Background
Dr. Rafaella Sale, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist (#810008733) serving the greater Richmond and surrounding areas in Virginia.
Dr. Sale has a doctorate in school & clinical child psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, with a specialization in neuropsychology for children and adolescents. Before doctoral training, Rafaella earned a master’s degree in clinical health psychology (now a doctoral program) from Appalachian State University. She helped to develop a mental health crisis response system in three schools across the western region of rural Appalachia in North Carolina.
all behavior has a meaning, every child has a purpose
In 2020, Dr. Sale completed a clinical residency at the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California-Los Angeles. Primary rotation included neuropsychological testing for children undergoing surgery for seizure disorders. Additional clinical rotations included parent management training for children with social or behavioral problems and family therapy for teens with bipolar disorder. Dr. Sale is certified to deliver Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), which is an intensive parent coaching treatment for young children with severe behavior problems.
Dr. Sale has published in several peer-review journals. Areas of research and consultative expertise include,
threat detection for schools & school-based behavioral health programming,
child health policy & program implementation,
measurement of child-serving systems & processes that determine the trajectory of systems-involved youth,
training & supervision of non-licensed clinicians
Clinical experiences:
parent management training for severe behavior problems in children & teens
psychotherapy for violent and high-risk behavior in teens & their families
early detection & diagnostic testing for autism alongside developmental pediatricians
cognitive rehabilitation for acute brain injury
neuropsychological assessment for children with cancer, chronic disease, or non-accidental trauma
individual education planning, implementation, & classroom behavior management
