Starting Thursday, October 6, the school will begin using the services of a consulting child psychologist. Her name is Dr. Laurie Reider Lewis, and she has recently established a private practice in Stevensville, having moved here from the New York - New Jersey metropolitan area in the summer of 2010. Dr. Lewis earned her undergraduate degree from Binghamton University, her master’s from Harvard, and her master and doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University. She has previously split her professional time between private practice in New Jersey and work at the Children’s Hospital at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. She was also a teacher and school counselor at an independent school in Asia.
Dr. Lewis will be with us each Thursday, and she will mainly offer us assistance in four areas:
- consultation - Dr. Lewis will be available to consult with members of the administrative team and faculty on matters pertaining to the psychological, social, behavioral, developmental, and learning needs of a child or group of students. She may also act as liaison between external psycho-educational providers and appropriate Country School personnel. The administration will also determine when it will be appropriate for her to consult with parents;
- assessment and evaluation - With parental permission, Dr. Lewis will be able to provide initial appraisals and observations of students’ learning, behavioral, social, and emotional functioning. Students who require a more complete or formal assessment will still be referred by the administration to outside providers;
- education - Dr. Lewis will provide information to students, school personnel, and parents about topics relevant to the psychosocial needs of the community through workshops, in-service sessions, and classroom lessons;
- counseling - With the approval of the administration and parents, Dr. Lewis will work within the school setting directly with students who are identified by the administration as potentially benefitting from short term, private counseling and psychological support services. In instances that children require more comprehensive counseling, the family will need to engage a psychologist outside of the school setting.
Dr. Lewis’ role will clearly evolve as she spends time here, but I want to emphasize that we will seek parental permission if we feel children require individual or very small group intervention, much as we do now with our learning specialist. Since Dr. Lewis will be filling a new role at The Country School and since she will fulfill her duties as an independent contractor to the school, she and I felt that all parents should sign an acknowledgement statement outlining her role. As always, feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions that you have about the role or practice of our new consulting psychologist.