Founder

Heather Swanson, PhD

Dr. Swanson is a child clinical psychologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, and developmental delays. She additionally has experience working with children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury/concussion during both acute and chronic recovery. Dr. Swanson is particularly interested in the impact of children's cognitive abilities, emotional regulation, and social relatedness on their day to day functioning and development. Dr. Swanson also enjoys working with children and families to develop practical emotion and behavior regulation strategies.

Dr. Swanson's background in child development and family-centered practice allow her to integrate diagnostic and treatment techniques supported by research with parents' real world concerns for their children in order to provide compassionate and pragmatic care. She works closely with parents in order to help them better understand and work with their child's unique profile of strengths and challenges. Dr. Swanson also has extensive experience in collaborating with schools, educators, and other health providers in order to create a comprehensive care plan for children with complex developmental and psychological needs.

Families who wish to better understand their children's difficulties, develop practical strategies for improved functioning in school and home environments, and support their child's development of social skills and emotional regulation abilities are well suited to work with Dr. Swanson. She provides diagnostic assessment services, family therapy, and individual therapy services to our pediatric clients. Additionally, Dr. Swanson sees adults who are seeking assessment for autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, or ADHD.

Dr. Swanson obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Iowa State University. She completed a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with specialty training in working with children and families at Washington State University. Dr. Swanson completed her pre-doctoral internship in child clinical and rehabilitation psychology at Children's Hospital Colorado where she worked in the departments of Neurotrauma Rehabilitation and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She has also completed specialty training in providing family-centered, multidisciplinary assessment and care to children with autism, other neurodevelopmental disorders, and special healthcare needs through the Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders program.

Psychologist

Erica Brandling-Bennett, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Brandling-Bennett is a board certified adult clinical neuropsychologist. She specializes in working with clients with a variety of known or suspected neurological diagnoses including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia. She does comprehensive assessments of individual’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning as it relates to those diagnoses. She has a background in pediatric neuropsychology that has evolved into an understanding of lifespan neuropsychology from an individual’s late teenage years through to older adulthood. She sees each person as an individual with their own social, emotional, and neurological influences, and tries to help them understand their personal cognitive and behavioral strengths and weaknesses in a way that will allow them to be successful in their lives.

Dr. Brandling-Bennett is fellowship trained in working with patients who have been diagnosed with epilepsy and are struggling to manage their seizures and the emotional toll that has taken on their lives, particularly when their seizures are not well controlled with medication alone. She has also spent the past decade working with patients who have been diagnosed with dementia and their families, providing them not only with an accurate diagnosis and explanation of their condition, but also access to critical support over the course of their progressive condition.

Clients with concerns about their memory, language, attention, and problem solving in their daily lives would benefit from undergoing neuropsychological assessment with Dr. Brandling-Bennett. She will do a thorough clinical intake of each client’s neurocognitive and psychological concerns and use neuropsychological evaluation tools to empirically evaluate their neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses. During a comprehensive feedback session, she will then review the findings with clients and their families to help them better understand their daily struggles and frustrations, and she will provide them with valuable tools and resources to improve their daily functioning.

Dr. Brandling-Bennett completed her Bachelor of Arts in psychology and neuroscience at Dartmouth College. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, which included an internship in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago in the Department of Psychiatry. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology, with an emphasis in presurgical evaluation of patients with epilepsy, at the UCLA Semel Institute and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, where she served as Chief Fellow of the UCLA Medical Psychology Assessment Center. She earned board certification in clinical neuropsychology in 2009. For over 12 years, she worked as the senior clinical neuropsychologist at the UW Medicine – Valley Medical Center Neuroscience Institute.

Post-Doctoral Fellow/Psychologist

Vanessa Zhou, PhD

Dr. Zhou is a licensed clinical psychologist who provides neuropsychological assessments and psychotherapy to children, adolescents, and adults. She has specialized training in diagnosing and treating neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders, intellectual disability, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Additionally, she has experience working with clients with a range of neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, seizures, dementia, multiple sclerosis, and other cognitive impairments. She is passionate about empowering individuals to better understand and improve their brain health and overall functioning through appropriate psychoeducation and compassionate neuropsychological care.

As a relational, integrative, holistic, and trauma-informed therapist, Dr. Zhou is dedicated to creating a safe, affirming, and healing space tailored to each client. She is trained in various evidence-based approaches, including psychodynamic therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, applied behavior analysis, emotionally focused therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, behavioral activation, exposure and response prevention, mindfulness training, behavioral parent training, multicultural counseling, and dialectical behavior therapy. She is fluent in Mandarin and is committed to providing culturally sensitive psychological services.

Dr. Zhou obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Washington. She received a Master of Science in Psychological Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from Seattle Pacific University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in clinical psychology at Hamilton Madison House in Manhattan Chinatown with a specialized inpatient rotation at Gracie Square Hospital. Additionally, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology with Peak Wellness Partners. She has worked in many different clinical settings, including long-term and acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, private practice, specialty assessment clinics, community mental health, and medical centers.