Dr. Nygaard will be accepting students for the Fall 2027 admissions cycle in the School Psychology Ph.D. Concentration

Biography

Malena A. Nygaard, Ph.D., LP, NCSP, is as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology's School Psychology program at the University of South Carolina (USC) and affiliated with the Center for School Behavioral Health. She is also nationally certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Her research studies the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based mental and behavioral health services for youth and families in school and community settings, and more specifically, the delivery of culturally responsive and trauma-informed multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS).

Dr. Nygaard earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Indiana University Bloomington and completed her pre-doctoral internship training at the National Center for School Mental Health in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Lab for Youth Mental Health in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University where she co-directed a randomized controlled effectiveness trial of the FIRST intervention.

Research 

Dr. Nygaard seeks to promote equitable access to culturally-responsive, trauma-informed, and strengths-based mental and behavioral health care within schools and community contexts. She is particularly interested in employing mixed methods to examine the continuity and coordination of care for students with intensive socioemotional needs through Mental Health Action Plans (MHAPs).

Dr. Nygaard founded the SPARK Lab (School-based Practices Advancing Resilience in Kids Laboratory) with the goal to bridge the youth mental health research-to-practice gap and advance youth, family, school, and system resilience. Learn more about the MHAP Program and other current projects at youthsparklab.com.