About Rachel Robb Avery, Phd
Rachel Robb Avery, Phd
Phone: (207) 775-2131 Rachel Robb Avery, Phd is an experienced psychologist with over 3o years of experience in treating child, adolescent, adult patients in individual and family therapy in the Greater Portland area.
Rachel Robb Avery, Phd is a Licensed Psychologist with over 30 years of experience successfully treating adults, adolescents and children individually or within family units for a broad variety of neurobiological, psychological and life event conditions. More recently Dr. Avery has established Smart Thot LLC as a vehicle for developing and disseminating materials and curriculum designed for the promotion of emotional health in young children. Meet Thotso, Your Thoughtmaker was written and published in 2007; The Think Smart Feel Good Curriculum was created and piloted with elementary-aged children attending grades K-3 in Andover, Ma. in 2010. Co-director of Smart Thot LLC Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS, is currently overseeing the use of the Think Smart Feel Good Curriculum at the Fuse Preschool in Lexington , Massassuchetts.
Educational background:
Dr. Avery received her BA in Psychology from Williams College in 1976. She received her M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of New York at Albany in 1978. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rochester in 1987.
Clinical Training:
Dr. Avery completed a two-year clinical training internship at the Berkshire Mental Health Center in Pittsfield Ma. During this time she completed a training program in Structural and Strategic Family Therapy as well as received instruction and supervision in the provision of play assessment and Play therapy with children and parent support and guidance work. Dr. Avery completed a year-long APA approved Internship in Child Clinical Psychology at the Convalescent Hospital for Children in Rochester, N.Y as well as a part-time Internship in Adult Psychiatry at the Strong Memorial Hospital Mental Health Outpatient Department.
Work History:
Dr. Avery has provided therapeutic care in a wide variety of therapeutic settings: outpatient mental health center, day treatment program, child-residential program, Emergency room psychological consulting and private practice. Dr. Avery has also worked in school settings in both New York State and Massachusetts designing and implementing school-based mental health curriculum. Dr. Avery has done extensive teaching in the areas of personality assessment and play assessment and therapy and continues to serve on the Child Psychiatry Staff at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine.
Clinical Orientation:
I am frequently asked, what theory guides my orientation in my work with patients? I am guided by many approaches to therapy for which I have had extensive training : Self Psychology (H. Kouhut), Object Relations (D.W. Winnicott), Attachment (D Stern), Family Systems, Cognitive-Behavioral, Cognitive-Developmental, Social Cognitive(Michelle Garcia Winner), Mindfulness (Dan Siegel) However, my clinical work at this time is most clearly informed by my knowledge of neuroscience and the contributions this field has made to our understanding of human brain development and functioning in general and toward social-emotional/relationship/attachment development in specific. My bottom line in my work is accountability. People who work with me do so for a specific reason. It is my goal to help people accomplish the personality, family, life goals for which they have sought my help. This process begins by helping each person or persons to identify what it is they are hoping to achieve by coming to therapy and to outline a tentative map for how those goals could be achieved. I see it as my job to help people stay focused on their goals in therapy and my job to help them adjust those goals if this becomes necessary as the work moves along. Before the first session is completed with every patient, I ask the question, how will you know when your work with me is finished. Answering this question outlines the scaffolding for our collaborative therapeutic work.