Meet the Practice

Scroll down to preview photos and bios of our associates!

 

Kay Kosak Abrams, Ph.D. Psychologist/Director
301-949-2098 x2

Kay Kosak Abrams, Ph.D. 

  • Adult Individual and Couples Psychotherapy
  • Teen Girls Empowerment Groups
  • Parent Consultation
  • Parenting with Calm Confidence Training and Workshops

Director, Dr. Kay Kosak Abrams, has been in private practice since 1993. She offers individual psychotherapy to adults who are looking for growth and positive change within work, marriage and family. She takes an eclectic approach, integrating object relations, psychodynamic, cognitive, and self-psychology theories. Dr. Abrams area of expertise is parenting and family systems.  “Dr. Kay” leads teen girls groups in addition to her work consulting parents on how to relate to children with greater calm and confidence.

In addition to directing this group practice, Dr. Abrams is clinical consultant, public speaker and writer. She served on the Board for the nonprofit, Arts on the Block [see artsontheblock.com], 2012-2014, a non profit that empowers creative youth to imagine and shape fulfilling futures.  Dr. Abrams has served as a columnist for the Washington Parent Magazine since 2001 and has appeared on local radio and public television stations, including NBC4 News as parent consultant. Dr. Abrams also serves as mentor for early career psychologists for Maryland Psychological Association.

Memberships: American Psychology Association (APA), Division 46 Media Psychology, Maryland Psychological Association (MPA) Mentor for Early Career Psychologists, Washington Society for the Study of Eating Disorders (WSSEDO) and Washington Independent Services for Education Resources (WISER)    

Brooke Stipelman, Ph.D.

Brooke Stipelman, Ph.D.

Licensed Psychologist

301-949-2098 x12
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  • Young  Adults, Individual Psychotherapy
  • Behavioral Medicine
  • Social Skills Groups, Children 
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety and depression                      

Dr. Stipelman is a licensed psychologist who specializes primarily in the treatment of adults.  Areas of focus include depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, and behavioral medicine (i.e., smoking cessation, sleep hygiene, and pain/stress management).  She has experience running a variety of groups for adults and children including social skills, emotion regulation, anger management, and smoking cessation.

Dr. Stipelman generally utilizes cognitive-behavioral principles (CBT) to teach skills that help clients better understand and manage the behavioral and psychological factors that influence their health. Dr. Stipelman has worked with a variety of populations across a range of treatment settings including outpatient mental health, partial hospitalization, residential drug treatment, and specialty clinics for anxiety, smoking, and pain.

Dr. Stipelman completed her undergraduate work at The George Washington University and received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Stipelman completed her pre-doctoral internship in behavioral medicine at the UMDNJ-University Behavioral Healthcare in Piscataway, New Jersey.  In addition to private practice, Dr Stipelman works part time as a Scientific Program Manager at the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland.

Deborah Zavos, LCSW-C

Deborah Zavos, LCSW-C

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

301-949-2098 x11
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  • Adolescent Psychotherapy
  • Family Systems & Parent Consultation
  • Parent Consultation for Special Needs
  • Race and Cross-Cultural

Deborah Zavos has over 25 years of experience as a social worker mainly in Montgomery County. She was the Clinical Director of Bethesda Chevy Chase YMCA Bethesda Youth Services (BYS). During her time at BYS, Deborah led parenting groups, court mandated alcohol education and prevention groups, as well as individual and family therapy. Ms. Zavos previously worked in Montgomery County Public Schools in special education with students who are experiencing emotional difficulties and are unable to access their education in a general education environment, managing IEP development and implementation. She also lead social skills groups, a transracial adoption support group and facilitated staff development.

Ms. Zavos brings a wealth of experience in working with teens in a variety of settings. Her ability to connect with adolescents provides them with a safe place to explore challenging issues. When the family is involved in the process she is able to bridge the chasm that sometimes occurs between the adolescent and the adults. Her warmth, compassion and insight assists families in developing and achieving their vision of their desired family life.

Christine Cariello, Psy.D

Christine Cariello, Psy.D

Licensed Psychologist

301-949-2098 x6
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  • Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
  • Parenting and Family Systems Consultation and Therapy
  • Social Skills Groups for Adolescents
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT]
  • ADHD, Anxiety, Learning Problems, Depression

Dr. Cariello earned her doctorate in School-Clinical Psychology from Yeshiva University. During her training, she worked with children, adolescents, and families in a variety of settings. Following completion of her Doctoral Internship at the Washington DC Department of Mental Health, she completed a year-long residency, where in addition to providing psychotherapy, she served as Director of an ADHD Clinic.

Since then, Dr. Cariello has provided individual and family psychotherapy in residential and outpatient settings, and has been involved with Internship Training. Dr. Cariello’s areas of expertise are working with children, adolescents, families and parents. She provides psychotherapy, as well as social skills groups for children.

Miles Goldstein, LCSW-C

Miles Goldstein, LCSW-C

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

301-949-2098 x10
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    • Mindfulness-based practices
    • Psychodynamic, cognitive and behavioral approaches
    • Family systems, Couples
    • Children, Adolescents and Parents

    Miles Goldstein has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Catholic University of America and a Developmental Clinical Psychology Master’s Degree from Antioch College. His focus in clinical psychotherapy has been on a wide range of developmental and life issues and challenges for children, adolescents and adults. He has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings.

    Primarily, Mr. Goldstein’s work has been at a private practice, working to help clients overcome symptoms of depression, anxiety, unhappiness, work, school and relationship struggles. He has the capacity to connect easily with clients and has often made connections where there has been previous resistance to therapy situations. His approach is to create a nonjudgmental place of support so clients can explore obstacles, feelings, thoughts, and ultimately grow in positive, productive ways. He is an interactive therapist who uses humor and empathy to provide support and practical feedback to help clients effectively address personal life challenges. Mr. Goldstein integrates complementary methodologies to offer a highly personalized approach tailored to each client. He enjoys working with a diverse population and has an appreciation and understanding of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

    Mr. Goldstein has worked at the Children’s Hospital national Medical Center inpatient unit, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service children’s department, and the Psychiatric Institute of Montgomery County adolescent unit. Besides working in private practice, recently, he was consulting with students at the Universities at Shady Grove campus in the counseling department.

    Ranon Cortell, Ph.D.

    Ranon Cortell, Ph.D.

    Licensed Psychologist

    301-949-2098 x 7
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    • Children and Adolescents
    • Anxiety, Mood, and Emotion Regulation
    • ADHD; Behavior Problems; Social Skills
    • Coping with Past Trauma
    • Parent Guidance

    Dr. Cortell brings warmth, empathy, and insight into his work with clients and their families as he helps them improve their quality of life. He works with children and adolescents,  providing individual therapy and parent guidance. Dr. Cortell has experience working with children and adolescents through talk and play therapy, and he has led workshops to help parents manage their adolescents’ behaviors and improve emotional regulation. He has provided therapy for adults in community mental health, hospital, college counseling centers, and private practice settings. In addition to his work at Abrams and Associates, he is a clinic director for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, DC.

    Dr. Cortell is a licensed psychologist in Maryland.  He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The Catholic University of America and completed his APA-approved pre-doctoral internship at the Woodburn Center for Community Mental Health where he worked with clients of all ages and varied cultural backgrounds.

    Robin Stearn

    Robin Stearn

    Intake and Marketing Manager

    301-949-2098 x1
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    • Manages incoming calls
    • Schedules patients for the group practice
    • Coordinates therapeutic groups for middle schoolers, teens, young women and parents
    • Manages Social Media and Marketing
    • Schedules speaking engagements

    Robin Stearn  is our  Intake and Marketing Coordinator. She has a Masters Degree in Social Work (Planning and Administration) from University of Missouri-Columbia. Robin has a variety of professional experiences in health including working for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Education Development Center: Children’s Safety Network, and On Our Own of Montgomery County.  In addition, she has a great deal of customer service experience.

    When not in the office, Robin loves to cook, play with her dog and spend time watching music performers. She loves being outside, especially near the water, and dreams of owning a home along a beach one day. Robin is the parent of one young adult daughter. Robin joined Abrams & Associates summer 2014 and is in the office part time, Mondays in the morning and Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon, to respond to all patient care coordination and marketing needs.

    Susan Priester

    Susan Priester

    Accounting Manager

    Susan Priester is our Bookkeeper, managing all things financial for the practice (except patient billing). Susan lives just a skip and a jump from our Kensington office with her husband and three active boys, enjoying the small town feel and kid-friendly energy of this community.  She studied drama and fine arts, but quickly discovered a head for “consumer math” upon settling here after graduation, and has found great satisfaction in helping small companies manage and analyze their day-to-day accounting ever since.

    Keeping a hand in the arts to balance things out, Susan quilts, paints watercolors and can often be seen with a camera in her hands when not in front of a computer.

    Susan Grant

    Susan Grant

    Billing Manager

    301-949-2098 x3
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    • Manages patient charges and payments
    • Manages Office Therapy billing and Merchant Account
    • Creates and sends out invoices that document dates and times of service to submit to insurance

    Susan Grant is our part-time Billing Manager. Susan’s responsibilities include billing, insurance and invoice management, Office Therapy and other administrative duties. She is in the office on Tuesday and Friday mornings to manage all payments and charges and to answer to your needs to process your invoice.

    Susan joined the practice in 2006 as a way to hone her skills after being a full-time, stay-at-home Mom to her two sons.  Prior to motherhood, Susan has had much experience working in a professional environment, having worked in the fundraising field for over twelve years, beginning at the Kennedy Center and then at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.