Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Angela Larery.
So Dr. Larery, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been fascinated by the multitude of factors which shape our individual identities. How can one person who has experienced a trauma end up with depression, while another person with very similar experiences be well-adjusted and happy? How do identical twins with the same genetic make-up develop unique personalities?
Although my curiosity about such things was sparked at an early age, I did not consider studying psychology until my second year of college due to two factors: 1) I associated the entire field of psychology with Freud (whose theories I did not fully agree with), and 2) my education up to that point had consisted of an emphasis on the “hard” sciences in which there were clearly defined causes and effects of illness and/or “abnormal” behavior. As luck would have it, I was required to complete a psychology course as part of my liberal arts degree, where I learned that psychology encompasses so much more than just how childhood experiences contribute to personality and reactions to stressful events. Of particular interest to me was the relationship between the brain and behavior, especially as it relates to children’s cognitive development. A child is born with no knowledge of language, cause-effect relationships, or reasoning skills. Within the first two years of life, the child rapidly learns a complex communication system, makes connections between the co-occurrence and sequencing of events, and begins to notice how their own behavior affects the environment and other people.
I knew I wanted to continue my education and was fortunate to find a program that combined my interest in brain development and pediatrics at the University of North Texas (UNT). UNT offered a dual-degree program in school psychology and pediatric health psychology. I completed my master’s degree in school psychology — a field that specializes in identifying and treating learning issues in children — in 2002. Pediatric health psychology focuses on biological and environmental factors that contribute to learning, memory, attention, language skills, reasoning, and the ability to understand visual material (e.g. understanding how something looks if it is rotated in space or how parts fit together). A smaller, more specialized area, within health psychology is the field of neuropsychology. Neuropsychology is the study of how biological and environmental factors affect the parts of the brain responsible for mood and “cognitive” abilities such as language, reasoning, attention, memory, and learning. For example, prolonged and extreme stress can result in permanent changes in memory. Exposure to certain viruses, toxic chemicals, or abnormal levels of hormones during the prenatal period can result in an increased risk for learning disabilities, developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, or problems with depression, anxiety, or aggression. I graduated magna cum laude with a doctoral degree in pediatric health psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychology in 2007.
As part of my degree, I completed a year-long residency in pediatric psychology at IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, Canada. After returning to the Houston area in 2007, I then completed a 2-year fellowship with a Houston neuropsychology practice that specialized in brain injuries. My career took a slight detour for 3 years during which I conducted dementia evaluations in a private practice affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine’s Alzheimer’s disease and Memory Disorder Clinic (ADMDC). This was a wonderful experience as it enabled me to become proficient in working with all age groups. More recently I worked for three years as a staff neuropsychologist for a large community-based clinic assessing and treating patients ages 2.5 to 90.
However, working within a large medical organization presented many challenges. I wasn’t always able to spend as much time as I wanted to with patients, had weekly patient “quotas,” and had responsibilities that were unrelated to patient care. I felt my patients deserved better, so in 2015 I opened Sugar Land Neuropsychology with the singular goal of providing my patients with exceptional service and care.
Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest challenge I faced was the business aspect of starting a private practice. Though I had extensive experience on the clinical side such as patient care, clinical interviews, neuropsychological testing, and the like, I had no experience on starting a business.
Luckily my husband, David Dvali, has extensive business experience and has worked as a solutions developer for large consulting firms and has decades of experience with business operations. I was able to rely on him to develop business plans and to perform website development, planning, and financial responsibilities that were not a part of my training. He knew what to do, when to do it, and how to do it so that I could focus on the clinical side. That was, without a doubt, the biggest challenge I faced and luckily I had someone who could help me overcome that challenge.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sugar Land Neuropsychology – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We provide neuropsychological assessments for children (age 2.5+), adolescents, and adults. Our areas of focus are Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, mood disorders, and dementia such as Alzheimer’s.
One of the key differences about our company is that I am dually licensed as both a clinical psychologist and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP). Being an LSSP means I’m familiar with the educational requirements for disabilities and can provide recommendations for the school. The criteria for a “disability” and the recommended treatment strategies within an educational setting can be quite different from those in a medical setting. As an LSSP, I know what elements a school considers important for determining whether a child qualifies for special education or classroom accommodations, as well as being familiar with interventions schools typically use.
Additionally we are one of the few practices in the Houston area that specializes in neuropsychology. What sets us apart is our ability to serve our patients quickly. It’s not uncommon for other facilities to have a 6-month wait list, and other have waits as long as 2 years. The tests we use are the same as those used by large institutions, however we do not have a waiting list for our services. We can usually see our patients within 1 week and provide them with their completed and detailed report in about 1 week after the testing appointment.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Sugar Land is a wonderful city. Its growth has really surprised and delighted me over the past decade. It has amazing restaurants, sporting events, incredible family events, and a high quality of life! I’m so happy we chose Sugar Land as the place to start our practice.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, having so many great places means lots of congested traffic. Driving is not one of my favorite activities and this is worsened when my commute is delayed.
Contact Info:
- Address: 52 Sugar Creek Center Blvd.
Suite 300
Sugar Land, TX 77478 - Website: www.sugarlandneuropsych.com
- Phone: 713-900-5557
- Email: info@sugarlandneuropsych.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sugarlandneuropsych
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sugar-land-neuropsychology-sugar-land
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