| Karen M. Falla, Ph.D. |
| Licensed Psychologist
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Child, Adolescent, Adult, Geriatric |
Dr. Falla founded Neuropsychology Consultants with a vision of bringing together
outstanding clinicians offering state-of-the-art evaluation and treatment in the fields of
clinical psychology and neuropsychology. She is a licensed psychologist with a
specialization in Clinical Neuropsychology, focusing on the evaluation and treatment
of individuals across the developmental lifespan who are experiencing cognitive,
emotional, social, or behavioral difficulties. She provides services to individuals in the
office on an outpatient basis and also on an inpatient basis at Medical City McKinney,
including behavioral health and medical rehabilitation.
In working with children and adolescents, Dr. Falla helps to enhance understanding of
their functioning in several domains. With consideration of their strengths and
weaknesses, she works with parents to develop a plan of intervention to help the child
or adolescent fulfill their potential in multiple domains of life. Typical referral issues
include ADHD, learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, other
neurodevelopmental problems, and traumatic brain injury. She also helps with
emotional difficulties, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and
adjustment disorder.
In working with adults, she conducts evaluations for neurodevelopmental conditions
such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, emotional difficulties, and differential
diagnosis of dementia and other neurologically based problems. Typical referral issues
include Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, Vascular dementia due to major stroke or microvascular disease, Parkinson’s disease,
multiple sclerosis, brain tumor, seizure disorder, and traumatic brain injury. She works
with individuals and families to help them work toward positive emotional adaptation
to life changes associated with a family member’s decline in cognitive or physical
functioning. She treats her patients with compassion and respect as they seek to
understand the basis of problems they are experiencing, and discusses with them
practical and accessible ways of improving their quality of life.
Dr. Falla earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology (APA-accredited) and her master’s
degree in Psychology from the University of North Texas. She earned her bachelor's
degree in Psychology from Arizona State University, graduating summa cum laude.
Prior to this, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Arizona State University. Afterward, she worked
for five years as a Software Engineer for Honeywell Commercial Flight Systems,
collaborating with systems engineers and hardware engineers to produce flight control (autopilot) systems for commercial aircraft.
As she transitioned her analytical skills into the field of clinical psychology, she
evaluated children receiving neuro-oncology services at Cook Children’s Medical
Center in preparing her dissertation, “The Relationship between Executive and
Psychosocial Functioning in Children Treated for a Brain Tumor.” She had a focus on neuropsychological evaluation and treatment of both children and adults during her
graduate practica with the Traumatic Brain Injury Program at the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas, Baylor Our Children’s House in Dallas, and Cook Children’s
Medical Center in Fort Worth.
She furthered her specialized clinical training on internship at the APA-accredited
Oklahoma Health Consortium in Oklahoma City (including rotations at the Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital, Neuropsychology Associates at the Mercy Hospital
Neuroscience Institute, and the Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center). Her postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology was
completed at the Center for Psychological Development in Sherman, Texas, where she conducted in- depth neuropsychological evaluations with both inpatient and outpatient populations. Inpatient settings included acute care, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and psychiatry.
Dr. Falla currently holds privileges at the Medical City McKinney where she sees
patients in behavioral health and medical rehabilitation. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the University of North Texas. She has given presentations on
many topics, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Dementia, Depression, and
Coping with Stress at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, Raytheon, Texas Woman's
University, Wilson Jones Medical Center, Community Specialty Hospital, and several preschools, retirement communities, and hospice care facilities. She is a member of the
National Academy of Neuropsychology, American Psychological Association
(including Division 40: Clinical Neuropsychology), Texas Psychological Association,
and Collin County Psychological Association.
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| Valerie Sive-Ramirez, Psy.D. | Licensed Psychologist
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Child, Adolescent, Adult, Geriatric |
Dr. Valerie Sive-Ramirez earned her doctoral degree from the APA-accredited
counseling psychology graduate program at the University of San Francisco, which
included a two-year graduate practicum at the Children’s Health Council in Palo Alto, California. She received additional training in the diagnosis and treatment of children
and adolescents at the APA-approved Southern Arizona Psychology Internship
Consortium in Tucson, Arizona. She earned her master’s degree from the University of
San Diego and has been licensed as a marriage and family therapist in California. She is currently a licensed psychologist in Texas.
Dr. Sive-Ramirez completed her post-doctoral training in Clinical Neuropsychology
from Fielding Graduate University. As part of this specialized training, she completed
a post-doctoral fellowship at St. Mary’s Medical Center, where she worked on the
inpatient rehabilitation unit and conducted inpatient and outpatient neuropsychological evaluations for children and adolescents. She further refined her specialization by
completing a second post-doctoral fellowship on the brain injury unit at Kaiser
Foundation Rehabilitation Center.
She has worked for the Memory Center at Baylor Neuroscience Center in Dallas as well as for the Pain Management Center at Baylor University Medical Center. In both settings, she conducted comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations and pain evaluations, provided individual and group therapy, and assisted in coordination of treatment services to gather outcome data. She provides in-home neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy rehabilitation patients through Rehab Without Walls. She has worked with children with many different types of conditions, including ADHD, learning difficulties, developmental delay, and neurological problems.
In addition to her clinical experience, she has worked in different research settings, including a study on anger management and substance abuse for the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco. She served as adjunct faculty for Wright Institute in Berkeley, California teaching graduate-level neuropsychological assessment. She is a member of the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Sive-Ramirez is committed to providing high quality evaluations and treatment. An important objective in her clinical work is to provide each individual with an opportunity to obtain optimal functioning in daily life. |
Licensed Psychologist Mary Linda Chlipala, Ph.D, M.S., M.A., CCC/SLP Clinical Neuropsychologist Speech/Language Pathologist Child, Adolescent, Adult, Geriatric
Dr. Chlipala specializes in neuropsychological assessment of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in individuals across the lifespan. For adults, this includes concerns of possible dementia or other cognitive difficulties affecting quality of life. For children and adolescents, this includes developmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, and other difficulties affecting a child's ability to learn and function as expected in important domains of their lives. She also conducts presurgical assessments (bariatric, deep brain stimulator, spinal cord stimulator). Dr. Chlipala has experience in a variety of settings including private practice, hospital inpatient/outpatient, skilled nursing facility (SNF), medical specialty unit (MSU), juvenile detention center, Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID) Level V, rehabilitation hospital, and an outpatient rehabilitation center serving children and adults, in addition to providing didactic clinical training seminars and supervision of post-doctoral neuropsychology fellows, pre-doctoral neuropsychology interns, and psychometrists, as well as experience as an ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist. She was formerly the Director of Clinical Training for an APPIC pre-doctoral internship site. She earned her doctorate and master's degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas. Her dissertation is entitled "Organized Semantic Fluency and Executive Functioning in an Adult Clinical Sample and a Community Sample." Her master's thesis is entitled "Longitudinal Study of Loneliness and Depression as Predictors of Health in Mid-To-Later Life." Her predoctoral internship involved work at Terrell State Hospital, where she saw children, adolescents and adults,; she also saw children for therapy at the Children's Advocacy Center. Prior to this, she earned a master's degree in Communication Disorders from Texas Woman's University and her bachelor's degree in Education from the University of North Texas. She worked as a Speech/Language Pathologist and eventual Department Head at The Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adults in Sherman, Texas. She also worked as a Speech-Language Therapist for the Grayson County Special Education Coop. Dr. Chlipala has numerous scientific presentations and publications. She holds memberships in the National Academy of Neuropsychology, the International Neuropsychological Society, and the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. We are very happy to have Dr. Chlipala working with us!
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| Ashley M. Smith, Ph.D. |
| Licensed Psychologist
Postdoctoral Fellow, Clinical Neuropsychology
Child, Adolescent, Adult, Geriatric |
Dr. Smith earned her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in School Psychology with a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis. She earned her master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Human Development and Family Sciences, as well as her bachelor's degree in Psychology with Departmental Honors. In graduate school, she completed an externship at Children's Hospital of San Antonio where she conducted comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations for children and adolescents
presenting with a wide range of medical conditions and participated in an interdisciplinary autism evaluation team. She also provided Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy for patients ranging in age from early
childhood to adolescence. Experiences included functional analysis, picture exchange and
communication system, functional communication training, parent training, and extensive data
tracking and treatment planning
She completed an internship on the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Track at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, one of the largest and most comprehensive pediatric hospitals and research institutes in the U.S. At Nationwide, she participated in interdisciplinary diagnostic assessment teams specialized in autism evaluations, including collaboration with neurologists, developmental pediatricians, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists.
Her postdoctoral training includes a fellowship at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, where she conducted comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for children and adolescents referred for a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders. Common referral concerns included Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning problems, developmental delays, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, and genetic syndromes. She received specialized training in the administration of the Rorschach Inkblot Test using the Exner Scoring
System, and she participated in grand rounds discussing a wide range of pediatric conditions, including enuresis,
epilepsy, and eating disorders.
She completed additional postdoctoral work in a private practice setting, where she conducted comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for children,
adolescents, and adults referred for a wide range of presenting problems ranging from
neurodevelopmental disorders and personality disorders to dementia and aging in older adults. Therapeutic intervention work with adults targeted trauma, mood, and navigation of major life
transitions. Therapeutic approaches included Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy.
Dr. Smith has participated on several research teams, including the PLAY Project at Children's Hospital San Antonio, Integrated Vocabulary for Comprehension, Reading for Understanding Research Initiative, and Early Literacy Measures at Texas A&M University, THRIVE research at the University of California Santa Barbara, Social Relationships and Health at the University of Chicago, relationship dynamics at the University of Texas, Alcohol and Addiction research at Stanford University, and Psychophysiology research at Harvard University. She has made many associated contributions to the scientific community in terms of research publications and presentations to the American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology, the National Academy of School Psychologists, and the Pacific Coast Research Conference.
Dr. Smith has assisted in teaching university courses at the University of California Santa Barbara and University of Texas at Austin, including Introduction to Caribbean Studies, Introduction to African American Studies, Child Development, Human Ecology, and Family Interaction and Development.
Dr. Smith has earned specialized training and certifications, including Applied Behavior Analysis - Texas A&M University Graduate Certificate, ADOS-2 Clinical Workshop, and RUBI Autism Network: Parent Training for Disruptive Behaviors. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, National Academy of Neuropsychology, and National Association of School Psychologists. She is currently expanding her knowledge of adult neuropsychological evaluation by means of a postdoctoral fellowship in our office that includes didactics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a core curriculum at the Fielding Graduate Institute. We are very happy to have Dr. Smith working with us!
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| Hannah Hagler, B.S. | Graduate Clinical Extern
Clinical Neuropsychology
Child, Adolescent, Adult
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Hannah is working on her Ph.D. in School Psychology at Texas
Woman’s University where her dissertation is focused on better understanding
Autism Spectrum Disorder. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from
TWU, graduating as an Honor’s Scholar Graduate with minors in English, Global
Studies, and General Science. Her Capstone Project was conducted on the subject
of Autism.
Hannah’s clinical experience includes counseling and
therapeutic interventions with children, adolescents, and adults with a variety
of concerns (e.g., trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, difficulty with
relationships, coping skills, social skills, oppression/discrimination). She
also has conducted comprehensive autism assessments for children and
adolescents aged 18 months to 18 years at the UNT Kristin Farmer Autism Center.
Her work with the Allen Independent School District included
early education programs through high school, where she conducted psychoeducational
assessments using a team-based approach. She also planned and implemented
individualized behavioral interventions, trained teachers and staff on a variety
of psychoeducational topics, and held social skills groups for first- and
second-grade students. She worked with children and adolescents with variety of
diagnoses (e.g., ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety, intellectual disability) and cultural backgrounds. Hannah's academic experience includes work as a Statistics Consultant for the Department of Psychology and Philosophy at Texas Woman’s University. In this position, she assisted undergraduate and graduate students in understanding statistical concepts, choosing appropriate statistical analyses for research questions, conducting statistical analyses, and analyzing the results of statistical analyses. She has also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at TWU and as a Statistics Tutor for TWU’s Math and Technology Success Center. She has taught and/or assisted in teaching classes at TWU, including Introduction to General Psychology, Social Psychology, and Experimental Psychology. We are very happy to have Hannah working with us to further her development in psychological and neuropsychological assessment!
| Katya Bebeleva, M.S. | Graduate Clinical Extern
Clinical Neuropsychology
Child, Adolescent, Adult
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Katya is working on her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas where her focus is on moral development and psychopathy. Her master’s thesis is entitled Examining the Links
between Attachment Style, Psychopathic Traits, and Sexuality. She earned her
bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Ohio State University with a minor in
Creative Writing. As part of her undergraduate psychology education, she
developed a solid foundation of psychology as a discipline with a concentration
in areas such as abnormal and criminal psychology, as well as morality and
empathy development. At the University of North Texas, her research experience
includes current work with Dr. James Meernik on coding and analysis of faculty,
staff, student, and alumni survey responses to inform decisions of the college
strategic planning committee. She is also now assisting Dr. Craig S. Neumann with
preparation of manuscripts for academic publication, mentoring younger graduate
students and undergraduate research assistants, conducting data collection and
analysis, and reporting and presenting research. She has also worked with Dr.
David Cicero in his Texas Early Assessment Lab where she assisted in overseeing
undergraduate research assistants and collaborated on the creation of the training
manual for the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology assessment measure. At Ohio State University, she assisted in Dr. Jennifer S.
Cheavens’ Mood and Personality Studies Lab with investigating improvement and
maintenance of mood following positive or negative events. She also assisted in
Dr. Simon Dennis’ Memory and Language Lab. She served as policy and research intern at the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal
Justice Services where she completed an independent research project
investigating potential impacts of multi-jurisdictional task force presence on
Ohio citizen attitudes toward law enforcement. She also presented reports on quarterly crime statistics in major Ohio
cities for purpose of monitoring trends in criminal activity. Katya has presented her research at several professional
conferences, including Examining the Links between Attachment Style,
Psychopathic Traits, and Sexuality at the Association of Psychological
Science Virtual Convention and the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy
Early Career Event, Harder than it Looks: Student Self-Care Behaviors and
Related Positive Outcomes can be enhanced when Targeted and Incentivized at
the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology Midwinter Meeting, Encouraging
Enhanced Academic Performance through Better Sleep Behaviors: A Look at
Practical Sleep-Related Incentives for Test Credit at the Annual University
of North Texas Psychology Department Research Fair, and The Effects of
Empathy on the Confirmatory Hypothesis Testing Bias at the Ohio State
University Annual Psychology Undergraduate Research Colloquium She has taught several university courses, including General
Psychology I, Interviewing for Paraprofessionals in Psychology, Personality, Psychology
of the Offender, Social Psychology, and Experimental Methods.
Katya has received clinical training and/or certifications
in Motivational Interviewing, Telepsychology Best Practices, Counseling Access
to Lethal Means (CALM), Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, Bystander Intervention,
Administration of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R), and Diversity
and Inclusion.
Katya is working with us to extend her assessment experience into the specialty area of neuropsychological evaluation. We are very happy to have her working with us!
| Donna Ewing, M.S. | Psychometrician
Clinical Neuropsychology
Child, Adolescent
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Donna is a senior
lecturer and clinical supervisor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
at the Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders Program at the
University of Texas at Dallas. She is a developmental specialist with many
years’ experience working with children age birth through 5 years, including
those with special needs, and their families. In her academic role, she provides
clinical supervision, consultation and mentorship. Donna has been endorsed as an
Infant and Family Specialist by the First3Years organization (formerly Texas
Association for Infant Mental Health). The endorsement reflects compentencies
in infant mental health training and supervision. She is a participant in the
task force of specialists implementing a strategic plan for a program-wide
approach to infant mental health and mental health consultation. Within this
approach program administrators will learn how to ensure more effective mental
health consultation by facilitating staff-consultant relationships and
providing support and oversight to infant mental health consultants. Along with classroom, clinical and
community involvement Donna continues to work to form additional university
affiliations so that students have the opportunity to work within organizations
whose mission is to serve children with special needs and empower those parents
with tools and resources needed to advocate for their children. Recent acquired
affiliations include Easter Seals North Texas, Carrollton/Farmers Branch
Independent School District Preschool Program for Children with Special Needs,
Tarrant County MHMR, and Bryan’s House a non-profit organization serving
at-risk children and families.
Donna is a member of the World Infant
Mental Health Association, Division for Early Childhood of the Department of
Exceptional Children, the International Society of Early Intervention and an
affiliate member of the Center for Children and Families here at UT Dallas. She is broadening her scope of
practice in our office toward working with older children and adolescents which
will serve her goal of becoming a school psychologist. We are very happy to
have her working with us!
| Nicholas Jessup, B.A. | Psychometrist
Clinical Neuropsychology
Child, Adolescent, Adult, Geriatric
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Nicholas is an honors graduate
of the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree
in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy. At UT Austin, he studied child and
adult psychopathology; clinical, experimental, forensic, and social psychology;
behavioral neuroscience; statistics & research design; neuroimaging;
psychology of race & racism; mindfulness & self-compassion; philosophy
of law, and ethics. He participated on a research team investigating visual
perception.
Nicholas earned his
certification as Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) and worked for Action
Behavior Centers and Positive Behavior Supports Corp. in Austin. As a behavior
technician, he provided adaptive behavior therapy (in clinic and home settings)
under the supervision of behavior analysts. His work included use of principles
of applied behavior analysis to teach children with autism social and
functional skills while reducing identified patterns of maladaptive behavior
such as noncompliance, tantrums, aggression, self-injurious behavior,
elopement, echolalia, scripting, mouthing, vocal disruption, self-stimulatory
behavior, and property destruction.
Nicholas also worked as a Community
Living Specialist for Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. in Austin. He served as a caseworker
for teens/youths with severe emotional disturbance. He also worked with
families to develop individualized behavior plans to address maladaptive
patterns of familial interaction. He taught on several topics including cognitive
behavioral therapy, mindfulness, self-compassion, communication/social skills, and
anger management.
As Nicholas worked with individuals
experiencing neurodevelopmental and emotional difficulties, he developed an
interest in neuropsychological assessment. He began working under the supervision
of several neuropsychologists to establish a new skill set in test administration.
He has been very successful in working with clients of many different ages and
referral issues, and he recently joined our practice as a psychometrist. We are
very happy to have Nicholas working with us! |
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WE ARE COMMITTED TO HELPING INDIVIDUALS ACHIEVE THEIR ULTIMATE POTENTIAL AND ENHANCE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE |
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