Alicia Meyer, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist who has devoted the last decade of her career to the health and well-being of children, families, and trauma survivors.  She graduated with honors from an Ivy League university (Brown University; undergraduate) with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. 

 

In graduate school, at the Catholic University of America, she earned a specialization in the “Children, Families, and Cultures” track and again graduated with honors with a degree in Clinical Psychology.  She wrote her dissertation on the cognitive attributions and coping skills of women who experience Interpersonal Violence (IPV).  During graduate school she was awarded a fellowship through the prestigious Minority Fellowship Program and attended the Psychology Summer Institute through the American Psychological Association.  She gained specific training in cultural competency and has both a personal and professional affinity with the culture of the military.  To complete her graduate education, Dr. Meyer was accepted into the internship program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), an organization that is internationally recognized as experts and leaders in the field of trauma psychology. 

 

Inspired by the work she completed at MUSC, Dr. Meyer then devoted her post-doctoral training to the area of child abuse and its related branches of parenting, family transitions/reunification, etc., in which she is now considered a clinical and forensic expert.  Regarding the latter, she is experienced in writing forensic evaluations for both children and adults and in testifying in court.  She has testified as an expert witness in over a dozen jurisdictions, and she additionally has contracts with the Army to testify as an expert in child psychology.  Dr. Meyer also has contracts with three separate cities to perform Parenting Capacity Evaluations and provide trauma informed care to children in foster care. 

 

Following her postdoctoral experience at a child advocacy center, Dr. Meyer went on to become the Mental Health Director of the Tree House Child Assessment Center, the Child Advocacy Center in Montgomery County, MD.  She was hired to bring evidence-based treatment to this agency, namely in the form of Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).  While working at the Tree House. Dr. Meyer established a training program for psychology graduate students interested in the area of childhood trauma.  She also opened her first private practice.

 

Dr. Meyer then took a position as the Director of Mental Health at the Child Abuse Program at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD).  She re-established the psychology student training pipeline and helped to secure the program’s first psychology intern.  During this time she completed her studies to become a National Trainer in Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).  She is one of only 68 individuals across the world who hold this title.  She also gained expertise in Alternative for Families CBT (AF-CBT) and Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI). 

 

Dr. Meyer is trained in Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) and is a certified therapist and Global trainer in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).  Since 2016, she has trained dozens of individuals across Virginia in the PCIT model.  She is also part of the first network of certified PCIT therapists in the state.  Attracted to the innovative PCIT training model proposed by Dr. Christopher Campbell, in 2020 Dr. Meyer joined the team at PCIT, Inc.  She assisted in the development of the increasingly popular self-paced PCIT training, including developing the slides and shooting some of the training videos.  She continues to help revolutionize PCIT training and consultation along with the rest of the team. 

 

In 2018, Dr. Meyer founded Alicia’s Place, a non-profit agency that utilizes a cognitive-behavioral, multi-systemic, empirically-validated approach to the psychological assessment and treatment of children, families, and trauma survivors.  She now has a staff consisting of over 50 individuals, all of whom are trained in trauma-informed practices, including TF-CBT and PCIT.  The agency serves a large military population as well.  Dr. Meyer has built a robust training program within this agency.  In any given year there are approximately 15-20 counseling, social work, and psychology students who receive training in evidence-based and trauma-informed practices.  She manages two office locations in different cities, and the agency serves over 600 families at a time. 

 

Dr. Meyer is the immediate past president as well as the Media Chair of the Tidewater Academy of Clinical Psychologists.  She is also both the President-Elect and the Legislative Advocate with the Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists.  She is part of a work group helping to propose a bill in Virginia’s General Assembly to protect telehealth options for clients after the public health emergency.  She also serves on the Missions Committee for her local church.

 

Finally, to end on a personal note, Dr. Meyer is a military (Navy) spouse and a mother of three.  She puts her PCIT skills to good use as a girl scout troop leader as well as a coach for recreational soccer for youth under the age of 10. 

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