Brianna Wellen
,
Credentials
PhD
LP

Assistant Professor
Biography

Bio

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, and a principal investigator in the Minnesota Tic and Compulsivity (MnTiC) Lab. My research focuses on improving the efficacy of behavioral interventions for childhood disorders such as Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. My recent work builds on existing measurement strategies in order to more effectively understand how and for whom behavioral interventions work. My projects are supported by the Tourette Association of America and the National Institute of Mental Health. 

I am licensed as a clinical psychologist in Minnesota and I specialize in providing behavioral interventions to children and adolescents with Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, and anxiety. 

I earned my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, my doctorate in clinical psychology with a specialization in children and families from the University of Utah, with a pre-doctoral fellowship in child mental health at Oregon Health & Science University. I completed an NIH T32 postdoctoral fellow in the psychiatry department at the University of Minnesota. 

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Teneshia Collins
coll1148@umn.edu

Education

PhD,
Major: Clinical Psychology
Minor: Clinical Child and Family
BA, Honors in Psychology, Magna Cum Laude, Skidmore College
Major: Psychology

Fellowships, Residencies, and Visiting Engagements

NIH T32 Postdoctoral Training Fellow,
University of Minnesota Medical School, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Pre-Doctoral Internship,
Oregon Health and Science University, Department of Pediatrics, Special Health Care Needs track
Portland, Oregon

Professional Memberships

Dissemination and Implementation Special Interest Group, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Tic and Impulse Control Disorder Special Interest Group, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
Society of Biological Psychiatry
Selected Publications

Selected Publications

Wellen, B.C.M., Wright, N., Riley, A., 2023. Integrated Behavioral Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care and Emergency Department Utilization for Suicide Risk. Frontiers in Psychiatry Special Issue in Integrated Primary Care, 14 1241642.
doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1241642 PubMed ID: 38025456.
Dubois, M., Houlihan, K., Raab, B., Prior, A., Kellman, M., Brinker, M., Wellen, B.C.M, Capriotti, M., Conelea, C., 2024. Quantifying Tics: Best Practices and Design Considerations for Video-Based Tic Coding in Research. Behavior Research Methods, 56 (4): 4073-4084.
doi: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-024-02383-7 PubMed ID: 38472640.
Bootes, K., Himle, M.B., Stiede, J., Wellen, B.C.M., Mouton-Odum, S., Woods, D.W, 2024. Predictors of impairment and self-concept in children and adolescents with persistent tic disorder. Journal of Child Psychiatry and Human Development,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01696-0 PubMed ID: 38619754.
Conelea, C., Liang, H., DuBois, M., Raab, B., Kellman, M., Wellen, B.C.M, Jacob, S., Wang, S., Sun, J., Lim, K., 2023. Automated Quantification of Eye Tics using Computer Vision and Deep Learning Techniques. Movement Disorders, 39 (1): 183-191.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.29593 PubMed ID: 38146055.
Hails, K.A., Wellen, B.C.M., Simoni, M., Gaultney, W.M., Petts, R.A., Hostutler, C.A, & Riley, A.R., 2023. Parents’ preferences for primary care-based behavioral services and the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-method study. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 48 (11): 879-892.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsad034 PubMed ID: 37369014.
Wellen, B.C.M., Bootes, K., Braley, E., Conelea, C., Woods, D.W., & Himle, M.B., 2023. Caregiver perspectives on the healthcare system for tic disorders: utilization and barriers. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 44 (9): e581-e589.
Wellen, B.C.M., Ramanujam, P., Lavelle, M., Capriotti, M., Butner, J., Euler, M., Himle, M.B., 2023. ​​A test of the behavioral model of tic disorders using a dynamical systems framework. Behavior Therapy, 55 (3): 513-527.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2023.08.010 PubMed ID: 38670665.
Capriotti, M., Wellen, B.C.M., Young, B.A., Himle, M.B., Conelea, C.A., Espil, F., Simpson, H., & Mathews, C., 2023. Evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of tele-comprehensive behavior therapy for tics (teleCBIT) for persistent tic disorders in youth and adults. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare,
doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X231189305 PubMed ID: 37545359.
Conelea, C.A., Greene, D., Alexander, J., Houlihan, K., Hodapp, S., Wellen, B.C.M, Francis, S., Mueller, B., Hendrickson, T., Tseng, A., Chen, M., Fiecas, M., Lim, K., Opitz, A., Jacob, S., 2023. The CBIT+TMS Trial: study protocol for a two-phase randomized controlled trial testing neuromodulation to augment behavior therapy for youth with chronic tics. Trials Journal, 24 (1): 439.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07455-1 PubMed ID: 37400828.
Wellen, B.C.M., Houlihan, K., Capriotti, M., Greene, D.J., Black, K.J., Himle, M.B., Hayes L., Ramanujam K., Woods, D.W., Specht, M., Lee, H., Jacob, S., Conelea, C.A, 2023. Developmental Sex/Gender Differences in Tourette Syndrome Phenomenology. Biological Psychiatry, 93 (9): S264.
Selected Presentations

Selected Presentations

Wellen, B.C.M., Schneck, D., Wilton, E., Conelea, C. "Leveraging Video-Based Observations of Tic Symptoms", 2nd Annual Computational Psychiatry Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 16, 2024.
Breitenfeldt, C., Wellen, B.C.M., Tseng, A., Conelea, C., Jacob, S. "Characterizing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder & Tic Disorders within an Autism Sample", Virtual Student Special Interest Group Poster Session of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, June 07, 2024.
Khang, I., Mungai, T., Breitenfeldt, C., Hodapp, S., Wellen, B.C.M, Wilton, E., Conelea, C. "Changes in Tic Impairment and Severity Following Daily CBIT", Tourette Association of America Conference (Tic Con), Dallas, Texas, June 02, 2024.
Pryor, A., Dubois, M., Raab, B., Kellman, M., Brinker, M., Wellen, B.C.M., Capriotti, C., Conelea, C. "Quantifying Tics: Best Practices and Design Considerations for Video-Based Tic Coding in Research", Tourette Association of America Conference (Tic Con), Dallas, Texas, June 01, 2024.
Wilton, E., Wellen, B.C.M., & Conelea, C. "Quantification of Tic Variability Across Clinical Contexts: Measurement Issues and Practice Implications", Tourette Association of America Conference (Tic Con), Dallas, Texas, May 31, 2024.
Riley, A.R., Hails, K.A., Petts, R.A., Wellen, B.C.M, Gaultney W.M., Simoni M., Raglin Bignall W.J,. Snider T.C., & Hostutler C.A. "Parents’ preferences for early childhood primary care behavioral health services before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.", Society for Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 25, 2024.
Khang, I., Mungai, T., Breitenfeldt, C., Hodapp, S., Wellen, B.C.M, Wilton, E., Conelea, C. "Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Participants in the CBIT+TMS Trial", Minnesota Neuromodulation Symposium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 11, 2024.
Bickford, M., Wellen B.C.M., Wright, N.M., Bakken, E.H., & Riley, A.R. "The impact of pediatric primary care integrated behavioral health on emergency department utilization for youth with suicide risk", Integrated Care Conference by Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, Phoenix, Arizona, October 21, 2023.
Dover G, Wright, N.M., Wellen C.M., Bickford, M., Bakken, E.H., & Riley, A.R. "Pediatric primary care suicide risk screening for gender diverse youth: Risk and healthcare utilization compared to cisgender peers.", 2023 Integrated Care Conference by Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, Phoenix, Arizona, October 20, 2023.
Riley A.R., Wellen B.C.M., Wright, N.M., Bickford, M., & Bakken, E.H. "Impact of integrated behavioral health services for youth suicide risk on healthcare utilization", DREAM-Integrated Primary Care Bi-Annual Conference, Wilmington, Delaware, September 22, 2023.
Kellman, M., Lieske, A., Houlihan, K., Hodapp, S., Chen, M., Wellen, B.C.M., Conelea, C. "Symptom severity in clinical trials for chronic tics: Stand-alone behavioral therapy vs. neuromodulation augmented therapy", Minnesota Interest in Neuroscience Development Symposium, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 21, 2023.