Psychology Services

Michelle DePolo, PsyD and Richard Cowan, PhD, NCSP

Dr. DePolo and Dr. Cowan are experts in behavioral intervention for children and young adults with a variety of psychological and medical diagnoses. They provide a full range of psychological and psychoeducational testing, as well as a variety of treatment options, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Both psychologists provide individual, as well as family, treatment. In addition to his clinical psychology work, Dr. Cowan has a background in school psychology and is available for comprehensive school consultation. Dr. DePolo has additional specific expertise in the areas of anxiety management and feeding issues. Dr.DePolo runs a variety of group programs to promote social skills, as well as an anxiety and depression management group. Please see Group page for additional information of these programs. She is also available to complete independent educational evaluations.

Diagnostic evaluations
Psychological and psychoeducational testing
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Individual and Family treatment
SUCCESS! Club - Social skills groups for ages 7-9 and 9-12
TEEN Group - Therapeutic social group for ages 13-18
Young Adult Group - Therapeutic social group for ages 18-25
CALM Kids - Anxiety and depression management group
Feeding treatment

Psychology Services Q & A

1. When would psychology services be appropriate for a child with autism?

Psychologists help children with autism in a variety of ways. They may be asked to assist with diagnostic clarification of suspected autism spectrum disorders, as well as provide assessment of whether any "comorbid" diagnoses are present, such as anxiety, depression, attention disorders, etc. They assist with educational programming by providing evaluation of possible learning differences or learning disabilities by completing comprehensive psychological testing. Psychologists often work with families in treatment to develop behavior plans to eliminate behaviors that are self-injurious, impede a child's ability to learn, or draw negative social attention to the child. They also use behavioral principles to teach families how to improve upon a child's functional communication (often a significant contributing factor to problem behavior) and other adaptive behavior deficits. Depending on a child's functioning level, psychologists also provide cognitive-behavioral therapy to help assist with management of a variety of mental health problems (please see more information about CBT below).

2. What is cognitive behavioral therapy and how can it help my child?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy, commonly referred to as CBT, is an empirically supported treatment focusing on how a child thinks and behaves. Patterns of thinking that are maladaptive often result in behaviors that are maladaptive. A psychologist using CBT helps children become "detectives" or "scientists" who are encouraged to test-out whether their thoughts are true or not true through "behavioral experiments." CBT is a solution focused, goal directed and time limited therapy which teaches children life-long skills to assist with a variety of mental health disorders. CBT is appropriate for children who have anxiety, generalized worry, obsessive compulsive disorders, phobias and other irrational fears, and depressive disorders. CBT can also be modified for use in feeding disorders.

3. What are self-stimulatory behaviors and what can I do about them?

Self-stimulatory behaviors are commonly seen in children with neurobehavioral disorders. Examples of self-stimulatory behaviors include non-purposeful vocalizations, hand flapping, spinning, looking through one's peripheral vision, or staring at moving objects such as fans, wheels on toy cars, etc. Self-stimulatory behaviors that draw negative social attention, impede a child's ability to learn, or cause self-injury should receive functional behavior assessment (FBA). After an FBA is completed, a formal plan to reduce or eliminate the self-stimulatory behavior should be developed and implemented. Psychologists and Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) have specific training and expertise in how to complete FBAs and develop behavior reduction plans.

Our Psychology Treatment Fees

KidsLink Neurobehavioral Center clinicians are approved out-of-network medical service providers with most major insurance companies. We work with families to advocate for appropriate reimbursement for our out-of-network services, per your insurance plan. Full payment for services will be due at the time of your appointment. At the appointment, you will be provided with a reimbursement form that you may then submit to your insurance provider. Please check with your insurance company for details regarding percent reimbursement for out-of-network services for your particular plan. We can provide treatment codes prior to your appointment, if requested by your insurance company.

New Patient (Initial Assessment) - $200/hour
Diagnostic Testing - $200/hour
Ongoing Treatment - $150/hour
School Observation and Testing - $200/hour + travel fee
Home Assessment, Interviews and Testing - $200/hour + travel fee
Home-Based Ongoing Treatment - $150/hour + travel fee
Social skill groups, please see specific program information