Meet the Practice
Our associates collaborate as a team in order to be resourceful in addressing your needs and concerns. We take a thorough and thoughtful approach to treatment planning, meeting weekly as a team to network, enhance our skills and share resources.
Please check out our blog for articles and links relevant to current psychotherapy research and theory as well as practical hands-on advice!
Kay Kosak Abrams, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist/ Director
- Adult Individual and Couples Psychotherapy
- Teen Girls Groups
- Parent Consultation
- Mothers Groups for Parenting Special Needs
- Child Behavioral Assessment & Treatment Planning
Kay Kosak Abrams, PhD 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. Kay” also leads teen girls groups and consults parents on how to relate to children with greater calm and confidence. Her work with children is centered on working with parents as well as the family system.
In addition to practicing psychotherapy, Dr. Abrams is clinical consultant, public speaker and writer. She 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)
Contact Dr. Kay: drkay@abramsandassociates.com or call 301-949-2098 x104
Sari Levinson Raskin, MSW
Intake Coordinator and Practice Consultant
Sari Levinson Raskin joined our practice in April 2012 as our Intake Coordinator. Sari has a MSW with a clinical concentration from the University of Maryland. She recently moved to the area from Dallas where she worked in the venture philanthropy world working with donors and entrepreneurs at Dallas Social Venture Partners. Prior to working in philanthropy, Sari facilitated educational and social programs for various constituency groups including children, teens, and adults. She also ran educational/social groups for adolescent girls through the program Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!. Sari’s responsibilities include answering inquiries about the practice and assessing the initial needs of clients.
You may contact Sari at 301-949-2098 x1 or email: intake@abramsandassociates.com
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Susan Grant
Office Assistant
Susan Grant is our part-time Office Assistant. She joined the office in 2008 as a way to hone her skills after being a full-time, stay-at-home Mom to her two sons. 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. Susan’s responsibilities include patient scheduling, billing, and other administrative duties.
For all billing and administrative questions, contact Susan at 301-949-2098 x2 or email: grant@abramsandassociates.com
Ranon Cortell, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
- Children, Adolescents & Adult
- Psycho-educational Testing
- Social-emotional and Personality Assessment
- Learning Disabilities & Special Needs
- Play therapy for Children
- ADHD assessment and therapy
Dr. Cortell brings a combination of warmth, empathy, and insight into his work as he partners with clients to help them improve their quality of life. He works with children, adolescents, and adults, providing individual and family therapy and psychological assessment.
Dr. Cortell has experience working with young children and adolescents through play and talk therapy, and he has led workshops to help parents manage their children’s behaviors and emotions. He has provided therapy for adults in community mental health, hospital, and private practice settings. Dr. Cortell conducts psychological assessments to evaluate learning, attention, emotional, and behavioral challenges and provide appropriate recommendations. He teaches Personality Assessment to doctoral students at Catholic University of America and supervises interns and postdoctoral students in their assessment work.
Dr. Cortell is a licensed psychologist in Maryland and a member of the American Psychological Association. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The Catholic University of America and completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Woodburn Center for Community Mental Health where he worked with clients of all ages and varied cultural backgrounds.
Phone extension: 301-949-2098 ext. 107 Email: Cortell@abramsandassociates.com
Laurie Better Perlis, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist
- Children, Adolescents and Young Adults
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Coping with anxiety, ADHD and social difficulties
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Social Skills Group Training
Dr. Perlis is a licensed psychologist specializing in the treatment of children, adolescents, and adults experiencing a wide range of difficulties. Areas of treatment include anxiety, depression, ADHD, social and behavioral concerns and relationship difficulties. Dr. Perlis also specializes in the treatment of individuals with autism spectrum and related conditions (Asperger Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disability, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS) and their families. She has expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and has developed and facilitated social skill building groups for children, adolescents and young adults.
Dr. Perlis also provides behavioral support and training to parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with special needs. She has spoken at conferences both at a local and national level on topics related to the autism spectrum including mental health, cognitive behavioral therapy, engaging youth in treatment and the unique experience of girls and women.
Dr. Perlis completed her undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins University and received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Yeshiva University in New York City. She completed a pre-doctoral internship at the Mt. Sinai Services – Elmhurst Hospital Center in New York City and a postdoctoral fellowship in autism spectrum and related disorders at the Fay J. Lindner Center for Autism & Developmental Disabilities in Brookville, New York.
Phone extension: 301-949-2098 ext. 108 Email: Perlis@abramsandassociates.com
Sandra S. Lashley, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist
- Fertility and Postpartum Depression
- Adult Individual and Couples Therapy
- Eating Disorders, Individual and Groups
Dr. Lashley is a licensed psychologist in Maryland who obtained her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Loyola University in Maryland, where she has also served as an affiliate faculty member. She completed her internship training at the Johns Hopkins University Counseling Center and has had experience working in a variety of out patient settings including various hospitals, colleges and anxiety and addiction centers.
Dr. Lashley works with adults and couples experiencing a wide range of problems in living, including mood and anxiety related issues, personality and relationship issues, infertility and womens issues, identity struggles, trauma related issues, and eating problems. She has several years of research and clinical experience with individuals who have anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. She also works with individuals who would like to overcome long term self defeating patterns and obstacles that keep them from living the life that they desire.
Memberships & Affiliations: American Psychological Association, Maryland Psychological Association and the Baltimore Society for Psychoanalytic Studies.
Phone extension: 301-949-2098 ext. 106 Email: Lashley@abramsandassociates.com
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Kathryn Rickard, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist
• Individual Psychotherapy/all ages
• Play Therapy for Children ages 3+
• Family Therapy
• Parent Consultation
Dr. Rickard actively collaborates with her clients to resolve roadblocks and improve relationships, life satisfaction and achievement of family and personal goals. She provides individual, couples and family therapy to children, adolescents and adults. She also offers consultation to parents on a wide variety of family and parenting concerns. Areas of treatment include adapting to changing family structures (e.g., divorce, blended families, adoption); difficulties with attachment, identity and personality; challenges in interpersonal relationships; trauma and abuse; cultural adjustment; and social or behavioral difficulties.
Dr. Rickard has experienced a variety of community and private practice settings. These include her work as a former associated clinical staff member at the Adele Lebowitz Center for Children & Families of the Washington School of Psychiatry; her postdoctoral work at the Northwest Child and Family Center associated with St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, ongoing work with the Montgomery County Safe Start program; and extensive experience in conducting psychological evaluations in a juvenile forensic setting in Fairfax County, for the Montgomery County child welfare system, and in private practice.
Dr. Rickard is a licensed psychologist in Maryland and a licensed psychologist and school psychologist in the District of Columbia. She is currently Assistant Clinical Professor for Clinical Psychology at George Washington University, has taught child and adolescent counseling at Trinity University, and currently supervises clinical psychology students in psychological assessment. Dr. Rickard also participates as a provider in an ongoing research study on the effectiveness of short term intensive psychodynamic treatment for panic disorder. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Maryland Psychological Association and the Montgomery County Mental Health Association, and a psychoanalytic candidate in the Contemporary Freudian Society. Dr. Rickard received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from the George Washington University, and completed her clinical psychology internship at the Center for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church, Virginia.
Phone extension: 301-949-2098 ext. 110 Email: Rickard@abramsandassociates.com
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Dara Thorner, PsyD
- Mothers Groups for Special Needs
- Behavioral and Social-emotional assessments
- School Admissions testing/ADHD-LD testing
- Child Psychotherapy
- Play therapy
- Parent Consultation
Dr. Thorner is a licensed psychologist who provides both therapeutic and assessment services. Currently, her primary focus is on treating very young children, providing parental consultations, and conducting educational and social-emotional assessments. She also leads a support group for mothers of children with special needs.
Dr. Thorner graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and earned her Doctorate of Psychology from The George Washington University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, and worked under the supervision of Maria Zimmitti, Ph.D. in Washington D.C. after earning her degree.
During the course of her training, Dr. Thorner worked in a variety of settings with diverse populations. She evaluated and counseled individuals seeking bariatric surgery, led support groups for bariatric surgery patients, acted as primary therapist for clients on a psychiatric inpatient unit, offered therapy for patients with cancer and their families, and provided individual long and short-term psychotherapy for patients of all ages. She was trained primarily in psychodynamic psychotherapy, but also has experience with behavioral, play, and cognitive-behavioral therapies.
Dr. Thorner has provided educational, psychosocial, and cognitive-functioning assessments in both school and office settings. She has conducted research at the National Institutes of Mental Health and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Thorner is a member of the American Psychological Association.
Phone extension: 301-949-2098 ext. 109 Email: Thorner@abramsandassociates.com
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Deborah Zavos, LCSW-C
- Adolescent Psychotherapy
- Family Systems & Parent Consultation
- Young Adult Individual
- Parent Consultation for Special Needs
- Race and Cross-Cultural
Phone extension: 301-949-2098 ext. 111 Email: Zavos@abramsandassociates.com