Leslie Torbert, MD

Ramos Matias, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with a strong background in school psychology. Her primary focus for the last three years has been neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism and ADHD, and co-occurring conditions like anxiety, depression, and trauma-related disorders. She completed her master's and doctorate degrees at the University of Utah while working full time as a school psychologist. Ramos Matias believes that providing children and families with culturally sensitive education, treatment, and support is essential for children’s mental health.

Dr. Thornton is a native of Virginia Beach, and returns after spending six years in Philadelphia. During her time in Philadelphia, she earned a master's degree and a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Widener University. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship focused on treating anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder. During her graduate career, she gained experience in working with forensic populations, veterans, and students, which equipped her with a variety of clinical skills. Dr. Thornton's professional philosophy is to work hard to understand each individual client and convey and respond to all aspects of their unique experiences with integrity.

Dr. Carl Petersen is the chief of psychiatry and mental health services at CHKD. Dr. Petersen is dual board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general and child and adolescent psychiatry. Dr. Petersen brings a wealth of experience overseeing mental health initiatives and programs. He spent the last 10 years of his military career at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, serving the last three as its director of mental health. As an advocate for children’s mental health, Dr. Petersen led efforts to improve access to evidence-based care for children with behavioral difficulties and created a program to help pediatric residents properly diagnose and treat children with psychiatric illnesses.