Ronald O'Donnell

Ronald O’Donnell is a clinical professor, psychologist and founding director of the Doctor of Behavioral Health program (2008 – 2014) in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. He is president of SunCrane Health Solutions, LLC, an international behavioral health consulting company. Dr. O'Donnell maintains a psychotherapy practice in his local community. Dr. O'Donnell is a leader in the research, education and training on “global integrated behavioral healthcare”, the use of behavioral interventions to improve both medical and psychiatric problems, such as diabetes and depression in a global context. O’Donnell has led the development of the Doctor of Behavioral Health degree curriculum and internship training program and expansion to include both clinical and health management concentrations. O’Donnell is now working on the development of international education programs for the College of Health Solutions, as well as the development of new integrated health care degrees and physician certificate education programs.

O’Donnell has more than nine years of experience as a consultant, trainer and lecturer in China and Southeast Asia. He continues longstanding physician training programs in Beijing and has presented many other training sessions in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. O’Donnell has presented at conferences in the United States and in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia. He has coordinated training visits for Chinese physicians to the United States. He has been a faculty teaching courses at Sichuan University and Beijing Normal University. He is on the editorial board for the journal Family Medicine and Community Health.

Prior to his current position, O’Donnell spent more than 10 years as a leader in health plans as director of disease management programs. He directed teams of physicians, nurses, dieticians and behavioral health consultants on providing patient prevention and disease management programs for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and depression. He has consulted with national companies on the design, implementation and evaluation of health management programs that incorporate web-based patient education and self-management tools. He is a leader in the application of phone and table Apps for health management outcomes and behavior change for patients with chronic illness.

Earlier in his he served as director of outpatient behavioral health clinics that were connected with the patient community health clinic and family physician. He provided physician consultation and training on behavioral health problems. Earlier he was director of psychiatric hospital inpatient units. He trained psychiatrists and nurses on behavioral health and launched a comprehensive group education treatment program for patients with severe mental illness. O’Donnell has significant experience treating the severely mentally ill, including as a community based care manager providing crisis management. O’Donnell’s clinical experience includes treatment of adult depression, anxiety, and trauma, substance abuse, child treatment of attention deficient disorder, autism spectrum disorders and oppositional defiant disorders, and adolescent treatment for family conflict, substance abuse and school behavior problems. He is experienced in individual, couples and family, and group psychotherapy treatment techniques.

O’Donnell has dedicated his career to the delivery of healthcare programs that improve patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes while also improving cost-efficiency. He has blended a career that combines deep management and clinical experience. He has a successful track record in academic education with the highly successful Doctor of Behavioral Health program. Finally, he has developed an extensive catalog of education and training programs designed specifically for the China and Southeast Asia healthcare system.