Julia D. Kovalenko, PhD

Julia Kovalenko, PhD, is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and a pediatric psychologist at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Kovalenko provides assessment and treatment for children and adolescents with a wide variety of medical conditions in inpatient and outpatient settings. 

Personal Statement

I am passionate about providing evidence-based treatments that emphasize each family’s strengths and natural resilience, improve overall functioning, and support coping with challenging situations. Common treatment targets include adjustment to diagnosis, anxiety and/or depression related to medical concerns, non-adherence to medical regimen, pain management, and return to functional activities following medical diagnosis / treatment / hospitalization. 

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Clinical Interests

Adjustment to chronic and acute illness; multidisciplinary collaboration; adolescent and young adult mental health; functional and somatic symptoms 

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Education

Organizations

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Research interests

Functional and somatic presentations; clinical program development and outcomes 

Kovalenko, J. D., Li, N., Grigorenko, E. L. (2022). Gold standard versus treatment as usual: Assessment practices in the juvenile justice system. Journal of Clinical Psychology and Special Education.

Kovalenko, J. D., Kulesz, P. A., Hein, S., Quintana, D., Shelton, M., & Grigorenko, E. L. (2021). The unspecified residual category of the DSM-5: The challenges of a catch-all diagnosis. Current Psychology, 1-12.

Grigorenko, E. L., Hart, L., Hein, S., Kovalenko, J., & Naumova, O. Y. (2019). Improved educational achievement as a path to desistance. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 165, 1–25. 4