Tiina Holmberg Bergman

Tiina Holmberg Bergman is a specialist psychologist in disability psychology and holds a PhD from Karolinska Institutet. She is affiliated as a researcher with the Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), KBH, at Karolinska Institutet. She also works as a specialist psychologist and is affiliated as a researcher with the R&D Unit at Habilitation & Health, Psychiatry and Habilitation, Region Stockholm.

Tiina has extensive experience in clinical practice, research, and service development within the field of disability. Her research focuses on psychological interventions and support for parents and caregivers of people with disabilities, with a particular emphasis on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She has contributed to the development and evaluation of Navigator ACT, a group intervention for parents of children with disabilities, and has been involved throughout the process, from intervention development and implementation to research and scientific publication. Her research also addresses psychological flexibility, parental stress, and mental health among parents of children with disabilities.

She is currently conducting postdoctoral research within a Nordic collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, Habilitation & Health in Region Stockholm, and the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. The project aims to develop and improve support for parents of children with disabilities and includes long-term follow-up of Navigator ACT, research on parents’ support needs and access to support, and evaluation of training for healthcare professionals who facilitate Navigator ACT groups.

Tiina holds master’s degrees in clinical psychology and developmental psychology and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).

Tiina is a member of Associate Professor Tatja Hirvikoski’s research group. Her research focuses on support for families and caregivers, particularly interventions targeting stress and mental health difficulties among parents of children with disabilities.

Research interests

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Navigator ACT
• Practice-based clinical intervention research
• Parental stress and psychological flexibility in parenting
• Group-based psychoeducational support for families and caregivers of people with disabilities
• Neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability
• Development, evaluation, and implementation of psychological interventions
• Support needs and access to support for parents and caregivers
• Training and professional development for healthcare professionals
• Psychometric evaluation of psychological measures

Publications

Holmberg Bergman, T., Lappalainen, P., Ghaderi, A., & Hirvikoski, T. (2026). The effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy group intervention (Navigator ACT) for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities: A randomized controlled trial. Autism Research, 19(7), e70282. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70282

Holmberg Bergman, T., Sandred, A., Lindström, T., Lappalainen, P., Ghaderi, A., & Hirvikoski, T. (2024). A psychometric evaluation of the Parental Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (PAAQ) in parents of children with and without disabilities. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 32, 100757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100757

Lindström, T., Holmberg Bergman, T., Annerstedt, M., Forster, M., Bölte, S., & Hirvikoski, T. (2024). Psychometric properties of the Parental Stress Scale in Swedish parents of children with and without neurodevelopmental conditions. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 12(1), 10–22. https://doi.org/10.2478/sjcapp-2024-0002

Holmberg Bergman, T., Renhorn, E., Berg, B., Lappalainen, P., Ghaderi, A., & Hirvikoski, T. (2023). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy group intervention for parents of children with disabilities (Navigator ACT): An open feasibility trial. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(5), 1834–1849. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05490-6

Prevedini, A., Hirvikoski, T., Holmberg Bergman, T., Berg, B., Miselli, G., Pergolizzi, F., & Moderato, P. (2020). ACT-based interventions for reducing psychological distress in parents and caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders: Recommendations for higher education programs. European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 21(1), 133–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/15021149.2020.1729023

Tiina has been involved in teaching and professional training as part of her work since 1998. She currently teaches and supervises regularly within the continuing professional education programme at Habilitation & Health, Region Stockholm, including as a senior trainer in the Navigator ACT facilitator training programme.

Tiina also teaches psychology students at Karolinska Institutet and taught master’s students at Stockholm University from 2013 to 2022. In addition, she lectures nationally and internationally and contributes to specialist training and continuing professional education for psychologists.