Siskin Children’s Institute
In September of 2019, Dr. Melissa Gonzalez relocated to Chattanooga from Louisiana to join the team at Siskin Children’s Institute. As the Clinical Therapy Director, Dr. Gonzalez oversees the center-based and in-home outpatient therapy within the Center for Developmental Pediatrics. She is a clinical psychologist with expertise in supporting children with developmental disabilities including autism spectrum disorder and pediatric feeding disorders. Dr. Gonzalez explains, “I believe that collaboration with families, and across providers, is often the key to quality and effective patient care. For children with complex developmental conditions, collaborative and coordinated care is important – this approach eliminates redundancy and conflicting recommendations, which leads to a better outcome for the family.”
“I enjoy working with my team in developing the necessary skills to provide best-in-class services to our community.”
1. What sets your practice apart?
Our interdisciplinary and family-centered approach to care sets Siskin Children’s Institute apart. This approach allows us to leverage our varied areas of expertise to provide coordinated recommendations that meet the family’s needs and priorities and provide excellent care.
2. What do you love most about your profession?
I love working with children and families. It is very rewarding to identify a child’s strength and work closely with the family to enact a support system that can set the child up for success at home, at school, and in the community.
3. What is one of your happiest professional moments?
I think the happiest professional moments tend to be when a family feels that they are able to support their child without continued therapy.
4. What do you see as the most exciting new development for your profession?
As a psychologist and behavior analyst, I see that there is an increased emphasis on collaboration across disciplines. This is important in general, but even more so when working with families and children with developmental disabilities.
5. How does your staff enhance your practice?
Our team members believe in and contribute to the mission of the organization – to improve the quality of life for children with special needs and their families. When a family enters the building, it is important that they feel that this is true with every interaction.
Special Promotional Section