International Psychology Services at PPA

Pediatric Psychology Associates has long been established as a specialty practice providing quality, comprehensive psychological/neuropsychological services to children, adolescents, and their families in the South Florida community. Given our specialization, professional team expertise, and quality/individualization of care, our services are frequently sought out by families that live locally, within the neighboring US territory, and internationally. As such, to serve all families in need of our specialty services, we have expanded our consultation, evaluation, and treatment services throughout the United States and internationally, as permitted by licensing considerations. We have a diverse professional team that provides culturally sensitive psychological services in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

Below are the some of the services we provide for our International Families:

Consultative Services

• Need a second opinion to answer your questions regarding treatment? We provide consultation via telehealth to provide expert professional guidance and recommendations for treatment to optimize growth. This may include reviewing records and communicating with current intervention team.
• For international families that already have a team of professionals with whom they are working in their country, we also offer virtual consultations with such professionals (including medical doctors, interventionists, educators, etc.), whether this is needed just once or on an ongoing basis.
• We can also facilitate the arrangement of professional teams (educators, speech-occupational-physical therapists, psychologists, medical doctors, etc.) to provide direct services, develop effective/comprehensive treatment plans, train other professionals and caregivers on specific methods involved in the treatment plan, and monitor fidelity of treatment plan implementation and of client progress.

Evaluation Services

• WEEI-ASD (Web-based Evaluation for the Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders). This service is provided by a Licensed Psychologist with specialized training and expertise in the assessment of developmental concerns in infants and toddlers. WEEI-ASD evaluations are provided in English and/or Spanish. This program is designed for parents of young children (ages 0-3) who may exhibit possible signs of developmental delays or “red flags” for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• Speech and Language Evaluations (English and Spanish) for children/individuals across the lifespan. This service is provided by a Licensed Speech and Language Pathologist. We provide comprehensive evaluations that formally assess all areas of communication including speech articulation, language, pragmatic, and, when appropriate, feeding skills.
• Psychoeducational and Neuropsychological Evaluations. These services are provided by Licensed Psychologists with varying specialties, depending on the patient’s age and presenting concern. Evaluations are conducted in a “hybrid” manner, involving both virtual/telehealth and in-person appointments. In-person appointments are typically pre-arranged to accommodate families’ travel arrangements. In some cases, when families’ travel period is very brief, in-person appointments can be arranged to occur over consecutive dates.
• Second opinion evaluations are also provided. At times, different diagnoses are provided by various professionals, which can be very confusing. At other times, the plan of treatment that has been provided and that is being followed is not resulting in expected progress. At PPA, we provide second opinion evaluations to clarify diagnostic issues. Based on information gathered through the process of evaluation, we also make individualized recommendations for interventions/accommodations that fit specifically the examinee’s profile and the family’s lifestyle.
• Follow-up services are offered via telehealth to help families develop effective treatment teams and implement treatment plans based on the recommendations formulated in the evaluation.

Therapy/Treatment Services

• In-person OCD/Anxiety treatment providing intensive outpatient services of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) – the gold standard of OCD/Anxiety treatment. If appropriate, this treatment can be continued over telehealth once the patient has returned home.  Otherwise, training and/or consultations with professionals in the patient’s hometown can be provided to ensure continuity of in-person treatment.
• In-person Social Skills therapy can be provided in an accelerated format while families visit the U.S. Social therapies employ methodologies from our SURF Group program (based on Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinkingâ methodology) and from the PEERS® instructional protocol.
• Telehealth treatment services and Parent Guidance can be provided using one of our parent-guided treatment programs:
  • EMPOWER Program is a live telehealth parent-coaching program designed to address the developmental needs of children under age 5 years.
  • SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) is an evidence-based short-term (8 sessions) intervention for parents/caregivers to help children ages 4 to 18 years to overcome problematic anxiety.
  • PCIT (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy) is an evidence-based treatment for children ages 2 to 7 years. PCIT has been successful in treating emotional and behavioral disorders in children. The therapist provides live coaching to caregivers/parents via telehealth.  Treatment is delivered in two phases: Child-Directed Interaction and Parent-Directed Interaction.

Our Locations:

South Florida is in close in proximity to the Caribbean and South America, but it is also easily accessible from other parts of the world due to the presence of three international airports near our offices (Aventura, South Miami and Weston). The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is located approximately 9 miles to our Aventura office, 19 miles from our Weston office and about 32 miles from our South Miami office. The Miami International Airport is located approximately 9 miles to our South Miami office and 17 miles to our Aventura office. The Palm Beach International Airport is located 60 miles south to Weston office.

Please contact us at the office for further information on our International Services.