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Mary K. Alvord, Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist and Director of Alvord, Baker & Associates, Dr. Alvord has more than 30 years of clinical experience. Dr. Alvord has developed a style that incorporates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and a Systems approach. She specializes in the treatment of children, adolescents and adults with anxiety disorders, and children and teens with ADHD and problems of emotional and behavioral regulation through individual and group therapy. Dr. Alvord holds a position as Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences and of Pediatrics at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Heath Sciences.
In 1977 Dr. Alvord helped to establish a mental health clinic for children and adolescents through the Cheltenham Outreach Program. She
worked as a therapist and later as the Director of Psychology Training at the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents, a day and
residential treatment center. Dr. Alvord has presented on child and adolescent disorders and treatment for both national and international
professional audiences.
For the past 20 years, Dr. Alvord's focus has been on resilience and strength-based approaches. She has developed a model for group
therapy for social competence training which is based on these principles. She served as training coordinator of the Post-Doctoral Institute
on Child and Adolescent Psychology sponsored by the Maryland Psychological Association Foundation between October 2000 and June 2002. She has co-authored two journal articles on resilience and has contributed to the American
Psychological Association's (APA) public education guides on resilience in children and teens. Currently Dr. Alvord serves as APA's Public
Education Coordinator for the Maryland Psychological Association. Dr. Alvord frequently appears in the media. She has been interviewed by media outlets including Woman’s Day and Health magazines, Washington Post, USA Today and US News & World Report, and local as well as international TV on topics ranging from stress, anxiety, and social competence, to coping with adversity.
Dr. Alvord was honored as the first recipient of the American
Psychological Associations Presidential Innovative Practice Citation (2009). The award is part of the 2009 Presidential Future of Psychology
Practice initiative to recognize groundbreaking practices that may inspire other practitioners. Visit the APA website to learn more about Dr. Alvord's selection for this citation.
Dr. Alvord is co-author of Resilience Builder Program for Children and Adolescents: Enhancing Social Competence and Self-Regulation — A Cognitive-Behavioral Group Approach, released in February 2011. Dr. Alvord is also co-author of Relaxation and Self-Regulation Techniques for Children and Teens: Mastering the Mind-Body Connection (compact disc and digital; released August 1, 2011); and for adults, Relaxation and Wellness Techniques: Mastering the Mind-Body Connection (compact disc and digital; released January 2013).
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Patricia Baker, Ph.D, LCSW-C, BCD
Social Worker
Licensed and Board-certified with a Ph.D. in clinical social work, Dr. Baker has 35 years of clinical experience, 27 of which have been in private practice. Her postdoctoral studies include the following: grief and loss with the Steven Daniel Jeffrey’s Foundation:, certification in trauma treatment with the Institute for Advanced Psychotherapy Training, and mediation with the Baltimore Mediation Center.
The foundation of Dr. Baker’s approach to treatment includes Psychodynamic, Behavioral, Cognitive Behavioral, and Systems theory. She works with children, adolescents and adults, doing individual, couples, parenting and family work. In her work with children with ADHD and associated secondary disorders, Dr. Baker brings a unique expertise through both her professional preparation and her teaching. She also specializes in working with adults who have experienced trauma, and complicated grief and loss. In addition to treating both children and adults experiencing depression and anxiety, she treats children who are struggling with loss, anger and confusion over their parents’ divorce.
Dr. Baker has served as Director of Psychiatry and Substance Abuse at Washington, D.C.’s Providence Hospital, creating and implementing programs, supervising staff, and administering the 60-bed facility. She also worked at the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA)in Rockville, a day and residential treatment facility as Senior Social Worker, and, Director of Social Work Student Training, and at the Cheltenham Outreach Center.
At The Catholic University of America, Dr. Baker has taught graduate-level courses on Human Behavior, Theory and Practice and Intervention with Children and Adolescents. She has published articles relating to the treatment of adolescents and has presented at many workshops and conferences. She appeared on National Public Radio’s Kojo Nnamdi Show to discuss “Step-Parenting.”
Dr. Baker was recently inducted into the National Academies of Practice as a “Distinguished Practitioner of Social Work,” a life-time award, to which only 150 may be so designated nationally.
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Erica Berger , LCSW-C
Social Worker
Licensed clinical social worker with more than 14 years of experience, Ms. Berger has provided a broad range of counseling services including individual, family, couples and group therapy. In addition, she has completed the intensive clinical externship program in Family Therapy with the Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York. Areas of specialty include: anxiety; depression; family communication; family transitions; adolescent development; adjustment to illness; and bereavement. While at Ackerman, she was presented with the Carl Kempner Award recognizing her work assisting families dealing with terminal illness . She has worked with children and families coping with disabilities, trauma, and chronic/life threatening illness. This work included assisting families who were dealing with loss from the September 11 th tragedy. While at The Family Center in New York , Ms. Berger helped to develop Teen Scene, a monthly drop-in group for inner city youth. In addition to her clinical experience, she has spent more than six years offering consultation and supervision to clinical social workers.
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Lisa Berghorst, Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist, Dr. Berghorst earned her doctoral degree from Harvard University and completed her internship at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate in Belmont, MA. Dr. Berghorst has experience providing assessment and treatment services to children, adolescents, and adults with a diverse range of clinical presentations, including particular expertise addressing mood and anxiety disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar disorder, OCD, social anxiety disorder, GAD), behavioral difficulties, and social skills deficits. She has provided individual and group therapy in a variety of clinical settings, including outpatient, therapeutic day school, residential hospital, and partial hospital programs. Within these settings, Dr. Berghorst utilizes empirically-based treatments, especially cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), behavior therapy (including exposure and response prevention (ERP), among others), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). In addition to providing mental health services, Dr. Berghorst has extensive clinical research experience from her work within the Pediatric and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch at the NIMH, the Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Harvard University, and the Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research at McLean Hospital. Treatment outcome studies are among her clinical research interests, with a current focus on examining the effectiveness of our group and individual treatment services.
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Lynn F. Bufka, Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist in the states of Maryland and Massachusetts, Dr. Bufka earned her doctorate from Boston University with pre-doctoral training at Brockton Veterans' Affairs Medical Center / Harvard Medical School . She completed post doctoral training at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University under the supervision of Dr. David Barlow. Her clinical expertise is in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders. In addition to the treatment of anxiety disorders in adolescents and adults, Dr. Bufka is interested in issues related to identity development and cross-cultural adaptation and has experience working with these issues with college students and young adults. Other professional interests include evidence based practice, outcomes management, health policy and cross cultural psychology.
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Betsy Carmichael, LCSW-C
Social Worker
Licensed clinical social worker in Maryland with experience providing individual, group, and family therapy, Ms. Carmichael earned her advanced social work degree with a clinical concentration at The Catholic University of America. She has years of experience as a school social worker in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. schools. In these environments she has treated youth with a range of issues including learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, ADHD, anxiety, OCD, and autism. She also specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents on the autism spectrum and has had extensive experience running social skills groups and teaching parents and school staff how to promote generalization of these skills. Another area of expertise for Ms. Carmichael is the treatment of body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) such as trichotillomania and compulsive skin-picking. Ms. Carmichael has a particular interest in promoting thought and behavior changes that help children and adolescents enhance their self-esteem, develop coping strategies, and foster meaningful relationships with peers.
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Karan Lamb, Psy.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist with experience in individual and group psychotherapy, Dr. Lamb completed her pre-doctoral internship at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn , New York where she worked at the child and adolescent clinic, and adult inpatient. She received her doctoral degree from The George Washington University. She has worked at the Adele Lebowitz Center for Youth and Family in Washington , DC as an individual and group therapist. For 8 years, Dr. Lamb worked as a psychologist with the Johns Hopkins University 's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Family Study, interviewing multi-generations of families with OCD and trained other clinicians in the assessment of OCD. Dr. Lamb specializes in the assessment and treatment of ADHD, anxiety and depressive disorders. In addition, she has interest and experience with psychoeducational assessments, social skills groups, and school consultations, for children from pre-school to high school age. She is currently the consulting psychologist for the Auburn School – Silver Spring campus and a member of their Advisory Board.
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Keri Linas, Ph.D, Psy.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist with a double doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology and Child, Family, School Studies from the University of Denver. Dr. Linas completed her pre-doctoral training at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, her post-doctoral training at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, and a fellowship in the Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. Dr. Linas has provided a broad range of services to children, adolescents and families in outpatient, inpatient, and community based mental health centers. Professional interests and expertise include assessment and treatment of children with behavioral and learning disorders, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, oppositional behavioral disorders, and young children with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Linas is also interested in the promotion of mental health wellness for young children (0-5 years) and their families as well as the issues associated with the transition to motherhood, including post partum depression.
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Heather Loffredo, Psy.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist with expertise in psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and families. Dr. Loffredo completed her pre-doctoral training at Children’s National Medical Center's Neurodevelopmental Clinic, where she gained experience assessing children with developmental delays, and Children’s National Medical Center at HSC Pediatric Center, where she specialized in psychological treatment and assessment of pediatric populations. Through her post-doctoral training, she concentrated extensively on group and individual therapy with children and adolescents and psycho-educational assessments. Dr. Loffredo has also worked as the lead psychologist for Friendship Public Charter Schools, where she focused on treatment of children with special education needs, including academic, behavioral, and social-emotional difficulties. Specific areas of clinical expertise and interest include: psycho-educational evaluations and treatment of children and adolescents with social deficits, learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, behavioral challenges, grief and loss, issues related to self-esteem, stress-management, and co-morbid medical diagnoses.
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Elizabeth Malesa, Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist in Maryland who received a PhD in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University and completed her internship and post-doctoral training in pediatric psychology at the A. I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. Dr. Malesa has experience providing a broad range of consultation, assessment, and intervention services for children, adolescents, and their families, with particular expertise in developmental disorders of infancy and childhood (e.g., autism spectrum disorders). Dr. Malesa has provided mental health services in a variety of settings including the early intervention system, hospitals, pediatric primary care, community mental health clinics, and private practice. With regard to psychotherapy, she uses empirically-grounded treatment modalities including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), behavior therapy, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), and Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Dr. Malesa has particular interest in group therapy, and has conducted a number of groups for children with autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, and disruptive behaviors. Other specific services include individual and family therapy for anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, mood dysregulation, autism spectrum disorders, and feeding disorders, as well as parenting strategies for children with disruptive behaviors. She also specializes in conducting comprehensive psychological evaluations for children with a variety of presenting conditions including attention disorders, executive function dysregulation, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, and mood and anxiety disorders.
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Dorothy Moore, LCSW-C, BCD
Social Worker
Licensed clinical social worker and member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers with over 30 years of experience including direct services to children, adolescents and their families, Ms. Moore trained at the Family Therapy Institute of Washington, D. C. with Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes. She has managed a crisis center for women and children fleeing domestic violence, a therapeutic nursery program and a highly structured therapeutic and educational program for adolescents and their families. Ms. Moore specializes in the challenges of teaching parent education and is very familiar with PET and STEP. She has a particular interest in working with families with diverse backgrounds.
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Kelly O'Brien, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist, Dr. O’Brien provides evidence-informed, cognitive-behavioral and family based approaches to the assessment and treatment of child and adolescent anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavior problems. She completed her doctoral training in Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida, where she acquired expertise in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), an empirically supported treatment for young children with attention and behavior problems. Over the past eight years, including her internship at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, she has provided mental health services to children, adolescents, and families in a variety of settings including community clinics, schools, pediatric primary care, and hospitals. She has been a therapist for clinical research studies of PCIT and intensive cognitive-behavioral therapy for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Dr. O’Brien is also currently employed as a Research Assistant Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) and she is assistant director of the UMD ADHD Program. She has particular interests in early intervention and dissemination of evidence based practices to community therapists and schools.
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Kim Painter, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist, Dr. Painter earned her doctoral degree from Colorado State University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at a community mental health center in Colorado where she specialized in treating children and families in outpatient and day treatment settings. During her graduate work, she consulted with local school districts (pre-K through high school) regarding how best to meet the needs of children with emotional, behavioral, and/or autism spectrum disorders within the school setting, including Early Head Start and Head Start programs. Dr. Painter then joined Silber Psychological Services, a private group practice serving children, adolescents, and their families and remained on staff for 5 years providing therapy services (individual, group, and family) and psychological evaluations before relocating to Maryland. While Dr. Painter enjoys working with children and adolescents with a wide variety of presenting issues, she has special interest in treating behavior and attention disorders, anxiety, depression, parenting issues, and other family-related problems. Another part of Dr. Painter’s practice is conducting comprehensive psychological evaluations to assist in the process of identifying factors that may be interfering with a child or adolescent’s ability to reach his or her full potential. These include evaluations to identify learning disabilities (and other learning, processing, or memory difficulties), attentional or executive functioning problems, and autism spectrum disorders (which includes the use of the ADOS). In addition, Dr. Painter has expertise in working with individuals on the autism spectrum and others who also experience social skills deficits. She is the author of Social Skills Groups for Children and Adolescents with Asperger's Syndrome: A Step-by-Step Program.
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Veronica Raggi, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist, Dr. Raggi earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland, with particular emphasis on the evidence-based treatment of child and adolescent ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders. She completed a pre-doctoral internship at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and postdoctoral training at the New York University Child Study Center, through which she provided a wide range of assessment, treatment and consultation services for children, adolescents and families. She has published in numerous scholarly journals on topics such as academic and homework-related concerns, parenting issues, and school-based treatment of ADHD. Dr. Raggi currently provides individual therapy (child, adolescent, and adult), family therapy, behavioral parent training, school consultation services, and psycho-educational/psychological assessments. She has extensive experience in the application of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral approaches in the treatment of child and adolescent anxiety (including selective mutism), social skills deficits, depression, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, academic problems, and organizational skills deficits. She also has interest and experience in the provision of family therapy to address conflict, communication, and relationship issues.
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Michael Reiter, Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist in Maryland and New York, Dr. Reiter earned his doctorate from the George Washington University and completed his pre-doctoral internship at Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Reiter has worked in a variety of clinical settings, including a pediatric and adolescent clinic at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, where he provided individual, family, couples, and group therapy, and parental guidance to clients and their families. Dr. Reiter has particular interest in working with couples (both pre-marital and marital) and families in therapy to address conflict, communication, parenting strategies, mental health, and other relationship issues. Dr. Reiter works with children and their families on behavior and school-related issues and provides school-consultation services to help determine the best placement and services needed for the child. He specializes in individual and family work with special health care needs, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, ADHD, and high-risk teen behaviors. Dr. Reiter’s primary approach includes a combination of Cognitive Behavior and Family Systems Therapies.
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Monica Robb , Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist, Dr. Robb received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a specialty in deafness from Gallaudet University and is a licensed psychologist in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. During her graduate training, she completed externships at CPC Health/Chestnut Lodge Hospital and Howard University Counseling Center. She received her pre-doctoral training at Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Robb has worked as a staff Clinician at a private therapeutic school for students with learning, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Currently, she provides individual therapy to adults, children, and adolescents, as well as group therapy for children and adolescents. Dr. Robb specializes in social competence training, depression, anxiety (including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and Trichotillomania. She also has an interest in the area of stress management, especially as it relates to cardiac health. Her clinical treatment approach incorporates integrative psychotherapy within a Cognitive-Behavioral framework in an effort to meet the individual needs of clients.
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Jessica Samson, Psy.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist in Maryland, Dr. Samson earned her degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati and completed her pre-doctoral internship at Wayne State University in Detroit. She has background and expertise in providing individual and family therapy to children and adolescents with a wide range of psychopathology in inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. During her postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr. Samson had extensive experience in providing cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) to children and adolescents with anxiety and tic disorders. Additional clinical experiences include conducting psychological evaluations and group therapy with children and adolescents with specific interests in the treatment of disruptive behavior disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders; divorce and separation; and the dissemination of evidence-based treatments in communities with diverse backgrounds.
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Lisa Sanchez, Ph.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist in Maryland and the District of Columbia, Dr. Sanchez earned her degree at the University of Maryland, where she completed specialty training in evidence based approaches for treating children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and ADHD/behavior problems. Her pre-doctoral and post-doctoral experience at Childrens National Medical Center in Washington, DC, provided a broad range of experiences including individual therapy, assessment of children with executive functioning disorders, and assessment of young children with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders. As part of her training, she also completed a fellowship in the Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. At Alvord, Baker, & Associates, Dr. Sanchez continues to provide treatment and testing services for children of all ages. Her intervention approach is guided by cognitive behavioral and family systems theory. Specific services include a behavioral therapy program for socially anxious/shy children, parent training programs for children with disruptive behaviors, and comprehensive neurodevelopmental evaluations for toddlers and preschool age children who are suspected of having an autism spectrum disorder. She also has interest and experience in treatment of mood disorders, coping with chronic illness, and school consultation. In addition to providing treatment services, Dr. Sanchez is our Director of Research, and is in the process of implementing empirical approaches to study the effectiveness of our group and individual treatments.
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Tom Verratti, LCSW-C, BCD
Social Worker
Licensed clinical social worker and Board Certified Diplomate with more that 25 years of clinical experience. Mr. Verratti has served as a consultant to the Montgomery County (Maryland) Child Mental Health Staff, MCPS, served as Chief Clinical Social Worker for a private child psychiatry practice and was Clinical Program Director for a residential treatment center for adolescents. Mr. Verratti specializes in family therapy with adolescents, individual work with children, adolescents and adults, couples therapy, as well as child and adolescent group therapy. Additionally, Mr. Verratti is a Life and Executive Coach.
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Bonnie Zucker, Psy.D
Psychologist
Licensed psychologist with background and expertise in psychotherapy with adults, adolescents, and children. Dr. Zucker completed her postdoctoral training at William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Associates, where she acquired extensive experience administering neuropsychological tests and conducting psycho-educational evaluations. Her pre-doctoral training included co-leading social skills groups at the Hyperactivity, Attention, and Learning Problems (HALP) clinic at the University of Chicago. Dr. Zucker's areas of interest include: individual, family, couples, and group therapy; treatment of anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD and learning problems, emotional and behavioral problems, social skills training, relationship & self-esteem issues, and sexual abuse & sexual reactivity; and psycho-educational assessments. Dr. Zucker is the author of Anxiety-Free Kids: An Interactive Guide for Parents and Children, Take Control of OCD: The Ultimate Guide for Kids with OCD, and the co-author of Resililence Builder Program for Children and Adolescents: Enhancing Social Competence and Self-Regulation (A Cognitive-Behavioral Group Approach) and Relaxation and Self-Regulation Techniques for Children and Teens: Mastering the Mind Body Connection (audio CD). and for adults, Relaxation and Wellness Techniques: Mastering the Mind-Body Connection (compact disc and digital; released January 2013). Her books and CDs are all based on the cognitive-behavioral approach. Dr.Zucker is also active in training other mental health professionals on the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adults.
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