Dr. Melissa Dufrene has been named the 2017 Early Career Psychologist by the Louisiana Psychological Association, announced at the association’s annual convention held in June in New Orleans. Dufrene is a licensed clinical psychologist with numerous community and professional involvements. “I am honored to be recognized,” she said.

Her post-doctoral supervisor, Michael Chafetz, PhD, ABPP, said, “It was indeed a pleasure to learn that Dr. Melissa Dufrene was honored for the Early Career Psychologist award of 2017, as she is clearly deserving.”

“She is a strong and compassionate practitioner who fully understands the application of evidence-based methods to achieve desired clinical outcomes,” Chafetz said, “which she also measures. Before I met her for a post-doctoral position in my clinic, she had strong training, especially in her work in the inpatient OCD unit of Rogers Memorial Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” he said.

“In my mind, it is this combination of scholarship and treatment sense that makes her so effective.” In 2014, Dufrene co-authored with Chafetz, “Malingering-by-proxy: Need for child protection and guidance for reporting,” in Child Abuse and Neglect.

Dr. Dufrene currently is a licensed Clinical Psychologist affiliated with the Algiers Neurobehavioral Resource, LLC, where her time is devoted to therapy and psychological evaluations. She leads the clinic’s initiatives surrounding women’s therapy, assessment, and behavioral health needs. In this capacity, she provides services to women patients for issues such as postpartum depression, general anxiety, relationship issues, abuse, and general mental

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Her primary areas of interest are anxiety related disorders, PTSD, OCD, depressive disorders, and child behavioral problems.

She has also serves as Adjunct Instructor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology at Xavier University where she teaches Basic Psychopathology. She has also taught at Delgado Community College and for Instructional Connections. This year she also began working as Gratis Faculty of LSU, where she serves as a supervisor to one of the interns in the program.

She was recently named co-chair of the Early Career Psychologist Committee for the Louisiana Psychological Association. Along with her co-chair and colleague, Dr. Ashley Jefferson, she plans on engaging early career professionals. “We are focusing on increasing the level of involvement of EC’s and students across the state, and addressing pertinent issues in the field,” she said.

Dr. Dufrene serves the broader community in a number of ways. She has served as a member of the Regional Advisory Board for the Alzheimer’s Association where she contributes to community education and support efforts. In 2015 she served as chair of the annual fundraiser event for the association.

She has served as a Partner in Multiple Sclerosis Care, a segment of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to assist patients in accessing quality care and outreach for those living with MS. She provided training on issues of stress management for those with MS.

She has also served as a Each One Save One Mentor, where she works with at risk-elementary students and with school staff to assist youngsters.

Dr. Dufrene trained at Rogers Memorial Hospital, a nationally recognized residential and behavioral health hospital, treating individuals with serious mental health disorders. At this facility, she worked in the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center, one of only two residential treatment centers in the United States for males and females age 18 and older with obsessive-compulsive disorder and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders.

She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute in Springfield, Missouri. Her dissertation was Examination of Executive Functioning Among 9-12 Year Olds with ADHD, Obesity, and Comorbid ADHD/Obesity.

Along with her professional and community service, she has a very busy family life. “And just to keep things interesting,” she said, “my husband and I are expecting baby #2 in December, which will make our two-year old a big brother!”