Nancie R. Spector, PhD
Child Clinical Psychologist
Education and Experience
Nancie R. Spector, Ph.D. is a licensed child clinical psychologist with over thirty years of experience. She has had a private practice in Connecticut since 1985. She received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude with Honors in Psychology, from Brown University. Dr. Spector was awarded master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology with a Child Clinical Specialization from Case Western Reserve University. While in graduate school, she completed her Predoctoral clinical training at a variety of settings including a child guidance center, a residential treatment center for children, inpatient child and adult psychiatric hospitals, medical hospitals (Back Pain Treatment Team) and an outpatient treatment center for developmentally disabled children and adults.
Dr. Spector has worked with children from infancy through adolescence, as well as with adults. After graduate school, Dr. Spector completed a full-time clinical internship at The Brown University Clinical Psychology Consortium which included rotations at adult and children’s private psychiatric hospitals (including day treatment and preschool programs), as well as training as a consultant to pediatric oncology in a general medical hospital. After her internship, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Bush Center for Child Development at Yale University. She then served as a full-time staff psychologist at the Child Guidance Center in Bridgeport, CT. Dr. Spector has served as a consultant to Family Court and Jewish Family Services in Stamford, CT. She has conducted parenting groups for The Parents Exchange in Greenwich, CT and at The Stamford Parenting Center in Stamford, CT. She has served as the psychological consultant to The Preschool at Second Church in Greenwich, CT. She has given talks at many local public and private schools, public libraries, the Stamford Courthouse, and at pediatricians’ offices.
Her practice focuses on providing psychological testing and psychotherapy to children of all ages and adults. She also conducts parent guidance work, teaching parents how to effectively help their children. She has expertise in learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, and in dealing with issues of loss such as divorce and death. Dr. Spector uses a lab that is a certified facility dog trained by Canine Companions for Independence (www.cci.org) to help create a welcoming environment for her patients. They enjoy walking him, brushing him, and petting him during therapy sessions. He provides great comfort to both children and adults during testing and therapy sessions, and many children confide their worries to him.
Dr. Spector has extensive knowledge of local public and private schools as well as many boarding schools. As part of the psychological assessment process, she assists parents in determining appropriate educational choices for their children. She works closely with psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, social workers, neuropsychologists, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, and learning specialists, and is able to make appropriate referrals to colleagues when warranted.