Alexis M. Garcia, PhD

Dr. Alexis Garcia is a bilingual (fluent in Spanish) clinical psychologist who specializes in evidence-based treatments for children with disruptive behavior disorders. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Florida International University with a specialty in child and adolescent psychology. She completed her predoctoral internship at MUSC within the Child Track. After internship, Dr. Garcia was selected to be a National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) postdoctoral fellow where she studied adolescent alcohol use. She joined the MUSC faculty as a clinical assistant professor in July 2021.

Dr. Garcia provides mental health and substance use treatment at the Institute of Psychiatry. Her clinical expertise is in evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents with a variety of behavioral and emotional concerns such as attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), and substance use. Dr. Garcia has a particular expertise in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), which is primarily for young children with disruptive behavior problems. Dr. Garcia also provides treatment to youth experiencing emotional and/or behavioral difficulties due to complex medical conditions (i.e., diabetes, GI problems, cancer).

As part of the MUSC Youth Collaborative, Dr. Garcia is involved in various research efforts to understand the role of self-regulation in problematic substance use during adolescence. Specifically, Dr. Garcia’s research endeavors focus on role of emotion dysfunction in adolescents with ADHD and how that relates to risk-taking behaviors like alcohol and other substance use. She is an active mentor of psychology interns and psychiatry fellows at MUSC.