Elena Tenenbaum, PhD
Child and Family Clinical Psychologist
My Locations
About Me
I specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of autism. In my clinical work, I see children of all ages and specialize in children under five years. My research focuses on early detection and development in children with autism spectrum disorder. I am also trained to work with mothers struggling with pre- and post-partum depression and anxiety.
- Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry 2021
- Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Psychology & Neuroscience 2024
- Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences 2018
Call for an Appointment
Training and Education
Clinical Focus and Research
My research is primarily focused on social and cognitive development in children with autism. I am interested in how children with autism attend to the world around them and how this relates to their communication skills. My work is designed to inform parent and therapist approaches to support the development of communication in children with autism spectrum disorder.
- SURFiN Summer 2025 awarded by Simons Foundation 2024 - 2025
- Tenenbaum, Elena J., Caitlin Stone, My H. Vu, Madeleine Hare, Kristen R. Gilyard, Sudha Arunachalam, Elika Bergelson, et al. “Remote Infant Studies of Early Learning (RISE): Scalable online replications of key findings in infant cognitive development.” Dev Psychol 61, no. 1 (January 2025): 151–67. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001849.
- Drake, Connor, Eugenia McPeek Hinz, Bradi B. Granger, Isa Granados, Abigail Rader, Ariana Pitcher, Shemecka McNeil, et al. “Implementation of NCCARE360, a Digital Statewide Closed-Loop Referral Platform to Improve Health and Social Care Coordination: Evidence from the North Carolina COVID-19 Support Services Program.” N C Med J 85, no. 2 (March 2024): 134–42. https://doi.org/10.18043/001c.94877.
- Naples, Adam, Elena J. Tenenbaum, Richard N. Jones, Giulia Righi, Stephen J. Sheinkopf, and Inge-Marie Eigsti. “Exploring communicative competence in autistic children who are minimally verbal: The Low Verbal Investigatory Survey for Autism (LVIS).” Autism 27, no. 5 (July 2023): 1391–1406. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221136657.
- Wang, Yun, Sua Cho, Erin Wilkie, Virginie Gillet, Virginie Bouchard, Elena Tenenbaum, Annie Ouellet, Ardesheer Talati, and Jonathan Posner. “The Influence of Prenatal SSRI Exposure and Maternal Depression on Social Attention in Toddlers: A Pilot Eye-Tracking Study in the MYRNA Cohort.” In NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY, 48:338–338, 2023.
- Leahy, Caroline, Samantha T. Major, Jill Howard, Kimberly Carpenter, Elena Tenenbaum, Lauren Franz, Saritha Vermeer, et al. “3.43 More Severe Executive Function Impairments Are Associated With Increases in Frontal Theta and Decreases in Beta and Gamma EEG Power in Young Children With ASD.” In Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 61:S241–42. Elsevier BV, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.09.322.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
- Coalition for Aligning Science
- MapLight Therapeutics