Professional Bio:
Dr. Nicole Piland is a Professor of Practice at Texas Tech University, a Clinical Associate Professor with the TTUHSC Dept. of Pediatrics, and the Director of the Center of Family Systems Research and Intervention. She has been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist for over 25 years, and is a Texas Approved Supervisor. She has served as the clinic director of the TTU Family Therapy Clinic for the last 16 years, while also overseeing the operations of the Children’s Behavioral Health Clinic for the past 6 years. Her research and clinical interests include integrated behavioral health, trauma intervention, reproductive loss, developmental disabilities and chronic illness, as well as couple and family resilience.

She co-edited, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A roadmap for families and professionals. The book evolved from a project examining hope and resilience in families raising a child with Down syndrome, following the birth of her daughter Katarina. For the past 6 years, she has served as the project coordinator and clinical supervisor for behavioral health services delivered by CMFT doctoral level therapists working with patient-families within the University Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital. In 2023, she acquired a split appointment between TTU and UMC for developing an Integrated Behavioral Health program, for enhancing direct therapeutic services for patient-families treated at the UMC children’s cancer center, Pediatric ICU, Pediatrics, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, mindfulness, hiking, and acrylic painting.