About Dr. Ana Cragnolino

My goal as a psychologist is to encourage the individuals I work with to explore and know their true selves. I aim to help them seek satisfaction and contentment in their lives and find a path to self-fulfillment.

Training and Experience

I have been involved in the field of psychology and neuropsychology for more than 25 years.  I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Swarthmore College  and spent two years doing research in neuropsychology after graduating from college. I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and went on to do my internship in Clinical Psychology at Harvard Medical School at McLean Hospital.  I also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at Harvard Medical School. I have worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and I have been in private practice for more than 18 years. I specialize in working with neurodivergent individuals and aim to support my clients as they learn, work, socialize, and love. In my work I explore struggles with depression, anxiety, sensory overload, and interpersonal challenges.  My clients are often seeking tools and strategies to improve their satisfaction with life, show their potential and strengths to the world, overcome obstacles, and find balance in their lives.

My goal is to help the individuals I work with find their greatest potential and be the people they most want to be.

Current Practice

I offer comprehensive testing evaluations that clarify challenge areas and identify core strengths. I see the assessment process as part of a therapeutic intervention that can open doors to understanding and support. I have experience assessing people throughout the lifespan, but my specialty is in the evaluation of older children, adolescents, and adults.  My expertise is in diagnosing learning differences, ADHD, and other cognitive challenges, as well as diagnosing psychological struggles getting in the way of healthy functioning.

My psychotherapeutic treatments use a cognitive-behavioral approach. I work with adolescents and adults. I encourage my clients to examine and shift the thoughts behind behaviors, assisting them to cope more effectively with their current challenges, while helping them practice skills that will harness their strengths and help them compensate for challenges they face in their lives. I alternate between using a skills training approach meant to address difficulties with planning, organizing, and completing daily tasks with a therapy that involves an examination of aspects of a client’s identity and beliefs that impact their effective functioning in the world.

Treatment often includes reviewing systems of organization and experimenting with different strategies, developing more assertive ways of communicating with others and/or employing technological strategies to serve as reminders and reinforcements. My clients are encouraged to identify their goals for treatment and together we develop a plan.