Positions: I began my work at the MAC as a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Morris. I provided therapy and evaluations to adults and children predominantly on the autism spectrum. I was licensed 9/2019 and stopped requiring supervision at that time. Currently, I am the Director of Adult Services at the Moore Autism Center.Patient Population: At the MAC, most patients are on the autism spectrum or have developmental concerns. I specialize in older teenagers and adults with “level 1” autism spectrum disorder. Many clients have comorbid diagnoses, such as depression, anxiety, and attentional difficulties. Therapy: My therapy is eclectic, combining therapy techniques that would work best with each client. My approach is collaborative, making sure each patient knows they are in control of their own treatment. Therapy is skill based, so that patients have a number of skills to choose between for each situation that may arise. The therapeutic relationship is very important, especially in social skills building, and mirroring a social relationship while giving immediate feedback is something highlighted in sessions. I also run social skills groups when available, focusing on teenagers and adults. I am proficient in in-person therapy and telehealth.Assessment: I predominantly administer autism-focused assessments to teenagers and adults, but have provided assessments to children as young as 2-years-old. Assessments include developmental, intellectual, adaptive, behavioral, mood, and attentional measures. Assessments are comprehensive and include the gold-standard of autism testing (the ADOS-2).

Consortium Placement: Beatrice State Developmental Center Internship Consortium: Through NICPP, I had the ability to work with interns and psychologists specializing in other fields of psychology. Interns met monthly for didactics and to share experiences, teach others about their field, and for staff presentations. Additionally, interns went on site visits to explore other internships within the consortium. My placement in the consortium was at Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC). Patient Population: At BSDC I work with an interdisciplinary team to provide psychological and behavioral support to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); intellectual and developmental disabilities; and physical and psychological difficulties. My role at BSDC is a combined behavior analyst and psychology role. Therapy: As an intern, I provide individual therapy to residents who would benefit from social skills training, sexual education, and emotional identification and regulation. Additionally, I implement data based behavioral interventions to a large number of individuals in a residential setting. I also work as a behavior analyst and integrate with multiple disciplines to consult with an interdisciplinary team, the individuals served, and their families to provide comprehensive care. Furthermore, I provide on-call crisis help for individuals after hours. Assessments: In my psychology role, I administer autism assessments, intelligence tests, adaptive behavior assessments, dementia screenings, and clinical interviews with staff. Importantly, this role has expanded my capacity to account for ability in assessments, such as modifying assessments for those who are non-verbal or may have limited range of motion. Supervisors: Shawn Bryant, Psy.D., Wanda Miller, Psy.D.

College Living Experience is a wrap-around educational program for college-aged students with developmental delays, ASD, intellectual disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and/or learning disabilities. CLE’s primary goal is to teach and foster independence and aid social, academic, and career development as well as promote independent living skills. As a social skills mentor I provided social skills training, emotional regulation skills, and independent living skills training individually. I also facilitated social skills groups. Additionally, I was responsible for creating and observing developmentally appropriate social excursions throughout the week and on weekends. While on the social activities, I was responsible for providing in the moment social skills training to large groups of students.Supervisor: Galen Chun, Psy.D.

As the Summer Camp Activity Coordinator, I provided developmentally appropriate activities while observing and providing feedback to High School aged individuals with developmental delays. Additionally, I worked on social skills with the students and facilitated and encouraged interaction with others.Supervisor: Galen Chun, Psy.D.

Patient Population: Nova Southeastern University’s Mailman Segal Center is a multidisciplinary center that houses several programs and schools for children who are have ASD, developmental disabilities, or struggle with behavioral challenges spanning the lifespan.Therapy: I was trained in and used evidence based behavioral interventions in an individual and group setting. I worked in the Starting Right Program, a program for children 18 months through 36 months of age who attend with a parent/caregiver in a group setting which offers individual centers. I provided Pivotal Response Treatment in a naturalistic play setting to modify targeted behaviors and to reach developmental goals. I also received training in Discrete Trail Training and assisted in the administration of trials for children in this program. While working with the young child clients I also simultaneously provided coaching, education, and therapeutic support for the parent/caregiver. Additionally, I co-facilitated a weekly therapeutic and educational group for the parents/caregivers of the children in this program. In addition to the Starting Right Program, I also took the lead on developing and facilitating a social skills group for a college support program for college students who have autism. Assessments: I conducted diagnostic and research assessments in the Unicorn Children’s Foundation Clinic at the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development. Assessments include autism assessments (including the ADOS-2), adaptive behavior tests, intelligence assessments, achievement tests, and language assessments.Supervisor: Jennifer Ries, Ph.D.

I was responsible for grading and correcting the scoring and interpretation of projective assessments such as the Rorschach, Projective Drawings, and the Thematic Apperception Test. Course Number: PSY 2511Instructor: Barry Schneider, Ph.D.

Patient Population: The GATE program is a forensic based private practice that receives referrals from the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Children and Families, and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, among others. The primary population of GATE is children and adolescents who exhibited sexually reactive, aggressive, and offender-type behaviors; juveniles detained in Juvenile Detention; individuals with trauma; and adults, children and adolescents with ASD and intellectual disabilities. Many youths within the GATE program participate in GATE’s diversion program for sexual crimes. Therapy: Therapy provided included individual and group based therapies. Individual therapy with diverted youth consisted of evidence based treatments, primarily cognitive and interpersonal approaches. I also provided individual treatment for clients with ASD, which was primarily behavioral. Additionally, I co-facilitated a psychoeducational parent training group for parents of children who are participating in the diversion program for sexual crimes. Assessments: Assessments included recommendations for placement with youths in the Juvenile Justice System, capacity to parent, developmental, achievement, trauma, behavior, attentional concerns, substance abuse, and intellectual assessments. Supervisors: Deirdre Knapp, Psy.D., Jeannie Brooks, Psy.D., Juliana Gerena, Psy.D.

Patient Population: TRIP is a community clinic with a population that primarily consisted of adult survivors of prolonged physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, with some clients struggling with single incident trauma. Presentations included, but were not limited to, posttraumatic stress disorder, sexual compulsivity, complex trauma, dissociative disorders, and borderline personality disorder.Therapy: The primary modality of treatment was Contextual Therapy, an approach which treats the psychological effects of trauma while taking into consideration other aspects of family life and personal environment which may be impacting the client’s presentation. Therapy was collaborative, client-guided, and utilized the three stage model of trauma treatment. Furthermore, I was trained in and used evidence based trauma specific interventions such as Prolonged Exposure Therapy and Traumatic Incident Reduction. Additionally, I led two dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) groups. Assessments: With each intake, a comprehensive packet of self-report assessments were provided to assist with diagnosis and trauma-based research, and a structured clinical interview for sexual and/or physical abuse was administered. In addition, I provided a scale for sexual compulsivity, the Rorschach, as well as The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders to clients.Supervisor: Steven Gold, Ph.D.

Patient Population: Camillus Health Concern is a multidisciplinary community clinic which serves the homeless or precariously housed Miami residents. Most clients are self-referred or referred by another health professional within the building. Clients seen at CHC typically had severe mental health concerns such as psychosis, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, or active suicidal ideation. Many times clients had comorbid health concerns, multiple diagnoses, and previous or current addictions to substances or sex.Therapy: Individual therapy was integrated and consisted primarily of Psychodynamic, Humanistic, Existential, Gestalt, and Cognitive Behavioral interventions. I was also responsible for taking crisis calls, consulting with the multidisciplinary team, making abuse reports, and doing intake evaluations. Additionally, I co-facilitated a psycho-educational group therapy for female survivors of violence, as well as co-facilitating a support group for homeless men and women.Assessments: I administered neuropsychological assessments and wrote integrated reports for disability assessments through SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery. Assessments consisted of neuropsychological and psychodiagnostic measures.Supervisors: Efrain Gonzalez, Psy.D., Kamila Mohammed-Ali, Ph.D.

I was a paid research assistant for a project identifying possible mental illness via iTunes by identifying themes prevalent in one’s playlist. As a research assistant, it was my duty to assist in developing and writing a literature review, aiding in data analysis, and providing insight into the research design.Supervisor: Erica Hill, Ph.D.

As an intern to the Fairfax County Government’s Department of Women, I was trained as a counselor through the government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I was responsible for providing phone therapy, empathetic listening, safety planning, and crisis management skills, as well as references to whatever resources the caller needed. I was also in charge of developing a program to encourage LGBT inclusivity.

As a volunteer to the Music Therapy department, I worked one on one with long-term patients that had both severe psychological diagnoses and physical disabilities. I had the opportunity to gain experience with psychological disorders including schizophrenia, substance abuse, and severe dementia. I was trained how to use music and cognitive therapy to improve memory, physical activity, and mood.

My duties as research assistant included compiling data to assist researchers in the field of trauma on a meta-analysis looking at dissociation and its relationship to trauma. I read scientific articles, analyzed the data, and then organized the relevant information. Additionally, I was responsible for presentations to both the researchers and the other assistants to explain the data and findings.