Background
Dr. Rafaella Sale, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist (#810008733) serving the greater Richmond and surrounding areas in Virginia.
Dr. Sale has a doctorate in school & clinical child psychology from the University of Texas at Austin, with a specialization in neuropsychology for children and adolescents. Before doctoral training, Rafaella earned a master’s degree in clinical health psychology (now a doctoral program) from Appalachian State University. She helped to develop a mental health crisis response system in three schools across the western region of rural Appalachia in North Carolina.
all behavior has a meaning, every child has a purpose
In 2020, Dr. Sale completed a clinical residency at the Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California-Los Angeles. Primary rotation included neuropsychological testing for children undergoing surgery for seizure disorders. Additional clinical rotations included parent management training for children with social or behavioral problems and family therapy for teens with bipolar disorder. Dr. Sale is certified to deliver Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), which is an intensive parent coaching treatment for young children with severe behavior problems.
Dr. Sale has published in several peer-reviewed journals. Areas of research and consultative expertise include,
violent threat detection for schools & school-based mental health
child behavioral health policy & program implementation
measurement of child-serving systems that determine the trajectory of systems-involved youth
training & supervision of non-licensed clinicians
Clinical experiences:
parent management training for severe behavior problems in an inpatient and outpatient hospital setting
crisis response for suicidal and homicidal behavior in teens & their families in the school setting
early detection & diagnostic testing for autism alongside developmental pediatricians in primary care
cognitive rehabilitation & monitoring for acute brain injury
pre- and post-surgery assessment for children with cancer or another chronic disease
data-driven education planning, plan implementation, & classroom behavior management across k-12
