Dr. Molly Parks provides individual, family, couples therapy, and psychological assessment services for people struggling with a wide variety of issues in their lives. Dr. Parks joined the practice from Boston, MA having ten years of clinical experience with all developmental stages, from children as young as three to individuals in their 70’s and 80’s. She holds a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, and a master's and bachelor’s degree in Psychology as well. Her well-rounded experiences include a particular interest and expertise in trauma, women's issues, college transitions and the transition to adulthood, behavioral issues in children, couples therapy, and psychological and academic assessment.

Dr. Parks was trained and practices in an integrative therapeutic style, implementing cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, and developmental techniques in her work. Dr. Parks believes in individualizing the therapeutic relationship based on the unique needs of each client. She emphasizes a relational, collaborative approach to treatment that empowers clients in their treatment through concrete skills, such as mindfulness and behavioral modification, and recognizes the importance of immediate symptom relief of while also recognizing the importance of understanding the deeper psychodynamic and developmental underpinnings of a problem or struggle to prevent relapse.

Personal: Dr. Parks is a member of the American Psychological Association, and the American Family Therapy Academy, where she is a member of the human rights and social justice committee. She believes strongly in ’practicing what she preaches’ by maintaining balance in her personal life through hiking, running, cooking and gardening, and spending time with family and friends. Dr. Parks recognizes the bravery that it takes for a person of any age to commit to self-exploration and change through therapy, and is honored and excited to embark on this journey with her clients.

Expertise with Adults: In her work with adults, Dr. Parks has experience and enjoys working with individuals, couples, groups, and psychological assessment. Her experience includes treating a variety of struggles in adulthood, including depression and anxiety, social isolation and relationship problems, body image and weight issues, and adjustment-related difficulties. Dr. Parks has extensive experience treating trauma-related issues, including complex post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic violence counseling, and personality-based disorders. She has worked with acute trauma in both disaster-effected populations and immediately following traumatic events, as well as treating problems that arise from the long-term effects of trauma. Dr. Parks works with couples on both pre-marital and marital issues, and welcomes couples with a variety of relational issues. She has a wide range of experience running groups focusing on social isolation and relational issues, dialectical and behavioral approaches to treating trauma, and support groups for women. Dr. Parks has also worked extensively with issues of self-image and adjustment for college students. She has a particular interest in working with adjustment and transition as it relates to gender and GLBT related issues, including questioning of gender and sexuality, gender variance, and transgendered clients.

Incorporating holistic approaches to mental health, such as mindfulness and spirituality for clients who choose to explore these coping strategies, is an additional interest for Dr. Parks.  She conducted her dissertation research on the role spirituality plays in coping with the acute and long-term effects of trauma and believes that, for many people, these techniques can be useful additions to traditional therapy.

Expertise with Children: Dr. Parks has a wide range of experience working with children of all ages in multiple therapeutic settings. She offers expertise with children in individual and group therapy, consultation for school-based issues, psychological and academic testing and assessment, and parent guidance. With younger children, she specializes in play therapy approaches that integrate behavioral modification techniques in a way that is both fun and empowering for the children she works with. With adolescents, Dr. Parks employs a model of relational empowerment that encourages personal responsibility as well as exploration of the issues around the transition to adulthood. She has extensive experience and training with children who have undergone both acute and long-term traumatic events, and employs both body and play-based techniques to working with trauma. She also has experience working in both individual and group settings with children coping with ADD/ADHD, aggression and oppositional behaviors, pervasive developmental disorders, social issues, adjusting to divorce, depression, and anxiety. Dr. Parks has an additional specialty in working with children who are struggling with issues and stigmatization around gender variance, and GLBT identification. Dr. Parks’ testing and assessment experience includes forensic trauma evaluation, and both psychoeducational and psychodiagnostic assessment, including intelligence testing for gifted and talented children, as well as diagnosis of learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, and pervasive developmental disorders. She enjoys using assessment to help children, adolescents and their families better understand their strengths and how to best serve their learning styles.