Michelle Stern-Samberg, Ph.D.

Michelle Stern-Samberg, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in the State of Michigan. She completed her doctoral training in School Psychology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship were in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan Center for the Child and the Family (UCCF) and Psychological Clinic, where she received extensive therapeutic training with children, adolescents, adults and families.

Dr. Stern-Samberg has trained in a variety of settings including schools, community organizations, outpatient clinics and inpatient medical and psychiatric hospitals. Her graduate and post-graduate work has focused on assessment and treatment of individuals with learning and attention challenges. She has experience providing neuropsychological, ADHD and learning evaluations to individuals across the life span, as well as working with clients and their families to help them understand and effectively cope with their learning challenges. Dr. Stern-Samberg also has experience in the school system providing psychological assessment, designing classroom and school based interventions, and consulting with teachers and staff. She works collaboratively with schools and families to appreciate and best meet students' academic and social emotional needs.

Dr. Stern-Samberg's research has been in the field of learning disabilities. As an undergraduate student at Washington University (St. Louis, MO) and as a doctoral student, she has examined interventions for individuals with reading disabilities, as well as the cognitive and environmental factors contributing to reading difficulties. Her research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (Winston-Salem, NC) also focused on the neurological effects associated with intensive reading intervention. Currently, she is interested in the connection between reading challenges and mental health, with a particular focus on the development of anxiety, depression and poor self-esteem among students with learning difficulties. In addition to presenting at professional conferences, Dr. Stern-Samberg has presented to the community on understanding and responding to the needs of individuals with learning and attention challenges.

While particularly interested in the emotional and behavioral impact of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and learning challenges, Dr. Stern-Samberg's clinical interests also include helping families through significant adjustments (e.g., divorce, remarriage, loss, life transitions), working with adolescents and their families, as well as the treatment of anxiety and peer relationship issues. She has helped to develop the community program Strong Moms Strong Girls, which focuses on helping late elementary and middle school girls effectively cope with relational aggression while providing mothers with the resources to support their daughters and one another.

At CNLD, Dr. Stern-Samberg is available to help families further understand the results of evaluations and institute proposed recommendations. She also continues to provide individual, family and group psychotherapy, as well as learning and neuropsychological evaluations.

All of the gears are working together right now – Tisha’s needs connected to her FAS at home and school are being addressed, she’s started on medication that’s helping, and life is so much easier. We’ll likely be in touch regarding guidance for her senior year. Please know that we will also recommend several friends to your clinic because of the great experience we had with Tisha’s assessment.

Robert A.