Care Philosophy
“My interactions with patients and their families are rooted in respect and trust, with an open and collaborative environment for communication and education. My goal is to demystify the existing falsehoods and stigmas about mental health so that everyone understands the diagnosis and is educated about successful treatment pathways available for patients. By focusing on the total care experience of my pediatric patient, including addressing the needs of the family, together we can achieve optimal long-term outcomes.”
— Dr. Ashley M. Butler, Clinical Pediatric Psychologist
Bio Statement
Dr. Ashley Michelle Butler, affectionately called Dr. Ashley by some of her pediatric patients, is a fellowship trained pediatric psychologist and an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Butler knew at an early age she was called to pediatric psychology. In the 11th grade she focused her sights on this field of study to work with children dealing with mental health difficulties.
Dr. Butler’s practice is geared towards early intervention and treatment with preschoolers and pediatric patients dealing with mental health diagnoses including ADHD, anxiety, behavioral problems, and learning disorders. These common mental health diagnoses in children can be effectively addressed with proper treatment and management. Young children are very amendable to intervention. The goal is to connect with children as early as possible to start assessment, diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Butler began her professional career path by earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. She earned a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Upon graduation from the University of Florida, she completed her internship in Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and a Postdoctoral Clinical Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Butler is the recipient of many distinguished honors and awards in her field. She serves as Principal Investigator on National Institutes of Health sponsored research projects. She has numerous peer reviewed articles, published abstracts, presentations and speaking engagements to her credit.
Dr. Butler enjoys spending time with her husband and young son. Her hobbies include cycling, reading, listening to podcasts and enjoying live music. She’s also partial to tropical vacations.
Organizational Consulting
- Evidence based diversity and inclusion strategy and programming
- Training and development
- Assessment and performance measurement
- Work-Life Integration
- Occupational Health and Occupational Stress Management
- Executive Coaching
Research Driven
“One aim of my research agenda is to promote mental health service equity for racial/ethnic minority children and families. There are two arms to my research portfolio.
The first component of my work concentrates on identifying factors associated with mental health service inequities.
The second line of research focuses on formulating interventions to increase mental health service engagement among families of children with mental health needs. Specific focus includes interventions to increase minority parent engagement in integrated mental health services to promote positive early childhood mental health.”
— Dr. Ashley M. Butler, Clinical Pediatric Psychologist
Recently Published Research and Presentations
- Cole-Lewis YC, Titus C, Hilliard ME, Rodriguez E, Fegan-Bohm K, Karaviti L, Butler AM (2019, March). Barriers to Involvement in Type 1 Diabetes Management among African American and Hispanic Parents of School-Aged Children. Poster presented at the 2019 Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. 2019
- Butler AM, Hilliard ME, Hendrix K, Karaviti L (2018, August). Stakeholder Engagement to Develop and Implement an Intervention for Type 1 Diabetes in Childhood. Paper presented at the 2018 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA. 2018
- Butler AM (Chair) (2018, August). Community-Engaged Research in Pediatric Psychology: Approaches and Funding Considerations. Symposium conducted at the 2018 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA. 2018
- Butler AM Perspectives of Minority Youth with Type 1 Diabetes and their Parents on Diabetes Care Responsibilities: Tailoring a Family Intervention to Improve Glycemic Control Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 2017
- Butler AM, Titus C, & Anderson, BJ. Perspectives of older adolescents with type 1 diabetes on self-care responsibilities: patterns across racial/ethnic groups. Pediatric Diabetes. 2017
- Hilliard ME, Tully C, Levy W, Butler AM, Fegan-Bohm K, Monaghan MC, Streisand R. Involving parents of young children in designing and delivering a supportive intervention at new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Poster presented at the 2016 International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, Valencia, Spain. 2016
- Butler AM. Diversity and Inclusive Excellence in Research. Baylor College of Medicine Research Resources Office Research Education Series, October 2020
- Butler AM & Harris T. Achieving Excellence in Academic Medicine through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Baylor College of Medicine Department of Medicine Grand Rounds Inaugural Inclusion and Diversity to Advance Equity Series, October 2020
- Butler AM. Promoting Healthy Futures of Black Children through Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds 2nd Annual Ris Lecture Series, September 2020
- For a more detailed list please contact Dr. Butler.