Rose Evelyn Friedheim, PsyD
Waimānalo Health Center; & Association for Infant Mental Health Hawai'i
Dr. Rose Evelyn Friedheim’s clinical and advocacy work demonstrates a sustained commitment to addressing the needs of underserved populations, particularly those facing geographic isolation, trauma, disability, and systemic inequity. Serving as Chair of the Hawai‘i Psychological Association Child and Adolescent Committee, and supporting the Rural Health and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging Committees, Dr. Rose Evelyn is passionate about collaborating across disciplines to strengthen systems of care. Her clinical practice in integrative healthcare settings has focused on serving Native Hawai?ian and rural communities through trauma-informed care, dyadic play therapy, and infant mental health consultation. As an Association for Infant Mental Health—Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) fellow and Hawai?i Maternal & Child Health-- Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) fellow, Dr. Friedheim provides culturally grounded, developmentally attuned care to ohanas of young keiki—many of whom face complex systemic barriers. Her clinical model centers relational healing, strengths-based empowerment, cultural humility, and wraparound care—approaches vital for historically excluded populations.
Dr. Rose Evelyn Friedheim has presented both locally and nationally—including APA Conventions, Pac Rim Conferences, and Hawai‘i Behavioral Health and Wellness Conventions—on dismantling ableism, fostering allyship, broadening the clinical frame to include contact with nature, and improving access to care. Her scholarship, mentorship, and public speaking galvanize both institutional and grassroots change, particularly for marginalized populations. She exemplifies a powerful model of leadership grounded in ethics, access, and healing justice. Though still early in her career, Dr. Friedheim is already transforming how we educate, support, and include psychologists across diverse intersectionality, including disability. Her trajectory signals a broader cultural shift in the field—one that centers inclusion, justice, and lived experience as essential to the future of psychological science and practice.