About Me
Katherine M. Dryden, Ph.D., works with children, adolescents, and their families. Her specialties include the assessment of social and emotional functioning, academic evaluations, and the assessment/treatment of developmental disorders, anxiety, and ADHD in children and adolescents. She provides Early Kindergarten Evaluations, IQ and Academic Achievement testing for children and adolescents, and developmental screenings, including Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Dryden also provides individual therapy for children and adolescents.
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Dr. Dryden develops and leads Social Skills Groups for children and adolescents. The specific skills taught in each group are age-appropriate and focus on increasing positive patterns of communication, cooperative interaction with peers, friendship management, emotion regulation, anger and conflict management, and increasing empathy and understanding. Dr. Dryden also leads DBT groups for older adolescents and young adults focusing on the skills of mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance
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Dr. Dryden is trained in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for intervention with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is also trained and certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with children and families, as well as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for adolescents and young adults.
Education
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Ph.D., University of South Carolina
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M.A., University of South Carolina
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B.A., Davidson College
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Clinical Psychology Internship, University of South Carolina School of Medicine
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Specialty training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), and Trauma-Focused CBT
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Licensed Psychologist, State of North Carolina
Treatment Philosophy
Strengths-Based Approach
Dr. Dryden's theoretical perspective when working with children and adolescents is derived from a strengths-based approach. This approach emphasizes a person’s special abilities and resilience, as opposed to areas of weakness. Dr. Dryden draws upon this strengths-based philosophy during developmental and educational evaluations.
Ecological and Family Systems Approach
Dr. Dryden also draws from an ecological and family systems approach to treatment, which considers a child's development in relation to broader family and community contexts.
Cognitive Behavioral Approach
Dr. Dryden provides a cognitive behavioral approach to individual and group therapy with children and adolescents.
Services Offered
Children
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Individual Therapy
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Social Skills Groups
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Psychoeducational Evaluations
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Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) Testing
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Learning Disability (LD) Testing
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Early Kindergarten Evaluations
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ADHD Evalutions
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Anxiety/Coping Skills
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Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations
Adolescents
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Individual Therapy
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
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Psychoeducational Evaluations
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Academically or Intellectually Gifted (AIG) Testing
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Learning Disability (LD) Testing
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ADHD Evalutions
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Anxiety/Coping Skills
Families
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Family Therapy
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School Based Evaluations
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Classroom Observations
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Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) Partnership and Guidance
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Parenting Skills