Dr. Amelia Rowley
Director of Neuropsychology Services
Dr. Amelia Rowley is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Director of Neuropsychology Assessment Services at the Boston Child Study Center. She specializes in the assessment of children, adolescents, and young adults with social and emotional difficulties and executive functioning challenges. Her testing clients come from diverse backgrounds and have a variety of presenting problems including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and learning difficulties. Her training in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) also informs her assessment practices and she has expertise in providing assessment to individuals with emotion dysregulation, PTSD, and co-occuring suicidal behaviors. Dr. Rowley also provides evidence-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), and caregiver coaching. She is a Certified PCIT Therapist by PCIT International and is clinically trained in treatment adaptations for selective mutism (PCIT-SM).
Dr. Rowley earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami before completing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She trained at the University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disabilities and the University of Miami Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment Program where she received extensive training in providing evidence-based transdiagnostic treatment and assessment to children and adolescents with anxiety and depression. While training in South Florida, she worked with clients and families from ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. She also has expertise in assessing clients with diverse gender identities. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the May Institute in Randolph, MA where she provided evidence-based assessment and treatment to children and adolescents with ASD from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. She completed a postdoctoral neuropsychology fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital’s Lurie Center for Autism, conducting neuropsychological assessments and school consultations with individuals with ASD and other social and emotional challenges across the lifespan. Through the use of interpreter services, she was able to serve families who had difficulties accessing care due to language barriers.
One of Dr. Rowley’s clinical interests is the assessment of ASD in female, gender nonbinary, and gender fluid clients. Understanding that females on the autism spectrum may have a stronger desire to interact with others and engage in “social camouflaging,” she works closely with her clients and their families to understand their unique developmental history, presenting social and emotional challenges, and their inner experiences in order to provide diagnostic clarification and appropriate recommendations. She provides evaluations that are both comprehensive and nuanced to support each client as an individual.
As a neuropsychologist, Dr. Rowley often relies on her therapy skills to establish rapport with clients, provide validation, and support them through the assessment process in a thoughtful and compassionate way. She utilizes an individualized approach and collaborates closely with caregivers and school personnel to better understand her clients’ cognitive, academic, and learning needs and communicate results and recommendations in a clear and understandable manner. Dr. Rowley strives to support each client and their family, from the initial informational phone call through the assessment or therapy process, with kindness, genuineness, and compassion.