Welcome!
A major goal of my work with and
for children, adolescents and their families is to help provide the foundation
and build the skills necessary to optimize functioning over the life-span. A
child’s development can be seriously disrupted when faced with behavioral
health problems, making it critical to intervene as early as possible so that
he or she can have a typical developmental course.
My practice is evidence-based;
that is, the assessments and treatments I use have been extensively evaluated
over many years. Research has shown that Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is
the most effective treatment for most behavioral health disorders. CBT is a
short-term, problem-focused and goal-oriented treatment with a strong
skills-building component. My approach to evaluation and treatment integrates
the best available research with clinical experience and expertise and uses
this within the context of the characteristics, culture, and preferences of the
child and family to improve outcomes. Additionally, collaboration with other
treatment providers, such as pediatricians, child psychiatrists, and teachers
is an important part of this approach. Services can be provided in my office or
on-site where the difficulties are occurring, such as home or school.
In addition to providing direct services
for individuals, my goal is to reach out to providers in school and community
settings who may not otherwise have the opportunity to develop and fine-tune
skills in these treatment approaches. Therefore, I also provide consultation
services to schools and agencies as well as in-service training and workshops
for staff.
Having served as the Director of
the Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic for Children at the Yale Child Study Center
and the Clinical Director of the Tourette Syndrome/Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder/Anxiety Disorder Specialty Clinic, I have extensive experience in the
evaluation and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders affecting children,
adolescents and their families. In addition to my direct clinical experience, I
have been a co-investigator on several federally-funded research projects as
well as training and supervising pre- and post-doctoral psychology students and
child psychiatry fellows. I am very gratified to be able to use my skills to bring harmony to the lives of children and families.
