Location
Northern Virginia
Ages Treated
Children, Adolescents & Adults
Practice Philosophy:
Dr. Lauretta Brennan is a licensed child and adolescent psychologist who works with children, adolescents, college-aged adults, parents and families. Dr. Brennan helps individuals and families address challenges including anxiety, OCD, depression, behavioral difficulties, and stressors in parent-child relationships. Relatable and warm, she connects easily with her clients, using humor and positive reinforcement to engage children and teens. Sessions involve age-appropriate activities and rewards that reinforce behavioral change and model appropriate responses for parents. She often includes parents in the treatment process, particularly for younger children, and provides strategies for parents and families to strengthen relationships, improve communication, and enhance emotional expression within the household. She believes in the power of resilience, and teaches children skills that empower them to be assertive and confident, responding to situations in ways that are effective and adaptive. As a parent of 3 young children herself, she is compassionate and understanding, using a client-centered approach that offers unconditional positive regard for all patients. Parents and children feel seen and heard, and her genuine warmth and compassion help to facilitate behavioral change and improvement in symptoms.
Areas of Expertise:
Dr. Brennan specializes in treating children and adolescents, in addition to working extensively with parents and families. She offers a flexible, individualized approach to treatment that draws from techniques in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), family systems, and mindfulness. Dr. Brennan has expertise in treating children and teens who suffer from anxiety, OCD, depression, and behavioral difficulties, as well as executive-function challenges and identity development. As a trained SPACE facilitator (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), she teaching parents skills that help reduce their child’s anxiety symptoms. She offers individual child and adolescent therapy, family therapy, and parent consultations. Children learn mindfulness and relaxation skills to handle complex emotions, communication techniques, decision-making tools, and strategies for self-regulation that impact relationships, academic achievement, family dynamics, and growth. Parents gain knowledge of how to support their children at various stages of their emotional development, including discipline, boundaries, risky behaviors, academic challenges, friendships and relationships.
Experience and Training:
Dr. Brennan received her PhD in Clinical and Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, and earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and the Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In her training program, she specialized in child and family therapy and conducted extensive research on child development. She serves as the Director of the Child and Adolescent program at The Ross Center in Virginia and Washington, DC.
Blog Posts and Events:
- Facilitator: Resilience Builder Program for Kids
- Facilitator: Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions