Professional Child Psychologists in Durham, NC
Flora Dunbar, M.A.
Flora’s special interest in early childhood mental health intervention and prevention is reflected by her work and study over several decades. For over 15 years, Flora served as staff psychologist for an early childhood mental health program that was selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services / SAMHSA as one of four exemplary national models for early childhood mental health consultation. In this role, Flora provided psychological assessments of child and family, play therapy, family therapy, parent counseling, parent consultation and education, consultation to preschools, community agencies and courts.
Flora is well versed in child development, early child mental health diagnosis and treatment, attachment theory, current evidence based models for parent-child assessment and parent-child guided interventions. She is also trained and experienced in a variety of play therapy approaches that are appropriate for children as young as three years old. Flora’s early childhood mental health interventions often include one or more of the following services: parent-child interaction assessment, parent-child guided play, individual child play therapy, home and/or school observations, parent consultation/education, early childcare center consultation, parent workshops, and workshops for early child care professionals. Flora has assisted young children experiencing a range of early social, emotional and behavioral challenges including feeding and toileting problems, separation anxiety, biting and early aggression, attachment difficulties, deprivation/maltreatment, posttraumatic stress disorder, bereavement/grief reactions, depression and difficulties with sensory regulation/processing. In many instances, Flora was able to identify early signs of a learning disorder, communication disorder or pervasive developmental disorder in preschool children so these children could be referred for additional evaluation and treatment prior to school age.
In her practice, Flora seeks to collaborate with the parents of young children experiencing challenges in early social and emotional development. Flora believes that a child’s main caregivers or parents naturally hold the most powerful position of influence in their child’s life and are often the best “intervention agents” for their own child. Flora helps parents utilize this influence to enhance the parent-child relationship and create the best environment for their child’s early psychological development.
Jonathan Ross, ED.D.
Dr. Jonathan Ross is a school and clinical psychologist with almost 20 years of experience. He provides play therapy to children of all ages, and parent consultation. A specialist in autism spectrum evaluations, he has completed hundreds of autism and Asperger’s evaluations. His expertise in testing spans the broad range of developmental and educational testing such as for ADHD and learning disabilities. His many years of experience as a school psychologist in Wake County gives him a unique expertise to assist children experiencing a wide range of school-based difficulties. He works extensively with schools on developing plans to provide services to diverse populations of children at schools from preschool through college. He strongly believes it is critical for schools to understand children’s unique needs so that children can be provided with a learning setting that is more conducive to their strengths and needs, allows them to feel more comfortable, and can provide an effective learning setting. Dr. Ross utilizes multiple methods to gain an understanding that can include: interviews with parents; interviews with teachers and related services professionals; observations in school and/or community settings; and traditional psychoeducational assessment instruments.
Colette Segalla, Psy.D.
Colette Segalla provides therapy and evaluation services to children. She is experienced in interventions with children, and psychological and educational evaluations. In addition to her general psychology training in child issues, Colette has additional training and experience in working with children who have learning disabilities (LD), and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD or ‘ADD’). Colette’s doctoral dissertation concerns the spiritual development of children and the importance of a relationship with nature in this development. She also participated in a two-year co-research project, The Inner Life of the Child in Nature, at The Center for Education and Imagination in the Natural World. Prior to a career change into psychology, Colette was a teacher and has extensive experience in education, certified to teach at both the elementary and secondary levels. She also holds a Montessori Elementary Teaching Certificate from the Association Montessori International, in addition to a secondary English teaching certificate. Her background in education makes her an excellent resource for parents with children whose issues affect their academics. Colette brings a wealth of child experience to her work in clinical psychology with a rich, diverse background of working with children in various contexts.
Kevin Metz, Psy.D.
Children and families have been a source of interest for Dr. Kevin Metz throughout his career. He has worked with clients across an array of ages in his clinical work, which includes experience as a Clinical Supervisor for the Head Start program. At Lepage Associates his work with children focuses on psychological and academic testing and assessment, and parent guidance. Dr. Metz enjoys using psychological assessment to help children and their families better understand their strengths and how to best serve their learning styles.
Tina Lepage, Psy.D.
From the very beginning of her career, Dr. Lepage has been focusing on children and families; whereas most psychologists have an undergraduate that is, like their doctorate, in psychology, Dr. Lepage has an undergraduate in Child Development & Family Relationships. Her many years of specialization in child development and families make her highly sought out by parents seeking help for their child. Dr. Lepage is an expert in play therapy with children, and in interviewing and evaluating children. She is experienced in a variety of childhood issues such as behavior problems, family and school difficulties, AD/HD, LD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, depression, anxiety, dealing with divorce, and social problems to include awkwardness, shyness, isolation, and acting out. With regard to play therapy, she has a special interest in working with children dealing with divorce, and with regard to evaluations she has extensive experience in providing testing in clinically complex cases in which there is uncertainty as to the underlying problem (to include psychological and psychoeducational issues). Dr. Lepage also has extensive experience with couple’s/family issues, to include couple’s therapy for those staying together, and assisting couples who decide to divorce to do so with a minimal amount of conflict in that process. Dr. Lepage is certified to act as a Parent Coordinator in NC, and is an expert in Cooperative Co-Parenting. Dr. Lepage provides play therapy and psychological evaluations for pre-teen children, couple’s and family therapy, custody evaluations, and an extensive range of divorce services.
Colleen Hamilton, Psy.D.
Dr. Colleen Hamilton is a clinical and child psychologist, with her training focused on work with children, adolescents, and families. She specializes in children, and has a wide variety of experience working with children and their families. Dr. Hamilton’s fun and creative spirit as a child therapist makes her uniquely skilled at engaging children in the process! She is well versed in a variety of approaches that engage children to include play therapy, sand tray therapy, art therapy, music therapy, and body movement therapy. Depending on the presenting problem, her direct work with the child may focus on lessening sadness or anxiety, developing coping skills or problem solving skills, social skill improvement, self-esteem raising, anger management / emotion regulation, or behavior modification. Concurrently she includes parent training and coaching. One area of common concern often presented is noncompliance at home or at school. Dr. Hamilton works with the family and school to develop a behavior modification plan to improve behavior. She stresses full participation from all those involved, including the child, to achieve optimal success. Dr. Hamilton also has a special interest in and extensive experience in working with traumatized children, and she worked as both a Therapist and Research Coordinator for a Child & Adolescent Traumatic Stress Program. Her trauma work with children is often done with a combination of individual therapy, family therapy, and parent sessions. Dr. Hamilton focuses on teaching the parent to support the child through their recovery while strengthening the parent-child relationship. When dealing with all childhood issues, Dr. Hamilton recognizes the importance of the family and works extensively with parents to understand how their child’s development and external stressors impact their child’s functioning. She has also conducted sibling groups to improve sibling interactions and develop conflict resolution skills. In addition to therapy, Dr. Hamilton provides educational and psychological testing for children, for AD/HD, learning disorders, and to discern the impact psychological issues such as depression or anxiety may be having on the teen’s school performance or behavior in general.