4455 Brookfield Corporate Dr.
Suite 101 • Chantilly, VA 20151
703.378.7998
5602 Shields Drive
Bethesda, Maryland 20817
301.581.1120
Dr. Lorna Sanchez is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 12 years of experience centered on pediatric and health psychology. She provides assessment and therapy services at Mindwell with an emphasis on family, cultural, and spiritual values. She enjoys completing evaluations that use state of the art procedures specifically tailored to each patient. She ensures that each of her evaluations are extensive in their scope and provide immediate benefits and valuable recommendations. During her four years at the Pediatric Developmental Center in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Sanchez developed extensive experience with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Language delays, genetic conditions, and ADHD. She has been the recipient of numerous state and private grants to fund innovative treatment and recreational programs she has designed and coordinated for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Dr. Sanchez received 3 years of training in the provision of in-home therapy with an emphasis on the Lovaas and other behavioral methods to address parent coaching, potty-training, structured learning systems, child friendly discipline and behavior systems, establishing family routines, and improving sibling relationships and family unity. She carries a home based philosophy into her clinical practice and believes that families can truly benefit from the expertise and guidance of a psychologist who can make visits to their home.
During her practice as Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s DHD, Dr. Sanchez completed evaluations of children with complex genetic and neurodevelopmental conditions including ASD, seizure disorders, Down’s syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, Learning Disabilities, Bipolar, and behavioral disorders. At UIC she also specialized in assessments of children and adults for various courts including special education due process and immigration litigations; she has provided resolutions that were beneficial to her patients on each of these cases due to the thoroughness of her work.
Dr. Sanchez graduated Cum Laude on a full scholarship from St. Mary’s College of Maryland (B.A) double majoring in Psychology and Sociology. Her undergraduate research focused on the intersections between parenting, stress, and coping. Dr. Sanchez obtained her Doctorate degree (Psy.D) on a Fellowship from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Her research focused on family- based play therapy for children with medical issues and cultural barriers to treatment and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Her post doctoral training was competed at The University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Disability and Human Development (DHD) which houses one of the nation’s seven Institutes for Excellence in Disabilities.
Dr. Sanchez is fluent in Spanish and has been a vegetarian for over 20 years. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America and enjoys spending time with her large family and her partner.