About

“Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength”

Sigmund Freud

Dr. Dring is a licensed clinical psychologist who has devoted her 25-year career to providing psychotherapy to children, adolescents and adults.  She has a Master’s Degree in Psychology from William and Mary, and a Doctorate in Psychology from the Virginia Consortium for Professional Psychology.  She provides individual psychotherapy to adults and adolescents and play therapy to children.  She has developed a specialty in helping patients recover from and understand how trauma has impacted their lives.

Dr. Dring is a licensed Virginia attorney, who graduated from William and Mary Law School.  She practiced family and disability law prior to becoming a psychologist.  This has provided her with a unique, in-depth, and broad-based understanding of the stress family issues, loss, and divorce can have upon all members of the family.

Dr. Dring has also co-taught a course to approximately 800 psychotherapists in China about developmental issues and interventions with children and adolescents.  She co-authored a book, with Jerome S. Blackman, MD entitled, Sexual Aggression Against Children:  Pedophiles’ and Abusers’ Development, Dynamics, Treatability, and the Law (Routledge, 2013). 

Dr. Dring has extensive experience in the psychological assessment/testing of patients regarding cognitive, educational and emotional difficulties. She has completed at least 2500 cognitive, academic and diagnostic assessments. Her focus is on developing individualized assessment protocols to provide focused answers to referral questions, and a meaningful picture of each patient’s unique needs, strengths and weaknesses.   She has provided psychological assessment reports for academic, forensic/court-related, and diagnostic purposes.  She has a specific specialty in assessing the academic needs and cognitive strengths of children and adolescents.

As an Adjunct Faculty member in the Old Dominion University Psychology Department, she taught courses in Forensic Psychology.  She has also taught classes to parents about child development and to psychotherapists about how to assess children for emotional and developmental obstacles.

Dr. Dring ‘s involvement in professional activities has included being the past President of the Virginia Psychoanalytic Society and Chairperson of the Barry Robinson Center, Local Human Rights Committee.