Melissa A. Butler, PhD, MS

Melissa Butler, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM).  Dr. Butler specializes in working with high-risk populations of children and adolescents, including those who are suicidal or engage in self-harm behavior and those who have serious mental illnesses.  She has done so across a variety of settings including in a state hospital, an acute inpatient unit, a traditional outpatient clinic, a primary care clinic, an adolescent juvenile correctional facility, and private practice.  Dr. Butler currently is a staff psychologist for the Simon Skjodt Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit at Riley Hospital.  Dr. Butler is also a part of a team of psychologists and psychiatrists taking part in an IU Health-funded pilot program to help design and implement an integrated behavioral health program into a select number of primary care practices.  This pilot program, called the CHOICE Program (Changing Health Outcomes through Integrated Care Excellence), aims to improve access to behavioral health, to improve the health of IU Health at-risk lives, and to meet the quadruple aim (Better Health, Provider Experience, Patient Experience, & Lower Costs).  As a CHOICE provider, Dr. Butler has been providing behavioral health services in the Riley General Pediatrics clinic.   Additionally, Dr. Butler also provides individual and family psychotherapy part-time at the Riley Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic.  Across her different clinical roles, Dr. Butler provides supervision and training for psychology interns and practicum students and psychiatry residents.  Dr. Butler also serves as an Assistant Director for the Predoctoral Psychology Internship program and Practicum Coordinator.  She has also held several leadership positions within the Indiana Psychological Association.  In her personal life, Dr. Butler enjoys reading, gaming, and traveling.