Kira Boneff-Peng, PhD

Sunfield Center

Dr. Kira Boneff-Peng is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Sunfield Center in Ann Arbor, MI who specializes in providing evidence-based treatment for children and adolescents with selective mutism, social anxiety, and other anxiety disorders. Dr. Boneff-Peng has extensive experience using treatments such as cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), PCIT-SM, and exposure therapy to help children build their brave muscles and find their voice. She values supporting the whole family and incorporating parent support, psychoeducation, and skills-training in children’s treatment in order to help parents learn how to encourage their child’s brave journey and advocate for their child’s needs. She also utilizes the SPACE Program to help parents reduce accommodation of anxiety and increase supportive parenting. Dr. Boneff-Peng has experience working with children and teens of all ages, but she is particularly passionate about early intervention with children ages 2 to 10. Dr. Boneff-Peng has experience providing both in-person and telehealth therapy for selective mutism, as well as school consultation, in-school exposure therapy, group therapy, and intensive treatment.

Dr. Boneff-Peng earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Eastern Michigan University in 2021, with an emphasis in developmental psychopathology. She was trained in selective mutism intervention by selective mutism expert Dr. Aimee Kotrba at Thriving Minds during her graduate school training. Dr. Boneff-Peng then completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship training at the University of Michigan Mary A. Rackham Institute, in the University Center for the Child and Family, where she continued to provide therapy to children and adolescents with selective mutism and other anxiety disorders. Dr. Boneff-Peng’s research focuses on selective mutism, including examining epidemiological patterns, understanding parental accommodation, and exploring parent-focused treatments for selective mutism. Her dissertation project, the Parent-Related Influences in Selective Mutism (PRISM) Study, surveyed over 200 parents of children with selective mutism to better understand symptoms, epidemiological patterns, parental accommodation, and other parental factors in selective mutism.