Dr. Sarah Ash is a licensed psychologist with a private practice located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Ash’s specialties include:
Individual psychotherapy with adolescents and adults
Family therapy
Parent/Caregiver consultation
Bilingual services (Spanish and English)
Dr. Ash treats those presenting with a wide variety of psychological needs and takes a holistic, healing centered approach tailored to the unique needs of each client to enhance growth and change. She celebrates and warmly welcomes clients of all genders, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, national origins, and faiths.
Dr. Ash is also a Harvard Medical School Instructor of Psychology within the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance, where she supervises psychology trainees.
Dr. Ash has broad professional experience, having dedicated her professional career to working with children, adolescents, adults, and families in both English and Spanish. Dr. Ash served as Staff Psychologist in the child and adolescent outpatient department within the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) for five years. During that time, Dr. Ash provided outpatient therapy to adolescents and their families, as well as consultation to staff supporting high-needs students in the Cambridge Public Schools. She also supervised psychology and psychiatry trainees, as well as postdoctoral fellows. Prior to working at CHA, Dr. Ash provided therapy and group programming for children and families as the psychology coordinator at a non-profit agency in Peru.
During her graduate training, as a postdoctoral fellow, she received specialized training in court-appointed child custody evaluations at the Center for Excellence for Children, Families, and the Law. Dr. Ash also trained at Brookline Community Mental Health Center and as a Harvard Medical School fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance. Dr. Ash earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College.
Dr. Ash has published scientific articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented her work at national conferences. Her research broadly focuses on risk and relationships among youth, individuals with disabilities and their families, interventions for women experiencing domestic violence, and multiculturalism in psychotherapy. The following represent a selection of such articles:
Ash, S. E. (2016). Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities and their Parents: A Systems Theory Approach to Functioning and Well-being (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Boston College, Massachusetts.
MacEvoy, J. P., Papadakis, A. A., Fedigan, S. K., & Ash, S. E. (2016). Friendship
Expectations and Children’s Friendship-Related Behavior and Adjustment. Merrill-Parlmer Quarterly, 62, 74-104.
Goodman, L. A., Banyard, V., Woulfe, J., Ash, S., & Mattern, G. (2015). Bringing a
network-oriented approach to domestic violence services: A focus group exploration of promising practices. Violence Against Women, 22, 1-26.
MacEvoy, J. P., Papadakis, A. A., Fedigan, S. K., & Ash, S. E. (2015, March). Children’s friendship expectations and adjustment: The mediating role of friendship effort. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Philadelphia, PA.
Esposito, J., Geiger, E., & Ash, S. (2014, February). Disability: Is there room within multiculturalism? Roundtable discussion presented at Columbia University’s annual Winter Roundtable Conference, New York, NY.
Ash, S. E. (2013, May). Friendship Skills of Children Who are Socially Anxious. Presentation at Boston College’s Second Year Research Project Symposium, Chestnut Hill, MA.
Tummala–Narra, P., Singer, R., Li, Z., Esposito, J., & Ash, S. E. (2012). Individual and systemic factors in clinicians’ self-perceived cultural competence. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 43, 165-174.
Singer, R., Tummala-Narra, P., Ash, S., & Esposito, J. (2011, August). Clinicians’ Perspectives in Working with Ethnic Minority Clients. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the American Psychological Association.
Ash, S.E., & Weis, R. (2009, March). Recovery among youths referred to outpatient psychotherapy: Reliable change, clinical significance, and predictors of outcome.
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association.
Expertise
Dr. Ash has received specialized training working with children, adolescents, adults, and families who present with various concerns, including but not limited to: depression, anxiety, oppositional and disruptive behaviors, acculturative stress, identity development, and trauma-related symptoms. As a bilingual psychologist, she has domestic and international experience conducting individual and family therapy in both English and Spanish.
Additionally, Dr. Ash’s forensic training working with families in the midst of high conflict divorce enables her to work effectively with adolescents whose families are court-involved, as well as with caregivers seeking parental guidance during court-involvment or around family change issues. Dr. Ash has also completed training in providing and interpreting neuropsychological assessments of children and adults, which enables her to assist clients to identify assessment needs. This is particularly helpful for families determining whether or not assessment may be helpful for providing diagnostic clarification, treatment planning, or understanding testing clients may have already received.
Client Resources
Beginning therapy and finding the right therapist can be challenging. Following the first few sessions with a new therapist, you should experience a sense of feeling heard and understood. Given that, I consider the first several meetings with new clients an opportunity to get to know one another and collaboratively determine the most appropriate course of treatment. If for any reason it becomes clear that I am not the best clinician to meet your needs, I will do my best to assist you in finding a therapist who is a better fit.
Prior to your first appointment, I will provide you with additional written information and forms describing my practice in greater detail. Please note that at this time I am not an in network clinician for any insurance company, though I am happy to provide documentation for insurance reimbursement upon request.
My office is located at 22 Hilliard Street, Cambridge Massachusetts 02138. There is limited metered parking in the area and the office is a 5 to 10 minute walk from the Harvard Square Red Line.
For inquiries regarding my practice, please contact me using the information above or by completing the form below. I welcome email contact from prospective clients and families but please be aware that the confidentiality of electronic correspondence is not guaranteed.
