Therapy: Dr. Stano is usually fully booked with prospective patients already on her waitlist. If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please reach out!

Assessment: Dr. Stano is usually fully booked for assessment, with her next available appointments 7-12 months in the future. If you would like to schedule, please reach out!

Dr. Stano encourages anyone looking for therapy to get on the waitlist for as many providers as possible with whom they think they may work well.

You can find in-network providers by searching your insurance provider’s directory or by using PsychologyToday.com.

Therapy: Dr. Stano works primarily with children and teens (5-18) and young adults (18-25). She also works with younger children (3-4) and other adults (26+) on a case-by-case basis.

Assessment: Dr. Stano provides psychological assessment services primarily for children, teens, and adults (6-65). She accepts other age groups on a case-by-case basis.

Therapy: Dr. Stano offers in-person services (any age) and telehealth services (10+).

Assessment: Dr. Stano offers both in-person and telehealth options for intake and feedback sessions. Her assessment administration appointments are always in-person.

Please contact Dr. Stano if you have an extenuating circumstance that prevents you from being able to come to the office to determine if an exception can be made to this policy.

No, as a psychologist, Dr. Stano is not qualified to prescribe medication. She can discuss general psychopharmacological treatments and help you determine how to set up care with a psychiatrist, PMHNP, or other medication provider, if desired.

Therapy: Dr. Stano does not provide couples therapy. She is not currently accepting families for ongoing family therapy, nor is she currently running any group therapy services. Dr. Stano is not trained in EMDR.

Assessment: Dr. Stano does not conduct custody evaluations, forensic assessment, worker’s compensation assessment, disability assessment, nor evaluations for dementia/cognitive decline. She does not use the ADOS-2.

Dr. Stano is a psychologist and does not prescribe medication (that’s a psychiatrist).

Dr. Stano is legally allowed to discuss the content of sessions and other protected information with parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of patients under 18 years of age; however, she requires that parent(s) of minor patients agree to receive limited information about therapeutic work in order to build and maintain trust with younger patients.

Dr. Stano will keep all information shared by your child/teen private unless (a) your child/teen allows her to share the information, (b) she believes there is a high risk that your child/teen or someone else is in serious, imminent danger, or (c) she makes a clinical decision that sharing the information is necessary and in the best interest of your child/teen.

In general, Dr. Stano does not share information about normative experiences (e.g., lying about schoolwork, age-typical experimentation with substances, consensual sexual intimacy with a peer). She generally will share information about serious circumstances even if they are not life-threatening (e.g., severe and chronic bullying, significant substance misuse, significant NSSI).

Before Dr. Stano decides to share information that your child/teen wishes to keep private, she will discuss her reasoning with your child/teen. Please ask if you have any questions regarding this policy.

In Maryland, people who are at least 12 years old and have the maturity to provide informed consent (understanding the potential risks and benefits of treatment) can initiate therapy without parental permission.

However, parent(s) are not responsible for paying for services when they do not give consent.

Learn more about Maryland Code, Health — General § 20–104 on People’s Law Library.

Therapy Appointments & Assessment Intake and Feedback Appointments: If you must cancel a scheduled appointment, please give a minimum of 24-hours advance notice (or by Friday at 6 pm for a Monday appointment). You will incur a $150 fee if you (a) cancel an appointment without giving at least 24-hours notice, (b) unexpectedly miss your appointment, or (c) arrive for your appointment more than 15 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Assessment Administration Appointment: If you must cancel a scheduled appointment, please give a minimum of 72-hours advance notice. You will incur a $300 fee if you (a) cancel an appointment without giving at least 72-hours notice, (b) unexpectedly miss your appointment, or (c) arrive for your appointment more than 30 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Exceptions to this policy include illness or other unforeseeable emergencies yet do not include work, school, or extracurricular obligations. If you believe you have an extenuating circumstance that warrants a waiver of this fee, please contact Dr. Stano directly as soon as possible.

No—Dr. Stano does not have any professional social media accounts and does not connect with current/former patients nor their family members on social media. 

You are always welcome to share a photo of a recent adventure with Dr. Stano in session.

If you/your child is experiencing a mental health crisis (e.g., suicidal thoughts, self-harming behaviors, homicidal thoughts), please immediately call 9-1-1, call or text 9-8-8 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

Montgomery County residents can also request a Mobile Crisis Outreach Team to be dispatched to their location by calling (240) 777-4000 (Montgomery County Crisis Center).

On evenings, weekends, and holidays, a clinician (not Dr. Stano) can be reached by calling (972) 708-5166.

Please do not send urgent clinical inquiries to Dr. Stano directly (outside of session) as she may not be able to respond in a timely manner. Email is not an appropriate form of communication in an emergency.

Dr. Stano is an independent contractor providing services at Psychological Solutions, a longstanding group private practice. She is not an employee of Psychological Solutions, though they handle billing and other administrative tasks on her behalf.

The legal name of Dr. Stano’s individual psychotherapy business is Strive to Thrive Psychotherapy.

You are welcome to ask Dr. Stano any question or bring up any concern you have directly with her so that she can work with you to find a solution.

Dr. John Gotlewski is the owner of Psychological Solutions. He can be reached at gotlewski@msn.com for any question or concern.

If you want to file a complaint with the Maryland Board of Examiners of Psychologists, you may do so here.