Maria Zimmitti, Ph.D. & Associates

Dr. Zimmitti is the President and Clinical Director of Maria Zimmitti, Ph.D. & Associates. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology ( Los Angeles ), where her research focused on eating disorders in adolescent girls. She completed her predoctoral internship at Georgetown University Medical Center , Center for Child Development which specialized in neuropsychological testing for ADHD and learning disabilities, assessment of children with pervasive developmental disorders, developmental testing of premature infants, and assessment and treatment of eating disorders. Her postdoctoral training at The Kingsbury Center included neuropsychological assessment, and individual, group, and family therapy.

Dr. Zimmitti has worked in a number of clinical settings including community mental health centers, medical settings, and early intervention school programs. She has extensive experience in individual and group psychotherapy with adults and children, as well as family and couples therapy. Dr. Zimmitti has particular expertise in early childhood development and provides support and training to parents in a variety of areas, including behavior, sleeping and potty training. She is also active in the medical community and provides evaluation and treatment to patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Zimmitti currently holds privileges at George Washington University Medical Center . In her private practice, she provides supervision and training to diagnosticians and therapists working toward licensure. She frequently serves as an expert witness in special education hearings and assists parents with school advocacy.

Dr. Zimmitti is a licensed psychologist in DC and Maryland and a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the District of Columbia Psychological Association. Dr. Zimmitti is married and has a 3-year old daughter.

Joe Gorin is a clinical and neuropsychologist. He earned his masterÕs in Counseling Psychology from Antioch/New England in 1979 and his doctorate from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology in 1983. He also has a postgraduate certificate in Neuropsychology from Fielding Graduate University. He has extensive experience as a psychotherapist and neuropsychologist. He was the Director of Psychology Training for eight years at the Center for Mental Health, a large private non-profit community mental health center. He was also the Director of Training at a similar center in Northampton, Massachusetts during the 1980s. He has worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, working with military personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is bilingual in Spanish and has a strong interest in cross cultural issues. He is a clinical consultant at La Clinica del Pueblo, Columbia Road Health Services and the House of Ruth. He is on the faculty at the Professional Psychology program at George Washington University, where he teaches Neuropsychological Assessment. He has a strong interest in human rights and immigration issues. He is the author of the 1993 book, Choose Love, which is a narrative of the years he spent as a human rights activist in the war zones of Nicaragua and Guatemala.

He is a member of the American Psychological Association (Division 40- Neurospychology), the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network. He is licensed in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

Toupazer Jordan, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist providing consultation in private sector, rehabilitation centers, and hospital settings. I completed my undergraduate work in Speech-Language Pathology at Norfolk State University and received my master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Hampton University. I have been a speech-language pathologist for nine years administering assessments and intervention to both children and adults with communication disorders. I am a certified member of the American Speech Hearing Association.

Julie A. Kovac, Ph.D. has been a practicing clinical psychologist for the past seven years. She earned her Bachelors Degree with honors from Tufts University (1991) and her Masters and Doctoral Degrees from The George Washington University (1997).

During her graduate school training, Dr. Kovac concentrated her coursework and training on the treatment of children and adolescents, working in a variety of settings. She completed her internship training at the Alexandria Community Mental Health Center , working with children, families, and adults in assessment and therapy.

After graduation, Dr. Kovac worked at the Alexandria Community Mental Health Center from 1998-2000. She co-founded a consulting company, Childhood Development Services, LLC, in 2001, which provided workshops and psychological services to preschools in Virginia . Since 2002, she has worked with Dr. Zimmitti doing psychological evaluations. Dr. Kovac concentrates on the assessment of Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She also devotes a portion of her time to admissions evaluations for independent schools in Washington D.C. , Maryland , and Virginia .

Dr. Kovac is currently a member of the American Psychological Association and the Washington Psychologists for the Study of Psychoanalysis. She holds licenses to practice clinical psychology in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Dr. William Ling earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia . His predoctoral and postdoctoral training included specialized training in the area of forensics, health psychology, and neuropsychology. After receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Ling served on the faculty at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, both conducting research and providing clinical services to children and adults. Dr. Ling continued his work in neuropsychology as a faculty member, as well as continued focus in the areas of morbid obesity, diabetes, headaches, sleep disorders, and pediatric encorpresis.

Dr. Ling and his family relocated to the Northern Virginia area in 1995. He has focused on providing comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations to a wide variety of individuals, including those referred for developmental disabilities, internationally adopted children, learning disabilities, and ADHD. He has provided consultative services to parents as they work with their school system to provide appropriate educational accommodations for their child. Dr. Ling has provided expert testimony in due process, criminal, and civil cases in the jurisdictions of Prince William County, Fairfax county, Loudoun County, the District of Columbia, and Greene County.

Dr. Ling is licensed in the District of Columbia and Virginia and is a member of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Ling is married and has two stepdaughters, ages 18 and 16, and a 9-year-old daughter.

Dr. Lucker is a certified/licensed audiologist and speech-language pathologist specializing in auditory information processing disorders (APD). Dr. Lucker is also an associate professor in the Dept. of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Howard University, Washington, DC.

Dr. Lucker has developed a unique approach to assessment and working with people who have APD that looks at the whole person and not merely the auditory system. APD is defined by him as those things that we do when we receive information through our auditory system and eventually obtain meaning from that information. His model of APD looks at eight distinct categories of the disorder and his assessment identifies the specific categories of APD not functioning normally in children, adolescents, and adults. He then provides concrete recommendations for educational and therapeutic treatment for the specific APD present. His focus is on both the processing of auditory information (i.e., information received by the ear) as well as language processing (i.e., the ability to comprehend verbal and linguistic information).

Dr. Lucker has provided hundreds of presentations on APD as well as published numerous articles and book chapters on the topic. He is involved in on-going research to help obtain a better understanding of what are APDs as well as how we assess and treat specific APDs. He is president, co-founder, and chair of the board of the National Coalition on Auditory Processing Disorders (NCAPD, www.ncapd.org). He provides full diagnostic assessments for children, adolescents and adults for APD and language processing problems. For further information about Dr. Lucker and APD see www.ncapd.org and www.dr-j.net.

Dr. Amy Pacos earned her M.A. and Psy.D. at the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University/ Washington DC. As a graduate student, her clinical skills were developed at ChildrenÕs National Medical Center, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, and several private practice settings. Her psychology residency was completed at the ChildrenÕs Hospital of Michigan, where she gained extensive experience working with pediatric populations, conducting individual and group therapy, inpatient treatment, ADHD assessments, autism spectrum evaluations, and neuropsychological assessments. In addition, Dr. Pacos completed a one year post-doctoral fellowship at the Neuropsychology Associates of Fairfax, a private practice in Northern Virginia. On fellowship, she specialized in the neuropsychological assessment of neurologically compromised children, adolescents, adults, and geriatric patients. In addition, she attended a year-long formal neuropsychology didactic seminar at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she participated in case presentations and discussions of current research covering a broad range of neuropsychological topics.

Her main areas of interest include: neuropsychological assessments, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, learning disabilities, and pediatric and adult based neurological conditions. Dr. Pacos attended Allegheny College in Meadville, PA as an undergraduate, from which she graduated with High Distinction. In addition, she is a member of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology.

Dr. Pacos' primary therapy orientation is cognitive-behavioral, with a particular focus on treating pediatric conditions (childhood obesity, adherence to medical regimens, sleep disorders, and adjustment to chronic illness), ADHD, behavioral and anxiety disorders, and depression. She uses research supported techniques and measures, provides guidance, support, and feedback to clients, and incorporates family-based treatments when appropriate. At Maria Cohn, Ph.D. and Associates, Dr. Pacos provides individual and group therapy and conducts psychological and neuropsychological assessments with children, adolescents, and adults.

Nicole Sampson obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the George Washington University with an emphasis in health. She is licensed to practice in both Maryland and the District of Columbia . Nicole is originally from Southern California and received her BA in Psychology from the University of California , San Diego .

Prior to her position at Maria Zimmitti and Associates, Dr. Sampson worked predominantly in medical centers and academic institutions. She has taught undergraduate courses in the George Washington University Psychology Department. Dr. Sampson has experience working with children and the psychological aspects of medical disorders. She also has considerable work experience in the assessment of attention-based disorders. In her current capacity, Dr. Sampson conducts psychological assessments with children and adolescents to evaluate the presence of learning disabilities, attention-based problems, as well as emotional difficulties.

Dr. Sanchez earned her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, where she completed specialty training in working with children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior problems, ADHD, and chronic illness. Her pre-doctoral and post-doctoral experience has included work at ChildrenÕs National Medical Center in Washington, DC, where she provided outpatient treatment for children and families, facilitated groups for adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, and conducted neuropsychological assessments, inpatient consultation, as well as neurodevelopmental assessments of young children (ages 0-4) with developmental disabilities. This work earned her a fellowship award for Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.

At Maria Zimmitti, Ph.D. & Associates, Dr. Sanchez continues to provide therapy and testing services for children of all ages, including adolescents. Her interventions are based on cognitive-behavioral and parent training approaches, and are generally short-term in nature. Her comprehensive neurodevelopmental evaluations focus on young children who are suspected of having an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Terra Schmookler earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology in 2004 and expects to earn her Ph.D. in September 2007 from Suffolk University in Boston, MA. She was trained in a variety of clinical settings, including university counseling centers, outpatient hospitals and clinics, inpatient hospitals, forensic settings, and a substance abuse treatment program. The focus of her clinical training has been in individual and group therapy, as well as in conducting psychological assessments, including ADHD, cognitive, personality, and neuropsychological assessments. Ms. Schmookler's primary therapeutic orientation is psychodynamic, with an integration of cognitive-behavioral techniques.

Ms. Schmookler's research focuses on ego development and positive personal growth, gender differences in relationships, and medical health risk-perception and decision-making.

Ms. Schmookler is a member of the American Psychological Association.

Patty Smith is a speech-language pathologist licensed in D.C., MD, and VA. She received her Bachelor's D egree in Special and Elementary Education with a minor in Psychology at the University of Delaware and a Master's D egree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maryland . Patty began her career at Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) in Washington , D.C. , working on the Inpatient Psychology and Pediatric Units . During her time at CNMC, she also worked on the Feeding Team, the Autism Team, and in the Department of Radiology performing modified barium swallow studies. Patty has worked with children from the ages of 0-21 years in therapeutic and diagnostic settings with a variety of speech and language disorders. She has spent significant time working with children, ages birth to 3, and, in the past few years, has focused on working with adolescents with learning disabilities, providing diagnostic and therapeutic intervention . Patty is considered an expert in her field and routinely provides expert testimony in special education due process hearings. Patty remains committed to serving children and families after recently returning to practice after the birth of her daughter.

Tamela Sterling, M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist licensed in D.C. She received her Bachelor's Degree in English from the University of Maryland and a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of the District of Columbia. Tami has been working as a speech pathologist for about 8 years specializing in child language for the past 6 years. Tami completed her Fellowship in Philadelphia where she began working with pre-school children with austism, language and articulation delays.

Once she returned to DC, she now not only continues to work with preschoolers but also works with elementary and middle school children providing diagnostic and therapeutic intervention at various DC Public Charter Schools. Tami enjoys the daily challenges in the school setting and welcomes new experiences while working with children.