Widener University

Wake Forest University

Co-Founder and Lead Psychologist at The Neurodiversity Collective

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Neurodiversity Collective (NDC) is a space for neurodiverse individuals and their families to receive coaching, therapy, training, and consultation.  I provide both teletherapy and in-person therapy, as well as psychological assessments.  NDC is also a place where people within the neurodiverse community can receive training and professional development.

The Neurodiversity Collective

Co-Founder and Lead Psychologist

Pennsylvania association for gifted education (PAGE

Board Member

At Goldey-Beacom I teach Introduction to Personality Psychology, a 300-level course.  I updated the cirriculum from the previous professor and teach the course with an emphasis on identifying and understanding personality traits in ways that students can understand these concepts in real-world situations, whether they work in mental health, business, education, or another field.  I am a high-energy, dynamic professor who engages the class in multiple ways to accommodate for all learning styles.  I believe that if you have a passion for something, as I do for psychology, then you have a responsibility to share that passion with others.

Goldey-Beacom College

Adjunct Professor

At Evergreen, I focused on three areas of practice:  1)  I provide high-quality, solutions-focused psychotherapy to children, teenagers, adults, and families to help them navigate the challenges of life, 2) I consult with schools and local organizations to improve their Social-Emotional Learning programs, and 3) I serve as a resource for local professionals, parents, and students to learn more about giftedness and how to serve the needs of this population.

Evergreen Counseling and Psychological Associates

Clinical Psychologist

While at the Grayson School, I served as the school counselor for all students.  I conducted individual student sessions, met with parents, collaborated with teachers, and implemented a Social and Emotional Skills program that emphasized meta-cognitive skills, empathy, pro-social communication, and executive functioning.  I also served on the Diversity Committee to ensure that we were meeting the needs of all of our diverse students.  At Grayson, I designed and taught a customized course on Sex and Health Education specifically designed to meet the needs of gifted individuals.  I was able to share my work and research at several national conferences during my time at Grayson.  I was also the Ultimate Frisbee coach!

The Grayson School

Professional School Counselor

While at Child Guidance Resource Center (CGRC), I delivered individual 	and family therapy to a caseload of up to 10 clients at a time.  I created treatment plans and worked with the clients’ systems, including consultation with teachers, other therapists, and medical professionals, in 		order to provide the most effective and comprehensive care possible.  I utilized an eclectic approach, with elements of CBT, Strategic Family Therapy, ACT, and Motivational Interviewing.  I was able to collaborate with professionals within CGRC as well to meet the needs of my clients, 	including psychiatric and psychological testing services.  I also was responsible for conducting intake assessments, which included a bio-psycho-social interview and a diagnostic evaluation.  I also provided individual peer supervision to a junior colleague.

Child Guidance Resource Centers

Therapist

I was chosen to be the Teaching Assistant (TA) for Widener’s Intellectual 				Functioning class two years in a row.  For this class, I was required to teach a small lab group (8-10 students) the specific skills associated with administering the WISC and WAIS tests appropriately, as well as scoring the measure, understanding the results, and integrating those results into reports.  This position required me to field questions, give feedback, and grade the practical midterm examination, which is an essential hurdle for the first year graduate students to complete.  I also helped to give demonstrations in class of the techniques required to complete the specific subtests.  During my second year teaching, I taught a thirty-minute lecture of my own design about the importance of behavioral observations: how 	to record them and integrate them into a report.

Teaching Assistant

While at Fairmount Behavioral Health System (FBHS) inpatient hospital, I completed over 60 full psychological testing batteries that included intelligence, personality, and diagnostic measures.  I was responsible for 	completing reports on these batteries and delivering my findings to the clinical treatment team in daily case conferences, as well as to the clients and their families.  I assisted in the discharge process by identifying outside resources, collaborating with clients’ support networks, and providing targeted recommendations.  To do so effectively, I consulted with both in-house and outside providers.  When not doing 	testing, I 	provided individual, family, and group therapy.  I also was placed in charge of creating and implementing behavior plans for more behaviorally dysregulated patients throughout FBHS.

Fairmount Behavioral Health Systems

Psychology Intern

I was the first practicum student ever assigned to the Widener Child Therapy Center (WCTC), which had traditionally been only for Intern-level students.  While there, I was responsible for a caseload of eight clients and their families; these individuals were diagnosed with ADHD, Adjustment Disorder, and ODD.  I conducted family therapy sessions using the Barkley Parent Training Model, individual sessions, and psycho-educational sessions.  I was trained in the Systems Model of conducting therapy so, to improve my outcomes, I performed school observations, psycho-educational testing, and consulted with outside providers (teachers, coaches, and previous therapists) in the Chester, PA area.  I completed several intake interviews and gave case conceptualizations to the treatment team.  I was responsible for implementing the HIPAA compliance for WCTC.

Widener Child Therapy Center

Practicum Student

For the past 2.5 years I have worked as a fee-for-service professional for a 				private psychological practice in Red Bank, NJ.  In my role in this 					organization I am contacted to perform psycho-educational testing on child and adolescent clients.  I conduct clinical interviews, ADHD measures, some projective personality measures, the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement.  I conduct the 	testings and then write the reports to present to the staff psychologists.  				When necessary, I have collaborated with parents and teachers in order to get collateral information to answer the referral question.

Clinical Psychology Associates

Psychological Testing Professional

While at Concord Behavioral Health (CBH), I was able to learn psychological and psycho-educational testing at an extremely high level.  Dr. Finklestein taught me how to prepare, deliver, score, and report his preferred neuropsychological battery, which included the TOVA, the TOMAL, the Bender-Gestalt II, the Wechsler Intelligence Tests, and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement.  In doing so, I developed strong skills in integration, conceptualization, diagnosis, and analysis.  I worked hard to learn how to effectively translate these thoughts into strong reports for the clients and their support systems.  I also developed skills in giving feedback to clients and informing other professionals in 	how to implement the testing recommendations into practice.  Our clientele were seeking information on learning differences, diagnostic evaluations for ADHD and Dyslexia, and the impact of life stressors on learning; it was a very diverse clientele ranging from the “Main Line” of 		Philadelphia to low-income schools in Wilmington, DE.

Concord Behavioral Health

While at Hill Top Preparatory School (HTPS), I learned how to be effective in providing psychological services in a therapeutic school for 	children with anxiety disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and learning differences.  My role at HTPS began with observing psychotherapy groups but evolved into running psychotherapy groups, working with individual clients, and handling crisis situations as needed.  I also consulted with the teachers and therapists of my clients to keep abreast of their schoolwork and intervene if needed.  I observed and supported many classes and participated in developing lessons, homework, and feedback as needed.  I also became involved as an assistant coach with the school soccer team.

Hill Top Preparatory School

As a graduate student, I took several classes, did required readings, participated in disscussions, and completed papers of various lengths.  I successfully passed by Comprehensive Exam, my Final Clinical Oral Examination, and my Dissertation Defense.

Widener University School of Clinical Psychology

Graduate Student

The Lindens Program is one of the highest levels of care available to families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  At the Lindens, children with severe ASD, including aggressive and self-injurious behaviors, receive 1:1 staffing within a locked therapeutic 	environment.  Behavioral interventions are implemented with an Applied 	Behavioral Analysis (ABA) approach, which required me to track behaviors, report findings to the clinical staff, and consult with members of the treatment team in order to modify goals and processes as needed.  In order to implement and create new goals for the clients, I participated in over twenty Functional Behavioral Analysis studies with them to investigate behaviors.

Bancroft Neurohealth

Clinical Associate

In this position, I consulted with teachers on determining the appropriate 			international educational tour for their school and students.  This process included taking a comprehensive inventory of their needs, interests, and limitations.  As the process would continue, I would provide support and help my clients to troubleshoot whatever issues came up.  It also involved having an extensive knowledge of available products, tours, and outside 			resources, from fundraising to liability information.  While most of the work was done over the phone, I was also responsible for going to client meetings when possible and conducting in-person workshops for new clients.  I also was able to travel abroad to France, England, and Greece.

EF Education

Tour consultant

Independently researched the caloric/nutritional breakdown of grocery purchases for a sample of the research population

Harvard Business School

Research Assistant

I did caloric-content evaluations and summaries for cross-cultural buying analyses

Graduate School

Research Assistant at Harvard Business School

I interviewed for and received placement at Harvard’s Psychophysiology 	Lab the summer after my senior year of college.  While at the Lab, I conducted and participated in experiments involving psychophysiological reactions to stress from racially-charged situations.  I was responsible for setting up the sensors for the experiments, processing and coding the data, and then entering it into the serve for analysis.  I also was placed in charge of creating an experimental stimulus that would measure subconscious associations between images and emotional words; this stimulus was for an older generation and was modeled on the stimulus used by the Lab for 	younger individuals.  I was also able to participate in some fMRI studies run by Dr. Mendes and her colleagues.  At the end of the summer, I was the only intern offered a paid position to stay on and continue researching.

Harvard University

I worked in psychophysiological research for Dr. Wendy Mendes

Designed new experimental stimuli for a replication of a psychological experiment Dr. Batja Mesquita conducted on cross-cultural emotion

Matthew Zakreski

Matthew Zakreski