Sarah McCarthy

Dr. Sarah Brand McCarthy is a pediatric psychologist and health services researcher whose work focuses on improving psychosocial care for families navigating serious pediatric illness, trauma, and grief. As Director of Psychology for the Robert’s Program on Sudden Unexpected Death in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, she leads clinical and research efforts to design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive, grief-informed model of care for families whose child has died suddenly and unexpectedly. Her research addresses the emotional and relational needs of bereaved families, the integration of mental health screening into pediatric care, and the development of scalable, family-centered interventions.

Current Research

• Grief-Informed Care for SUDP: Dr. Brand-McCarthy leads the development of a multi-tiered, trauma-sensitive model of bereavement care for families following sudden unexpected death in infancy and childhood. This initiative integrates longitudinal, individualized psychosocial support with broader systems engagement, including peer support, school outreach, and interdisciplinary provider education. The model is being implemented clinically at Boston Children’s Hospital and evaluated for broader dissemination and impact.
• Hearts in Motion: A pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of combining ecological momentary assessment and wearable physiological monitoring (Garmin) to capture dynamic grief experiences in bereaved parents participating in a community-based movement program.
• ARISE (Achieving RoutIne Screening for Emotional Health): An evidence-based psychosocial screening protocol developed and implemented under Dr. Brand-McCarthy’s leadership. ARISE integrates validated measures of distress into routine pediatric subspecialty visits to identify unmet psychosocial needs and connect families to timely support.
• Peer Support Training for Bereaved Parents: As Course Director, Dr. Brand McCarthy is developing a standardized, evidence-informed training curriculum to strengthen the skills and confidence of bereaved parent peer supporters. This program, originally piloted at an international SUID/SIDS conference, is now being adapted into an accessible online format.
• Her work is grounded in participatory research, implementation science, and a commitment to trauma- and grief-informed systems of care. She brings a dual perspective as both a clinician and a bereaved parent to her efforts to advance equity, compassion, and connection in pediatric healthcare.