Brenda Bassingthwaite, PhD, BCBA

Associate Professor, MMI Dept of Psychology
Program Director, School-Based ABA Services
Program Coordinator, Integrated Psychology and ABA Program
Licensed Psychologist
Licensed and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst

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Phone: 402-559-2282

Brenda Bassingthwaite, PhD, BCBA, is an associate professor, licensed psychologist and licensed behavior analyst in MMI’s Department of Psychology. Bassingthwaite began her career as a school psychologist for Heartland Area Education Agency in Iowa prior to receiving her PhD in school psychology from the University of Iowa. She completed her internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, gaining clinical expertise in using applied behavior analysis to reduce an individual’s engagement in externalizing behaviors (e.g., self-injury, aggression, property destruction). While there, she served as a program director for a decade long training initiative providing apprenticeships in functional behavior assessment to Iowa school-based behavior teams.

Bassingthwaite’s clinical focus at MMI is providing behavior analytic consultation and professional development to educators for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities engaging in externalizing behaviors. She enjoys supervising trainees (e.g., graduate students, pre-doctoral interns, post-doctoral fellows) in applying behavior analytic skills in school settings while building their awareness of their own professional leadership strengths. Through her leadership roles in the department, she supports trainees’ learning opportunities through team huddles, practice-focused didactics and group supervision. These collaborative learning experiences help trainees connect foundational knowledge with clinical decision-making and its application in real-world settings. Bassingthwaite serves as a mentor to junior faculty and serves on graduate committees for students in academic programs at UNO and UNMC. She has also been a guest reviewer for Behavior Analysis in Practice, Journal of Behavioral Education, and Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology.