My name is Nick Riley and I have worked in education and mental health field for almost fifteen years. I’ve been fortunate enough to work in various settings, including non-public schools, residential treatment centers, comprehensive public schools, and medical/clinical centers. My background is as a school psychologist — and Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3967) — working in south Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.

I currently work in southern California as a full-time as a school psychologist in a specialized program for youth with significant social-emotional needs who struggle in a traditional public school environment. In addition, I work with children, teens, and their families in a private practice setting working to target symptoms commonly associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), such as emotional regulation, impulse control, social and executive functioning challenges, self-esteem, and anxiety.

I encourage my clients with ADHD to meet with me outside of the office setting and engage in movement. This does 3 things that are great for therapy: (1) regulates the nervous system, (2) improves attention, (3) avoids eye contact, which reduces anxiety, frees up cognitive resources for processing emotions, and encourages authentic expression.

In order to further support the youth with whom I work, I have an additional specialization in behavior modification and maintain a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA #1-18-32027) certification. Due to my enhanced focus on ‘going deeper’ with the clients I support, I am in the process of accruing clinical hours towards licensure to become a Marriage and Family Therapist to support my existing training in mental health counseling as a school psychologist.

My goal — through individual therapy with children/teens and coaching sessions with parents — is to help clients have an increased understanding of how their own life experiences have influenced the ways in which they communicate with others and cope with the stressors of the world.

Additionally, if your family is in need of support in terms of navigating the special education process — such as discussing your student’s appropriate educational programming, understanding assessment results, present levels of performance, areas of need, goals, services, or educational placement — I can walk you through the process of how to understand and conceptualize the need-based supports within your child’s school district and how it applies specifically to your child.

I am currently providing counseling services to children/adolescents, parent coaching sessions, and educational consultation under my Educational Psychologist license.