Kate Lawlor, PSYD
Licensed Psychologist & Neuropsychologist
I hold a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuropsychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University. I’ve been a part of Heights Psychology Collective for the past 15 years, performing neuropsychological evaluations for children, adolescents, and adults for the purpose of educational placement, diagnostic clarity, and treatment consultation. My assessments provide a detailed look at brain functioning, assessing different skills, such as memory, attention, executive functioning, language, academics, and emotions, and how they interplay to create unique learning profiles for each individual. I work with a wide range of people, including gifted students with Twice Exceptional (2E) profiles, individuals across the gender spectrum, high masking presentations of Autism and ADHD, individuals with developmental disabilities, as well as anxiety and mood difficulties.
My work is gender and neurodiversity affirming. I often evaluate high masking AuDHD girls and women with internalized struggles that are less apparent to others but very real to them. Pathological Demand Avoidance or better considered as Persistent Drive for Autonomy is also a profile that I can clarify. Understanding and identifying Autism, in all of its constellation of sometime subtle presentations, is a particular area of expertise. I have specialized training in administration of the ADOS-2, a semi-structured, standardized assessment that has long been considered a highly valuable method for evaluating Autism. The ADOS-2 is not only a helpful way to observe social interaction skills, but also provides a meaningful opportunity to gain deeper insight into a person’s experience and understanding of themselves. Sometimes more complex emotional presentations require digging deeper into a person’s internal experience, the Rorschach is an invaluable tool for accessing the emotions that lie beneath the surface and influence feelings and behaviors.
An evaluation goes beyond the testing itself; it also includes helping families and individuals understand the information in a meaningful way and directing them towards helpful supports. In this multifaceted work, I value input from multiple sources, including observation in school, teachers, parents, partners, and providers, to gain a robust understanding of a person’s experience beyond the testing office. This might seem like a lot of information, but to me, an evaluation isn’t just the testing in the office. The more details I can weave together, the better I can understand what someone needs to feel most like themselves, and for their families, school and work environments to support and match them as much as possible. I strive to gain a thorough, accurate, and nuanced portrait of anyone I work with. Sometimes this means rolling on the floor and singing with a 4 year old and other times it means providing a nonjudgmental space for an adult to share sensitive experiences. This process is demanding so I strive to make it as comfortable as possible. My goal for adults who engage in this process is that they leave with answers to questions they’ve been asking themselves for a lifetime. Children, teens and their parents leave having a better way of understanding themselves and each other. Though this work is not always easy, we make sure to laugh along the way and find time to discuss important matters like last night’s episode of Severance, Chappell Roan’s latest album, or that new TikTok that everybody is talking about.
Contact Dr. Lawlor
Dr. Lawlor can be reached directly at:
klawlor@heightspsychologycollective.com
646-504-8865
Dr. Lawlor regularly operates out of the Heights Psychology Collective offices at 44 Court Street in Brooklyn, New York.