SiPsychologistte Title
My Story: I decided that I wanted to be a clinical psychologist when I was 15 years old and looked around me in high school and saw that there were very few resources to help teens to cope with being teens. Making that decision sparked a flame in me that is still burning. I immediately improved my grades and then started doing the research (before internet) to determine what I needed to do to become a clinical psychologist. I encountered helper after helper who provided critical guidance along the way.
The first helpers were those clinical psychologists listed in the telephone book who answered their telephones and answered my questions about what it took to become a psychologist. In addition, there was the college recruiter who was assigned to my high school each week, who gave me advice about college weekly for two years, and then informed me to search for the minority graduate recruiter when I started at the college he represented (Northern Illinois University). I did in fact reach out to that person, and he helped me to make a plan for college that would ready me for the graduate program of my choice. I followed that plan, and was able to enroll in UNC Chapel Hill’s Clinical Psychology PhD program in 1990 directly after I completed my bachelor’s degree. I graduated with my PhD in Clinical Psychology 10 years after I made my decision - 6 years to the day and date that I graduated with my bachelor’s degree.
Couples and Individual Therapy: Therapy clients include those who seek assistance with moving beyond the condition in which they find themselves based on their own efforts. My 25 years of experience as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist helps couples and individuals to increase their insight into self and others to improve their quality of life and relationships. I have helped clients to learn to make decisions consistent with their goals, move through grief over deaths of loved ones, work through divorce, optimize their marriage, strengthen parenting skills, and increase their overall agency over their individual lives.
Psychological Assessments for College Students: Assessment clients include those who had accommodations for mental health issues in high school, as well as those who first started experiencing symptoms of mental illness in college (which is very common). School-tailored mental health assessment reports are prepared for college students who need ADA classroom and testing accommodations due to the impact of ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD, etc on learning. Accommodations may include separate testing administration, longer test periods, and extended due dates. Turn-around time for reports is 7 days.
Mental Health Expert, Author, Speaker: My 25 years as a psychologist and scientist powers my role as mental health expert/speaker who can address any human behavior topic, including the 15 topics covered in my book series. My presentations reflect my exceptional people engagement skills as I translate complex behavioral issues and research into plain language for audiences ranging from 6th-graders to my own professional peers. My goal is to ensure that my audiences walk away prepared to do one thing different to get the results they seek.