Dr. Teresa Giral holds a doctorate in Cinical Psychology from Columbia University and a JD from Georgetown. Interested in the interplay between law and psychology, she completed her pre-doctoral internship at the DC Superior Court Child Guidance Clinic, where she trained in forensic assessment and psychotherapy with court-involved youth. She then worked with child and adolescent victims of abuse at Safe Shores, the DC Children’s Advocacy Center.
In 2010, she opened Bethesda Chevy Chase Counseling & Assessment, a group practice in Maryland that provides counseling and psycho-educational testing. Her principal areas of interest are the impact of learning challenges on social-emotional health, the long-term effects of trauma on academic performance, and psychotherapy and spirituality. She is a member of the DC, Maryland, and Virginia Bars and is licensed to practice psychology in Maryland and Virginia. She is a Board member for several nonprofits that serve children and youth.
In 2020, the Goyen Foundation awarded Dr. Giral a grant to examine the prevalence of undiagnosed learning challenges among middle school students. The results of that study provide the basis for this article.