Staff Information

Susy Thomas, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist
Maryland License # 3596

To contact Dr. Thomas, please call 301-562-8448, Ext. 22.

“My child is having difficulty in school and remembering to complete their work.”

“It takes my teen hours to finish their assignments!”

“My child needs an IQ test and is very shy with new people.”

These are the kinds of concerns that parents often discuss when referred to Dr. Susy Thomas here at Chesapeake.  Skilled in connecting and communicating with children and families, Dr. Thomas specializes in the evaluation of children and adolescents so as to help them work towards their personal best throughout their development.  With over fourteen years of experience testing individuals, she completed her advanced pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships in the assessment of children and adolescents through the university hospitals of Harvard Medical School, Cornell Medical School and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  Dr. Thomas completes all her evaluations on Saturdays, allowing families flexibility with scheduling outside of typical school and work commitments. 

Dr. Thomas’ comprehensive evaluations include cognitive, neuropsychological and educational assessments that strive towards clarifying the role of possible attentional problems, learning disorders and executive function deficits.  Dr. Thomas brings to Chesapeake a particular expertise in working with young children and specializes in providing admissions testing consultation to preschoolers and school-aged children applying to area independent schools. 

Admissions evaluations with Dr. Thomas include:

• cognitive assessment of skills on developmentally appropriate IQ measures (e.g., WPPSI-III or WISC-IV)

• face-to-face feedback of findings immediately after testing with real-life descriptions of the child’s functioning that go beyond just the reporting of scores

• completed report 1 to 2 weeks after testing

Comprehensive evaluations with Dr. Thomas include:

• in-depth diagnostic interview with the child’s parents/caretakers and review of appropriate records

• individualized battery of cognitive, neuropsychological and achievement tests to assess learning strengths and weaknesses

• test findings presented in an easy to read, written report to the family during the feedback session

• working closely with individuals and their families to help them understand test profiles and look past scores and diagnostic labels to get a picture of what findings mean in the “real world”

• documenting the need for accommodations at school or for standardized testing (e.g., PSAT’s and SAT’s)

• clear answers and information to common questions that parents have regarding their child’s development and skills

• helping the individual and their family work towards increasing successes in various parts of their life – academically, socially and emotionally

• short-term and long-term plans of action including recommendations for consultation with professionals in other disciplines as needed (e.g., speech therapy, medication consultation, occupational therapy, tutoring and/or coaching)

• learning how to advocate on their child’s behalf, especially when the child is faced with challenges in the school setting

• discussing future developmental transitions (e.g., preparing for high school or college)

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Dr. Thomas obtained her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Scranton where she also minored in Spanish.  While earning her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Boston, she trained in assessment and testing of individuals from infancy through college-age at programs through the Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School and North Shore University Hospital/Cornell University Medical School.  Dr. Thomas has completed advanced post-doctoral training through the Department of Neuropsychology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the assessment of preschool and school-aged children, where she later worked as a Staff Psychologist for 4 ½ years.  At Kennedy Krieger, Dr. Thomas provided consultation to individuals and families, research teams, and other departments including the International Adoptions Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital.    

Dr. Thomas works closely with other members of our clinic’s staff, and has been working with Center Director, Dr. Kathleen Nadeau, since October 2000, to help provide the highest quality of care to our clients.  She is committed to educating others about AD/HD and has worked in the past as editor of the clinic’s community newsletter, ADHD News.  More recently, she has co-authored the February 2009 Pediatric Nursing journal article, Advising Families on AD/HD: A Multimodal Approach, to help better inform pediatric nurses about management of AD/HD that goes beyond medication.  As the mother of three daughters, Dr. Thomas particularly enjoys working with girls, which is also a specialty of Dr. Nadeau’s and the Chesapeake ADHD Center.

CLINICAL TRAINING

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Developmental Disabilities, Department of Neuropsychology,  Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• Neuropsychology Trainee, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

• APA Approved Internship in Psychology, Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, North Shore University Hospital/Cornell University Medical School

• Neuropsychology Trainee, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School

• Psychology Trainee, Department of Developmental Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Clinical Work Experience

• Staff Psychologist and Newsletter Editor, Chesapeake ADHD Center of Maryland

• Staff Psychologist, Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• Staff Psychologist, Valley Child Guidance Clinic/San Fernando Valley Child Guidance Center

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

• Lecturer for Research Methods, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston
• Lecturer for Introduction to Psychology and Abnormal Psychology, Department of Psychology California State University, Northridge
• Lecturer for Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Baltimore

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Fellow, Maryland Psychological Association (MPA)

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