Alli Smith, PhD, has made significant and innovative contributions to research in the field of pediatric pain psychology. Beginning in her post-doctoral fellowship and early career, this was achieved through the development of empirically informed tools and interventions for patients and their caregivers. Building on her doctoral work creating a caregiver-only intervention for childhood anxiety, she then co-developed an intervention for youth with elevated pain-related fear and authored its caregiver component. Her early work also informed subsequent collaborations on studies examining the influence of caregiver attitudes and behaviors on youth pain outcomes, as well as studies on risk and resilience factors in youth themselves. To address the need for better predictors of treatment success, Dr. Smith co-developed and validated several measures, including assessments of caregiver pain-related fear, caregiver pain-related acceptance, pediatric pain-related or headache-related risk (brief screening tools for triaging care), and youth avoidance of light/sound associated with chronic headache. These tools have advanced clinical decision-making in the chronic pain and headache populations.
More recently, Dr. Smith’s clinical and research efforts have centered on treatment readiness. She developed PREPaRe, a telehealth motivational interviewing intervention to improve engagement in intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment, which recently underwent a randomized controlled trial. She has presented nationally and internationally on readiness for change and is pursuing new methods to improve its measurement in pediatric pain treatment. Dr. Smith is also deeply invested in health equity, including efforts to ensure gender-affirming, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care. She is currently leading a mixed-methods study on the intersections of gender diversity and pain in collaboration with lived experience partners. She also co-founded the Division’s first Patient-Family Advisory Council to embed patient perspectives into clinical care and research design.
Alli Smith, PhD, is a pediatric pain psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, where she has been a faculty member since 2014. Her education and clinical training emphasized cura personalis—care for the whole person—which fostered her enduring interest in the intersection of physical and psychological health. Dr. Smith specializes in pediatric chronic pain, where the mind–body connection is especially salient. She plays a central role in the multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment of persistent pain, addressing its biological, psychological, and social dimensions and their impact on functioning. The majority of her clinical work is devoted to direct patient care, including comprehensive evaluations, evidence-based interventions, and consultation, currently primarily within the Pediatric Headache Program. She also provides care through the Pain Treatment Service and Pediatric & Young-Adult Pain Rehabilitation Centers as needed.
Dr. Smith is also actively engaged in clinical research, supervision of postdoctoral fellows, education of multidisciplinary teams and trainees, and consultation with the broader community. Her program of research and her clinical practice are grounded in biopsychosocial and ecological-systems models, guided by her strong commitment to equity, patient engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration.