Katia Moritz, Ph.D., ABPP is a Clinical Director of the Neurobehavioral Institute (NBI) and is a licensed psychologist in the States of Florida and Utah. Dr. Moritz is Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology.
Dr. Moritz’s first degree in Psychology was from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was one of the founders of the first Behavioral Therapy Association in Brazil (ABPMC). After moving to the USA, Dr. Moritz was a visiting professional at the Albert Ellis Institute, where she received training in cognitive therapy. Subsequently, Dr. Moritz earned her Ph.D. in Clinical and School Psychology from Hofstra University in New York. Pursuing her interest in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Dr. Moritz joined the Institute for Bio-Behavioral Therapy and Research were she worked extensively in both inpatient and out patent treatment programs focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Tics, Trichotillomania, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and related conditions. She also participated in many research studies and presented both nationally and internationally.
In Florida, Dr. Moritz established the Anxiety Disorders Program at the Miami Children Hospital (Dan Marino Center), and founded the first Pediatric OCD Support Group in the region. Dr. Moritz was an early researcher in the area of developing innovative treatment approaches for pediatric OCD. Subsequently, she co-founded, together with Dr. Jonathan Hoffman, the Neurobehavioral Institute (NBI), where her work involves coordinating and treating patients and their families, supervising clinicians and post-doctoral residents, and working with patients undergoing intensive outpatient treatment.
Dr. Moritz is the author of “Working with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children” (Audio and Video Training Program), “Forms for Helping Children with OCD”, and “Blink, Blink, Clop, Clop: An OCD Story Book” – English and Spanish versions. Amongst her many professional activities, Dr. Moritz provides treatment for Portuguese, Spanish, and English speaking children and adults in their native language, in the framework of their cultural backgrounds.
Dr. Moritz is dedicated to educating school personnel on early detection and management of pediatric anxiety and related disorders. Her current research interests concern empirical validation of creative methods to implement Behavioral Therapy in the treatment of OCD, and studying the effectiveness of intensive behavioral treatment protocols for anxiety.