I am a psychologist who is specialized in early childhood development and mental health. I provide a variety of services to babies, young children, and their families.
Developmental and Preschool Assessments
I do testing with babies as young as 6 months through age 5. Testing is done to get more information about your child’s difficulties with development, communication, learning, socialization, and/or behaviors. I clarify diagnostic issues such as autism spectrum disorders or ADHD. Testing is also done to evaluate the development of adopted infants or babies with a history of medical problems. After I collect information from interviews, observations, and formal testing, I make recommendations for treatment or other services (e.g. speech therapy). My assessments may include a visit to preschools to make sure your child is getting the help they need.
I work with your family to create a plan to help your child reach their full potential and connect with the right services.
- ADHD testing for preschoolers
- Testing for preschool admission or giftedness
- Autism spectrum evaluations
- Infant Assessment (for foster or adopted babies)
- Developmental Assessment (for medical issues or disabilities)
Parent Consultations For:
- Toilet Training
- Feeding Challenges
- Sleep Problems
- Frequent Crying/Fussiness
- Behavior (e.g. biting, tantrums)
Parent-Child (Dyadic) Therapy
I offer treatment for young children and caregivers together, to help families meet the emotional needs of their babies and preschoolers. I am trained in the special needs of young children who have experienced stress or changes in their families. I work with families to develop a plan to improve the relationships in the family, help parents manage behavioral problems in their young children, prevent later emotional problems, and reduce family stress.
Therapy for young children includes their parent or caregiver in every session and is play-based, as children express themselves best through play. I will help you learn to understand your child’s play and through it, their feelings, worries, and understanding of their world. We’ll use puppets, animals, dolls, and figures to teach new skills and your child cope with his feelings. We will also use behavioral techniques as needed to address tantrums and other challenging behavior. Therapy will help you and your child feel closer and more connected as you spend quality time enjoying each other and learning to play as your child needs.
Foster Care and Adoption Services
- Work closely with foster parents, kinship caregivers, biological parents in the process of reunification, adoptive parents, and social workers
- Grief work for loss of primary caregivers
- Support development of new attachments
- Assist in processing separations and trauma
- Caregiver support and education
School Consultations:
- Able to observe child in school setting and provide recommendations for environmental changes and other strategies to improve behavior and learning
- If needed, I can provide ongoing teacher/staff training and monitoring of interventions for success or failure.
- I also provide teacher trainings, workshops, and reflective supervision.
Learn more at my blog: Stress in Infants and Toddlers and What is Infant Mental Health?
Get a handout on: 100 Ways to Praise Your Child
