About PSI Portland

Two Locations, One Mission: Serving Eugene and Portland

The PSI Portland research base, opened in 1995, has been operating out of the UO’s White Stag Block in the Old Town neighborhood since 2012. Our Portland team collaborates with service providers and agencies in the Metro area and throughout the state to serve some of Oregon’s most diverse and underserved communities with science-based prevention and intervention programs designed to address child mental health, education outcomes, parenting, and teen health. We solve problems and transform lives through the dissemination of knowledge and resources, offering free training in evidence-based interventions, and sharing our expertise in working with children, youth, and families.

Our team of experienced and skilled staff in our Portland office works under leadership provided by Dr. Allison Caruthers. PSI Portland is the home to several mental health providers, research assistants, and assessment and recruitment specialists who are critical to the success of our projects.

Over the past two years, we have grown to include interns and student volunteers from colleges and universities in the Portland area. These opportunities for collaboration and service are critical to the UO’s Prevention Science Institute mission.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our grant portfolio of family-centered intervention programs moved to virtual platforms. We are now serving children from early childhood to adolescence throughout the state through our online family-centered programs. Our Family Check-Up online programs and virtual parenting groups are timely and meet child and parent mental health needs at a time when mental health problems are skyrocketing. The PSI Portland team innovates and exemplifies perseverance, collaboration, and community-building with these clinical research studies.