Dr. Freilich’s first post-doctoral work experience was with Children’s Charter Inc., a private non-profit trauma clinic for children and families.  In addition to working with families dealing with a wide range of childhood trauma, Dr. Freilich acted as intake coordinator for the clinic. In this role she heard stories from families, social services, schools, and lawyers about every type of trauma imaginable.  She credits her clinical work at Children’s Charter for teaching her the importance of attachment and relationships in parent-child interactions and her work as the intake coordinator for teaching her that there is always hope to be found in even the worst situations.  

            Dr. Freilich has also worked as a clinician in the counseling centers of University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Florida Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University. Finally Dr. Freilich credits her “first real job” working in a residential treatment center with some of the most challenging teenage girls in Massachusetts for teaching her to deal with extreme behaviors in a calm, matter of fact manner and for many of the lessons that she now imparts to parents and educators, including how not to personalize difficult situations.

          On a personal level Dr. Freilich is the mother of a soon to be four-year-old daughter and a proud aunt to her eleven-year-old nephew.  She is also a third generation author, as both her mother and her maternal grandfather have written multiple books.  Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, with a brief period in San Diego, Dr. Freilich has traveled extensively throughout the world, gaining further insight at each destination into both the universals and differences in childhood experiences. She describes having had the opportunity to personally experience the extreme contrast between Moscow, Russia, before and after the fall of communism as providing a lasting impression of how strongly government can impact an individual’s experience of the world. Dr. Freilich now resides near Boston, having fallen in love with the area during her years at Tufts.  

           Dr. Freilich’s daughter, who came to her through an international adoption, has special needs that have provided Dr. Freilich with everyday challenges to her parenting skills and beliefs.  Her personal experiences of navigating through “the other side” of the special needs system has reinforced her long standing belief that everyone deserves to be treated well and that no one is better than anyone else.  This attitude in her work and her life fosters an approachability that is not often seen or felt from someone with her education or experience.  She is quick to point out that, although an outsider might view her as a parenting expert, her three-year-old keeps her grounded on a daily basis and reminds her constantly that “expert is very much in the eye of the beholder.”  

        Dr Freilich rereceived her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Tufts University. Her formal education culminated with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology and also includes master’s degrees in Counseling Psychology from Northeastern University and in Clinical Psychology from Florida Tech. Despite all the fancy letters she could place after her name, she credits her more than fifteen years of direct experience working with children as being the most important factor in acquiring the knowledge she has today.  

    Dr. Freilich has also recieved coaching specific training through Mentor Coach and School Advocate training through the Federation for Children With Special Needs. For further information about these trainings please email or call Dr. Freilich.