Laurie Better Perlis, Psy.D. - Psychologist
Dr. Perlis provides both therapy and comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations to children, adolescents and young adults. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders (Separation Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety, Social and Performance Anxiety, Specific Phobias), body-focused repetitive behaviors and neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD, Executive Functioning challenges, Specific Learning Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Dr. Perlis primarily uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a form of evidence-based psychotherapy in which the therapist, client and family work together as a team to identify and change unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior, improve emotional regulation and develop a personalized set of coping strategies. She also provides behavioral support and training for parents to better understand and manage challenging behavior and improve parent-child and family relationships. As part of a team approach to treatment, Dr. Perlis also collaborates with school staff, pediatricians and other treatment providers as needed.
Dr. Perlis describes her approach to treatment and evaluations:
“My goal is for each client (and family) to grow in their understanding of themselves and their emotions and behaviors while also learning new ways of thinking (cognitive) and doing (behavioral) that improve their quality of life and relationships. As a therapist, it is incredibly gratifying to see my clients use their own unique perspective and creativity (often with a healthy dose of humor) to apply information and skills they are learning in a way that is meaningful and helpful to them.
Comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations provide a much broader lens with which to understand the complex interaction between an individual's unique combination of thinking, learning and interpersonal styles and their environment. This is often essential, not only in terms of identifying effective educational accommodations and approaches for each student but also to promote an individual’s capacity for self-awareness and self-advocacy.”
Dr. Perlis is licensed by the Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT). She is licensed to practice telepsychology with her E.Passport with the Association of the State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) under the authority of PSYPACT. Currently, this license allows her to practice telepsychology in the following participating states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, DC, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. To see if your state has been recently added, check on ASPPB’s PSYPACT website: https://psypact.org/page/psypact.map.
More about Dr. Perlis:
Dr. Perlis received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the Johns Hopkins University where she was a member of the women’s field hockey and lacrosse teams. She went on to complete her doctorate in clinical psychology at Yeshiva University in New York City, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fay J. Lindner Center for Autism & Developmental Disabilities, an affiliate of North Shore – Long Island Jewish Hospital Center. She remained at the Lindner Center as a Staff Psychologist and eventually as Acting Clinical Director, responsible for training and supervising clinical staff, participating in grant-funded research and providing evaluations, treatment and innovative social skills programming.
Dr. Perlis has provided presentations locally and nationally on a number of topics related to parenting and treatment approaches for children and adolescents with anxiety, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. She has been in private practice in the Severna Park area since 2011.
In her spare time, Dr. Perlis enjoys jogging, yoga and baked goods - in that order! She also loves reading and spending family vacations at the beach with her husband and two children.