents. My teaching and research expertise is in early development, attachment, and impact of trauma, especially trauma that occurred when children are preverbal, or when the impact of intergenerational traumas persists within family dynamics. In 2021 I was awarded the University of MN Medical Center (UMMC), Clinical Educator Award; this complimented Teacher of the Year awards from the psychiatry fellows. I am honored to be able to use my experiences to pass knowledge on.

Expertise

• Early development
• Attachment
• Impact of childhood trauma, specifically when children are preverbal
• Intergenerational trauma within family dynamics 

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Natasha Hampton-Anderson
nhampton@umn.edu

In the Media

• 2022: Interviewed during this KARE 11 piece titled, “Strategies for coping with holiday blues”.
• 2022: Featured in this Minneapolis Star Tribune article titled, "Minnesota experts offer advice for parents to talk to children about tragedy".
• 2020: Interviewed recently by KARE11 about the negative impact of the pandemic on children and learning. She advocates helping teachers, students, and parents come together as a team and see the setbacks of COVID-19 as an opportunity to reinvent the educational system, replacing the 3 Rs with the three Es.
• 2022: Featured during a May 27 Minnesota Public Radio interview titled, "During the pandemic, don't forget about kids' mental health".