Kimberly O'Brien

Dr. Kimberly O’Brien is a Clinical Social Worker in the Sports Medicine Division and Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as a Research Scientist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She received her BA from Harvard University (’00), where she was a four year member and co-captain of the hockey team which won a National Championship in 1999. She obtained her MSW (’05) and PhD (’11) from Boston College, and completed her postdoctoral fellowship (’13) at Brown University. Her clinical practice serves adolescent and young adult athletes with mental health concerns. Her research is focused on the development and testing of brief interventions for suicidal adolescents with and without substance use and their families, with an additional specialization on interventions which utilize technology. Her recent line of research is centered around the mental health of young athletes in an effort to develop novel interventions and programs that foster psychological resilience. She has co-authored over 50 articles and book chapters related to adolescent suicide, substance use, and mental health, and was awarded the Young Investigator Research Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in 2019. She continues to stay involved in athletics as she currently coaches hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse, and plays hockey and platform tennis. She is also the founder and director of Unlimited Resilience, LLC, a group mental health practice designed for athletes by athletes.