Children's Mercy psychologist Edward Christophersen first in Missouri or Kansas to receive national honor

In a unanimous decision, Edward Christophersen, PhD, ABPP, a clinical psychologist at Children's Mercy Hospital, was selected as the recipient of the 2014 Matarrazo Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is given by the board of directors of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (APAHC), Section 8, Division 12 of the American Psychological Association.

"We are delighted that Dr. Christophersen will receive such an honorable distinction," said Michael Artman, MD, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Mercy. "He has been dedicated to clinical and academic excellence for almost 50 years. The only thing more impressive is his leadership in training and educating tomorrow's psychologists." 

This is an honor Christophersen shares with only four others in the United States. He is the first person in Kansas or Missouri to receive the award, which will be awarded at a ceremony on August 7 in Washington D.C.

"This is an award reserved for the best of the best," said Ronald Brown, PhD, President of the APAHC. "It is given to someone who exemplifies everything a psychologist should bring to an academic health center: a leader, an innovator, a clinician, a teacher, a researcher-again, only the best of the best." Christophersen is a board-certified clinical psychologist, professor of pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and an honorary fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

His specialties include attention deficit disorders, common childhood behavioral disorders, toileting problems and parenting issues. He joined Children's Mercy in 1986 after serving nearly 20 years as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Kansas Medical Center.