COLLEEN DOYLE, PsyD,
LICENSED Clinical Psychologist
My interest in psychology has been lifelong, stemming from a deep care and appreciation for the perspective of others from a young age. People are unique and vastly different and psychology reflects that. The adage, “If you meet one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism” reflects what I love about working with people on the spectrum and being a therapist.
In addition to individual therapy, I love running groups. I’ve run life skills groups in the community, special interest film groups with folks on the spectrum, and social skills groups that utilized improv and acting skills. My improv background informs everything I do as a psychologist. Being able to think on your feet and adapt is the name of the game. I love implementing improv strategies to help my clients apply some of these mindsets and skills to their own lives. In therapy with me, improv can look like a game played during a group or discussing what happened in pop culture this week.
Additionally, I have a particular interest in maternal mental health and am passionate about helping to develop secure maternal and child bonds. I have experience running parent support groups, working with mother-child dyads, and providing therapy to mothers experiencing a high degree of environmental stress.
I enjoy working with children and people of all ages and I understand that different phases of life necessitate different approaches to treatment and support. My aim is to meet each child, teen, and adult where they are and develop an individualized plan to support them to reach their goals. I emphasize relational warmth and a strong foundation of rapport, and may include principles from CBT, DBT, ACT, psychodynamic theory, and attachment theory that is relevant and helpful to the individual. Through the co-creation of our therapeutic space, we will work to empower you to tackle whatever brings you in.
Younger children communicate through play, a language I am well-versed in thanks to my improvisational and acting background. Play doesn’t stop at a certain age, but it evolves as people develop into adolescents and adults, and my approach changes accordingly, shifting to more storytelling, personal narrative, and fantasy. In these ways therapy can be creative for adults as they dissect fantasies, dreams, wishes for their lives or their future, or their thoughts on the most recent season of their favorite reality show.
I earned my Doctorate in School-Clinical Child Psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University and have varied clinical experiences across multiple environments. I’ve worked with children and adults in therapeutic school, outpatient clinic, hospital eating disorder treatment, private practice, and foster care settings.
In addition to therapy, I am well-versed in therapeutic and diagnostic testing. Assessment and testing help to achieve diagnostic clarity and answer questions we have about ourselves and our children. It can also be a beneficial supplement to therapeutic treatment. My approach to testing integrates therapeutic assessment, which helps to humanize and therapeutically integrate assessment results and recommendations. My assessment experience also supports my ability to effectively engage as an executive functioning and life skills coach.