Child & Family Development Child & Family Development

Psychological Services

Psychologists work closely with educators and other developmental therapists to understand the learning needs of school-aged children, adolescents, and young adults during comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations.

Who it's for

We help kids, adolescents and young adults with difficulties, including but not limited to:

Anxiety & depression

Anxiety or depression can manifest in children in a variety of ways including: feeling nervous, having an increased heart rate; breathing rapidly (hyperventilation); sadness, a feeling of hopelessness, and mood changes (i.e., irritability or anger); social withdrawal; changes in appetite; changes in sleep; vocal outbursts or crying; difficulty concentrating; fatigue and low energy, physical complaints (such as stomachaches, headaches); or feelings of worthlessness or guilt.

ADHD and other attention difficulties

ADHD is marked by a pattern of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Children and adolescents with ADHD, however, experience these symptoms repeatedly and in a way that is severe enough to have an impact at home, at school, or in social situations. Problems with executive functioning are common in children with ADHD and include difficulties with planning, organization, strategizing, paying attention to and remembering details, and managing time and space.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. Children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often present with: social communication difficulties, poor social interactions, and restricted interests and/or repetitive behaviors.

Learning disorders

Learning disorders are neurologically-based processing problems. These processing problems can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing and/or math.  They can also interfere with higher level skills such as organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short term memory and attention.

Give us a call, we do evaluations and can help.

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Play Therapy

During play therapy a licensed mental health clinician who has received special training in counseling with young children will use specially chosen toys to provide children a safe space to communicate and understand their underlying emotional needs in a way that is meaningful to them.

Psychoeducational Evaluations

During evaluations, we assess the following domains: attention, language, memory, visual processing, reasoning ability, speed, academic achievement (e.g., reading, writing, math), visual-motor functioning (e.g., handwriting), phonological processing abilities, organization skills, and social/emotional functioning.

Counseling

Psychologists and counselors provide ongoing therapy services to preschoolers through young adults to address concerns related to mood, behavior, and social skills. In children and adolescents, playing, drawing, building, and pretending, as well as talking, are important ways of sharing feelings and resolving problems.

Skilled intervention techniques

Individual Psychotherapy

Psychologists and counselors provide ongoing therapy services to preschoolers through young adults to address concerns related to mood, behavior, and social skills. In children and adolescents, playing, drawing, building, and pretending, as well as talking, are important ways of sharing feelings and resolving problems.

Parent training

Parent training, is a family of treatment programs that aims to change parenting behaviors, teaching parents positive reinforcement methods for improving pre-school and school-age children’s behavior problems (such as aggression, hyperactivity, temper tantrums, and difficulty following directions). Treatment focuses on parents learning to provide positive reinforcement, such as praise and rewards, for children’s appropriate behaviors while setting proper limits, using methods such as removing attention for inappropriate behaviors.

Group therapy

Social skills are the tools that enable people to communicate, learn, ask for help, get needs met in appropriate ways, get along with others, make friends, develop healthy relationships, and protect themselves. Children or adolescents who have difficulty forming age-appropriate friendships, demonstrate avoidance of social situations, or impulsive or aggressive behaviors that interfere with successful social functioning may benefit from participation.

Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future. Emotional self-regulation or regulation of emotion is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as well as the ability to delay spontaneous reactions as needed.

Our team

All of our team hold Master’s or doctoral degrees and are licensed in the state of NC. They have worked in hospitals, schools, and community centers.

Shavonda Bean

MA Appalachian State University

Pineville

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Jennifer Cobb

MA UNC-Charlotte
BS NC State University

Pineville

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Cecily Gadaire

PhD University of North Carolina at Charlotte
MA University of North Carolina at Charlotte
BA Elon University

Pineville

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Taylor Hoover

MS East Carolina University
BS University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Midtown

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Gretchen Hunter

PhD University of Georgia
MHS University of Florida
BA University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Midtown

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Gillian Howard

MA Columbia University
BA University of Connecticut

Midtown

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Barbara Kissam

MD Saint Louis School of Medicine
BA UCLA

Midtown and Pineville

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Caroline Leonczyk

PhD University of Alabama at Birmingham
BA University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Midtown

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Melissa Lloyd

MA Wake Forest University
BA Queens University of Charlotte

Pineville

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Rhea Lourens

MA Wake Forest University
BA NC State University

Pineville

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Jerica McIntyre

MA Western Carolina University
BA University of North Carolina at Asheville

Midtown

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Lindsey Pallas

PsyD Mercer University
MS Mercer University
BS Mercer University

Midtown

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Brandyn Street

PhD Vanderbilt University
BA Wake Forest University

Pineville

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