Associate Professor
Dr. Crystal L. Cederna joined the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health in Fall 2023. She is a licensed clinical psychologist whose work sits at the intersection of clinical practice, medical education, community engaged research, and mental health systems reform, with a focus on improving access to timely, effective, and equitable mental health care for children, adolescents, and families. Dr. Cederna works with families, teens, and communities to make mental health support easier to find, easier to use, and more helpful when people need it. She believes good mental health care should meet people where they are—not the other way around.
After serving more than 4,000 families across clinical, training, and community-based settings, Dr. Cederna became deeply aware of persistent gaps in the mental health care system—services are often hard to access, delivered too late, or not well aligned with what families need. Her work is guided by a preventive, public health–oriented approach to mental health: strengthening well-being early, delivering evidence-based supports in real-world settings, and responding quickly and appropriately when concerns arise.
Dr. Cederna’s background spans developmental-behavioral pediatrics, pediatric psychology, clinical psychology, and medical education. Prior to joining MSU, she held multiple leadership roles at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, including Associate Director of a pediatric residency program, Director of Behavioral Health Services, Director of a pediatric psychology fellowship, and long-standing leadership of training in interpersonal and communication skills. These roles reflect her commitment to workforce development, interdisciplinary training, and translational approaches that bridge research, education, and practice.
Currently, Dr. Cederna serves as core faculty and Director of the Mental and Behavioral Health Rotation for the Sparrow/Michigan Medicine/Michigan State University Pediatric Residency Program in East Lansing. She keeps her clinical skills sharp and advances the practices of others by providing consultation to organizations and clinical care to kids, parents, and families through Cederna Consulting, PLLC.
Dr. Cederna is the Principal Investigator of Project THRIVE (Thriving, Healing, and Replenishing InterVention in Everyday Life), a Michigan Health Endowment Fund–supported initiative co-developed with the Flint community. Project THRIVE supports adolescent mental health by training trusted non–mental health professionals to deliver an evidence-based intervention (i.e., behavioral activation) and pairing this with systems navigation services that help teens and families address social and environmental stressors. The project serves as a pilot model to expand the local mental health workforce, reduce barriers to care, promote equitable service access, and strengthen long-term mental health and thriving for Flint teens.
An active researcher, educator, and collaborator, Dr. Cederna is also a co-investigator with the Flint Registry and Rx Kids team within MSU’s Pediatric Public Health Initiative. Her work emphasizes implementation, evaluation, and partnership-based approaches. As of Spring 2026, she has delivered more than 90 peer-reviewed presentations and trainings and has published 18 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her contributions have been recognized with departmental and national awards for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and psychology training.
Dr. Cederna is deeply committed to community-informed and community-engaged practice. She listens to youth and parents through focus groups, provides public-facing talks to build mental health awareness and literacy, serves on MSU’s Suicide Mortality Review Committee, and facilitates interactive community discussions with ample time for dialogue and questions.
Looking ahead, Dr. Cederna seeks to build collaborative partnerships that bring evidence-based, culturally responsive mental health supports into everyday spaces—schools, community centers, faith-based organizations, and other places where children and families live, learn, and connect. She is especially invested in expanding the mental health workforce by empowering familiar, trusted adults to recognize and respond to concerns early.
Dr. Cederna welcomes collaboration with researchers, clinicians, educators, and community organizations committed to improving youth mental health.
Favorite Quote: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou