Stephanie Klees, MD, DBP
Dr Stephanie Klees is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician who is passionate about working with children and adolescents with developmental differences, behavioral or learning difficulties and mental health concerns. She relishes embracing individual strengths and partnering with families to find the best treatment plan to optimize a child’s full potential.
Dr Klees grew up in Rochester, NY and attended college at Washington University in St. Louis where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in biology and psychology. She attended medical school at the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine where she was a member of the AOA honor society. She completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, California in 2006. She was a National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholar and worked for 2 years at a community health center in St. Louis, Missouri fulfilling her NHSC commitment. She has been board certified in General Pediatrics since 2006 and worked for many years as a primary care physician in St Louis, MO, Birmingham, AL, Fremont, CA and Boston, MA. She obtained a master’s degree in Global Health Sciences at University of California, San Francisco in 2013 and then worked in Rwanda as Yale University faculty for the Human Resources for Health partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health where she had the privilege of working with Rwandan pediatricians to help strengthen the pediatric residency program. Dr. Klees completed a three-year fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Hasbro Children’s Hospital/Brown University School of Medicine in Rhode Island in 2020, and, most recently, worked at Siskin Children’s Institute in Nashville.
Dr Klees is board certified in both General Pediatrics and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. She is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
As a developmental behavioral pediatrician (DBP), Dr Klees has the training and expertise to evaluate and manage a wide range of developmental, learning and behavioral challenges for children from infancy through early adulthood. She evaluates and cares for children with conditions such as: developmental delays, challenging/disruptive behaviors, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), complex attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning difficulties and mental health concerns such as anxiety/depression.
Dr Klees conducts evidence-based evaluations to clarify diagnoses and works collaboratively with families to develop treatment strategies that work best for the child/adolescent and family. She uses a multidisciplinary approach and often partners with educators, psychologists and other healthcare professionals (such as occupational therapists or speech therapists) to inform diagnoses and optimize treatment plans.
As a medical subspecialist in developmental behavioral pediatrics, Dr Klees has expertise in psychopharmacology for children and adolescents. Treatment plans do not always include medications (sometimes behavioral therapy or psychotherapy may be first line treatment); however, when medication is indicated, Dr Klees will work with each patient and family (using parent, teacher and sometimes therapist input) to find the best choice to meet the child’s needs.
Dr. Klees lives in East Nashville with her husband and son. She loves being outdoors and staying active with her family, including going on hikes and biking adventures. She loves catching up with friends and family over a great plate of food and listening to all kinds of music. She enjoys traveling and immersing herself in new and different cultures. She is also an avid Buffalo Bills and St. Louis Cardinals fan.