Horizons Council

Gloria Reeves

Associate Professor and Research Vice Chair
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Dr. Reeves is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with specialized expertise in pediatric psychopharmacology and obesity-related health issues among individuals with serious mental illness. Dr. Reeves completed a NIH-funded career development award to develop skills in state-of-the-art metabolic assessments of youth and adults with mental illness, and she has collaborated with interdisciplinary experts to study obesity-related side effects of antipsychotic medication treatment. Dr. Reeves partnered with pharmacists, child mental health experts, and child-serving state agency leadership to help develop an antipsychotic medication prior authorization program for publically-insured youth <18 years old. She currently serves as Medical Director of this program, which utilizes a collaborative problem solving approach to support community providers in the shared goals of safe and appropriate antipsychotic treatment of children and adolescents. Dr. Reeves also serves as Medical Director of the Strive for Wellness program, a hybrid clinical and research program focused on psychosis prevention. This program is part of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene-funded Early Intervention Program, and the clinical services include telepsychiatry consultation to an underserved, rural community in Maryland.

Dr. Reeves's research portfolio includes funding by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and Foundations (Passano Foundation, Betty Huse Foundation). Her research team is structured to conduct "Family-Centered" research by partnering with consumers in all phases of research, namely design, implementation, and dissemination. A major product of this research has been development of a Family Navigator program. Family Navigators have "lived experience" raising a child with special mental health needs. They provide state-wide, telephone-delivered, peer support to empower parents, provide emotional support, and address barriers to child and family wellness for low income families dealing with child mental health concerns.

Dr. Reeves' service to the community includes outreach, education, and dissemination of evidence-based pediatric psychopharmacology practices. She collaborates with community stakeholders, including education personnel, clinical and research experts, consumer advocates, and child serving agency leadership to support initiatives to improve safe and appropriate treatment of our youngest patients. Dr. Reeves has served as a psychopharmacology instructor for both medical (physicians, nurses) and non-medical (psychologists, social workers, counseling students) health professionals, and she provides training to parents in the community on how to be a good consumer of child psychiatry services. She is a strong advocate for improving safety monitoring and side effect management for youth receiving medication treatment.