I am Dr. Diana Dinescu, a licensed clinical psychologist with over 10 years of clinical experience. I specialize in providing evidence-based treatment primarily to systems (couples, parents, and families) and individual adults. I take a particular interest in helping clients reduce distress, enhance functioning, and live in accordance with their values and goals.

The foundation of my work with every client is a secure, supportive, and non-judgmental therapeutic relationship. My approach to therapy is collaborative and personalized, thoroughly informed by the needs and objectives of each individual, couple, or family. When seeing parents and families, I take a family systems approach, rooted in the belief that caregivers play an essential part in the change process. Working together to understand relational dynamics, treatment goals, and barriers to success, I am able to provide recommendations that are firmly based in clinical science and at the same time practically meaningful to each unique client.

I provide neurodivergent-affirming, gender-affirming, and culturally responsive clinical care. My practice is informed by empirically-supported therapies such as functional family therapy (FFT), parent management training (PMT), internal family systems (IFS), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), as well as by relational life therapy (RLT). I provide supportive parenting for anxious childhood emotions (SPACE) treatment in parent-dyad and group settings, and RLT couples therapy.

• Relational Life Therapy (RLT)
• Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Parent Management Training (PMT)

I was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania, and moved to the United States to attend Dartmouth College. After graduating with B.A.s in Psychology and Economics, I worked for 3 years at Massachusetts General Hospital, investigating treatments for eating disorders and addiction. I hold an M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of Virginia, where I also became a certified family mediator. I then completed a clinical internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

I have worked in a variety of settings including child inpatient, intensive day treatment, and outpatient, as well as adult outpatient and family mediation clinics. I have experience working with racially, sexually, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse populations, and received specialized training and exposure to working with military families. In addition to individual work, I have been trained to co-lead social skills and DBT groups for youth and parents. Outside of work, I have volunteered for the past 6 years as a Family Support Representative for the International Foundation for CDKL5 Research (IFCR). The IFCR supports families of children with CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a severe neurological and neurodevelopmental condition leading to lifelong profound disability.