Dr. Karen Genachowski

I am a clinical psychologist at Old Town Psychology. I use evidence-based approaches to meet your needs within a welcoming and culturally responsive environment. I specialize in treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), tic disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and behavior and adjustment concerns, including coping with and adapting to chronic medical conditions.

In therapy, I utilize cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure response prevention (ERP), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), parent management training, comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT), mindfulness-based intervention, and skills adapted from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). For young ones, I use play and parent involvement to help kids learn new skills. I also conduct psychological assessments with children and adolescents to inform diagnosis, treatment recommendations, school admissions, and academic accommodations.

I received my PhD from the Catholic University of America. I completed my pre-doctoral internship in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Minnesota Medical School. My clinical research has focused on informant discrepancies and loneliness in childhood. I have experience providing psychological services in a variety of settings including hospitals, medical centers, counseling centers, and private practice.

Article written by Dr. Karen Genachowski of Old Town Psychology in the Alexandria Times titled "How to be brave this school year"

Featured Article:

Dr. Genachowski recently contributed a piece to the Alexandria Times written specifically for kids. It discusses how kids can overcome anxiety at the start of a new school year.

Read the article here

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Publications & presentations

Genachowski, K.J., Rich, B. Shiffrin, N., Cummings, C., Alvord, M. (2022). Interpretation of informant discrepancy in school-based psychological assessment of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266221119742

Genachowski, K.J., & Rich, B.A. (2021, August 12-14). Parent and teacher report of externalizing and internalizing problems predict treatment outcomes [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association, Virtual Conference.

Genachowski, K.J., & Rich, B.A. (2020, August 6-9). Informant discrepancies of parent and Teacher report of externalizing and internalizing symptoms and adaptive skills of children with psychosocial deficit [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association, Virtual Conference.

Genachowski, K.J., Pallathra, A.A., & Rich, B.A. (2019, April 9). Characterization of the discrepancy between parent and child reported anxiety [Poster presentation]. Catholic University Research Day, Washington, DC.

Jarvis, L., Badolato, G., Neway, B., Breslin, K., Sheys, K., Goyal, M., Jackson, A., Chamberlain, J., & Brown, K. (2019, April 24). Characteristics associated with positive domestic safety screening in a Pediatric emergency department [Poster presentation]. Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, Baltimore, MD.

Jarvis, L., Neway, B., Badolato, G., Breslin, K., Sheys, K., Goyal, M., Jackson, A., Pettinicchi, J., Taylor, S., Tapia, J., Chamberlain, J., & Brown, K. (2018, November 2-6). Domestic safety screening in a pediatric Emergency department: Positive screen demographics [Poster presentation]. Academy of Pediatrics, Orlando, FL.

Jarvis, L., Brown, K., Jackson, A., Goodwin, B., Sang, P., Sheys, K., Neway, B., & Breslin, K. (2017, September 26-28). Help for victims of violence collaboration: Providing improved resources for victims of violence [Poster presentation]. National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence, San Francisco, California.

Sheys, K. & Murnen, S. (2016, May 5-6). Path analysis of elevated anger in obsessive-compulsive disorder: The mediating role of perfectionism and psychological distress [Poster presentation]. Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

Fedio, A., Efanov, S., Stillman, J., Cummings, S., Buonopane, V., & Sheys, K. (2015, February 3-6). Addressing anger and aggression during recovery from traumatic brain injury [Poster presentation]. International Neuropsychology Society, Boston, MA.