Meet Dr. Carey Heller

Hello Everyone:

In my blog, I will be addressing a variety of issues related to parenting children/adolescents. I will provide practical strategies to assist parents with difficult situations as well as showcase different resources that are available to aid parents. 

Since this is my first blog post, I wanted to introduce myself a bit and explain what I do in my role as a clinical psychologist.

I am a founding partner of The Heller Psychology Group LLC in Bethesda, MD (www.hellerpsychologygroup.com), which is a small private practice that provides evaluation and treatment services for children, adolescents, and adults. I work primarily with children, adolescents, and young adults, and provide two main types of services: psychotherapy and assessment. 

Psychotherapy involves meeting with patients usually once to twice per week to work on on-going issues. My psychotherapy specializations include: ADHD, Autism, anger management, and family conflict. I conduct play therapy with young children, which involves using toys to assist children in expressing their feelings and difficulties that are occurring. For older children, adolescents, and young adults, I provide individual therapy, and use games and other activities as needed to help patients feel comfortable with the process and open up.  Some of the more common games used are Uno, other card games, and  Jenga. In addition, I will play catch, floor hockey, or other variations of sports games with individuals who need an active activity to participate in while we talk about things that are going on. With children and adolescents, I involve parents in their child’s treatment.  I meet with parents individually to keep up to date on what has been going on and to support them with strategies to assist their child/adolescent at home.  Furthermore, I run groups on different topics such as coping with ADHD and bullying, which provide children and adolescents with the ability to work through difficulties in a small group environment.

Assessment involves a formal evaluation to determine what issues are occurring and why. I specialize in evaluations for ADHD, learning disabilities, mood, and behavioral disorders.  A full assessment includes an in-depth interview with parents, the patient, and other relevant professionals such as a psychologist, teacher, or speech and language therapist. Testing is also performed with a variety of standardized instruments to assess intellectual functioning, level of academic achievement, emotional functioning, behavioral issues, ability to sustain attention, visual-motor functioning, and other domains. For evaluations, the process is as follows: Patients/parents come in for an initial interview and then I meet with the patient for several hours (often broken up into two to three sessions on different days) to complete formal testing. Parents and the patient can then come in about a week after testing is completed  to receive the preliminary results and I start helping them implement recommendations for treatment at this time. Once the formal report is completed, the parents and patient come in to go over the report and we continue discussing recommendations and I assist with the implementation of these.

In addition to these services, I assist individuals with Individualized Education Programs(IEPs)/504 Plans, help parents create behavior plans to reinforce more positive behavior, and provide parent training to assist with parenting skills.

I hope the above explanations help clarify the ways in which I assist individuals in my work as a clinical psychologist.

The subsequent blog posts will focus on strategies for handling problematic behavior such as temper tantrums, aggression, bullying, breaking curfew, anger management difficulties, and other issues. In addition, I will discuss a variety of specific resources and services that can be used to assist parents when faced with issues that are difficult to handle. 

Dr. Carey Heller is a licensed psychologist with The Heller Psychology Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. He specializes in work with children, adolescents, and young adults, and is happy to answer questions and provide consultations for individuals who are considering pursuing treatment or an evaluation for their child, adolescent, or themselves. Dr. Heller can be reached at (301)-385-2610 or careyheller@thehellerpsychologygroup.com.

For appointments, please call the office at (301) 385-2610 or email The Heller Psychology Group at appt@thehellerpsychologygroup.com with your contact information and availability for appointment times.

*Disclaimer: The previous information is intended as general guidance based on my professional opinion, does not constitute an established professional relationship,  and should not replace the recommendations of a psychologist or other licensed professional with whom you initiate or maintain a professional relationship*