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My Mission |
I have very often seen myself as a guide in helping people explore possible resolutions to the problems they face. I hope to provide a very safe, supportive environment where we can develop action-oriented strategies to improve life circumstances. When working with adults, I enjoy being able to share helpful knowledge that I've learned both along my professional path to becoming a psychologist but also as I've personally striven to lead a life with less conflict, stress, and negative emotions.
When working with children and families, it is easy for me to reflect upon feelings I've experienced as a parent myself. I understand how scary it can be to see your child struggle and not know why. My goal as a child psychologist and behavior analyst is to use the training and experience I have accumulated over the past decade to provide high quality assessment and treatment services to families. I try to offer efficient, targeted services. For example, I will share results of the psychological assessment within 1-3 weeks of collecting all needed information. During therapy and/or behavioral intervention, I will use research-supported treatment methods and explain the rationale for use of each strategy. Please always feel free to ask any questions you have! I enjoy discussing specific, action-oriented strategies. During child interventions, I hope to empower parents in using effective strategies that can be used to change child behavior. Parents/caregivers are heavily involved in the services I provide as I believe parents understand their children the best and can provide the most comprehensive information to inform a diagnostic assessment or behavioral intervention. I also like to obtain input from teachers or other professionals helping the child. I am happy to answer any question(s) parents may have throughout the assessment/treatment process, and it is my intention that my written reports can help parents advocate for their children. I am fortunate to have had the wonderful training and experiences listed below for longer than a decade. I have continued to offer these specialized services in my own practice. |
Education & Training |
In order to develop a high level of expertise in serving children and families experiencing developmental disability, I completed a two-year fellowship at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Child Development Center in Columbus, OH and then stayed for another seven years as a psychology faculty member. It was during these nine years when I really became an expert in psychological/diagnostic evaluations and behavioral interventions for a wide variety of developmental disabilities including but not limited to Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Language Delays, Intellectual/Cognitive Delays, Genetic Syndromes/Chromosomal Abnormalities, and Epilepsy. I worked alongside Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Neurologists, and Speech/Language Pathologists to complete several diagnostic evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorders per week. I also developed a focus in Applied Behavior Analysis and pursued the Board Certified Behavior Analyst certification which led to expertise in the treatment of a wide range of childhood problems such as tantrums, aggression, self-injury, feeding refusal, toileting problems/constipation, and sleep disorders. It was also a great joy to provide clinical supervision for various psychology trainees. I have helped families from all walks of life including various racial, ethnic, religious, and financial backgrounds.
During my time at Nationwide Children's, I had the honor of working with the Down Syndrome Association of Central Ohio (DSACO), including giving three parent presentations related to behavioral interventions. I have several informational posts on the Autism Speaks website Got Questions? page regarding behavioral interventions. My scholarly research participation includes co-authorship on papers related to Down Syndrome and Constipation Management in children with Autism as well as several poster presentations at the American Psychological Association on similar topics. I am a continued member of the American Psychological Association, Ohio Psychological Association, and Ohio Association for Applied Behavior Analysis. Prior to joining Nationwide Children's, I earned my doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Wright State University's School of Professional Psychology in Dayton, OH where I was trained in a wide variety of issues impacting children, adolescents, and adults. A key practicum was at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Division of Developmental Disabilities where we provided developmental and behavioral assessments for children. During graduate school, I served on our psychology program's student government all four years including two years as co-president, and I was also a liaison to the larger Wright State student government when I earned the Advocate of the Year Award for the collaborative work I did with student groups for those with disabilities (physical limitations, blindness, hearing impairment, etc) as well as the LGBTQ+ student group. To complete my doctoral degree, I trained as an intern at The Children's Hospital in Denver, CO where I had a wide range of experiences related to children and adolescents as well as specialty experiences in the assessment and treatment of children with developmental disabilities including training in the assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorders. I earned my Bachelor's degree in Psychology (minor in Sociology) at Ashland University in Ashland, OH. I had wonderful professors and earned the Junior and Senior Student of the Year Award in the Psychology Department. I am proud to call the smaller town of Tiffin, OH 'home'. |