Here's what some of Dr. Levinson's clients and colleagues have to say about working with her:
“I am skeptical of most of the advice I receive from friends, family and caregivers. The exception is Tara Levinson. She is the best I've encountered in her field. Her advice is thoughtful and yields results! I can't recommend her enough.” Westport Parent
"Tara partners with the family, not just the child. She helped our family to understand that issues must be resolved as a family, and suddenly, priorities and a plan emerged from the chaos. Tara was particularly helpful when it came to blending the educational and medical aspects of the solution. She worked seamlessly with teachers and medical professionals to ensure all the pieces were working together. There is no magic bullet, but Tara brings clarity that is sometimes hard to find when you are dealing with kids who suffer from developmental learning disabilities." Robyn J., Parent
“As a parent, when you realize for the first time that your child has educational, social or emotional challenges, you go through a natural grieving process. Meeting and working with Dr. Levinson 7 years ago, when my child was first diagnosed, changed the course of my daughter's life and that of my entire family, replacing (our) despair with hope. She is an intuitive therapist with children and adolescences, able to read and perceive their needs and figure out the best way to engage and find the right therapeutic model to help them cope. As my child learned to find ways to manage her disabilities, we too learned as a family how to meet the challenges through thoughtful, concerned, caring and accessible parent consultations with Dr. Levinson. Raising a child with differences and managing them is a very difficult journey for any parent. Having Dr. Levinson as our partner along this ever winding and challenging path is not only the best decision we made as a family, but gave us the most effective tool we could have asked for during those extremely difficult times– hope." Cindy S., Parent
“When we suspected our child had ADHD, Tara guided us through the evaluation process skillfully. She offered practical and thoughtful strategies that enabled our son to be on a level playing field with his peers to succeed. I wouldn't trust anyone else. She's a rare find.” Westport Parent
“When encountered with a sudden suicide of a dear friend, Tara was able to offer amazing advice of how to talk to our children about it in a healthy and appropriate way. I don't know how I could have gotten through it without her. Her advice was thoughtful, pragmatic and guided me through a lot of the 'what if' scenarios to answer our curious children's questions appropriately.” Deb G., Parent
"Tara performs technically sound and elegantly crafted assessments which provide answers and clarity. Her interventions are 'on point' and well formulated. She works with families empowering them to advocate and find a balance between supporting the needs and enhancing the strengths of children and adolescents. She has unique understanding of exceptional learners and of the challenges they and their families face. She consistently goes 'above and beyond' to meet the needs of the families she works with." Dr. Roby Marcou, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician
“Working with Tara was a pleasure because her knowledge matches the remarkable passion she has for her job. She is a consummate professional who holds herself and those who work with her to the highest level of ethical responsibility in a warm and empathic way.” Dr. Suzanne Meenan, Clinical Psychologist
"With the help of Dr. Tara Levinson, a private clinician who worked at Southside Family Medical Center in Hong Kong, a new social thinking program was developed for children with social or pragmatic difficulties. Parents constantly praised Dr. Levinson for her thoughtful, open, and honest approach. Colleagues gained valuable and critical experience from Dr. Levinson. I was one of Tara's colleagues and feel most fortunate to have worked side by side with Tara for several years!! She was a team player and gave her time to others generously and unconditionally!" Jacqueline Gerard, SLP-CCC, Speech and Language Therapist
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"We first met Tara when our son was diagnosed with OCD/anxiety in 2012. When he was ten years old he changed; his eyes looked sad and we were watching him slowly disappear. Essentially he stopped living. Coming from a medical family, I knew instinctively something was not quite right. I knew it was a mental health issue and in my mind I feared the worst, but knew we had to find the correct diagnosis and attend to it properly.
After having our son diagnosed with OCD/anxiety by a child psychiatrist, he was put on Prozac and we were told to start a course of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This is when Tara saved our son's life. She brought no shame to the disorder or to our son. Tara saw our son for a year and a half– once a week teaching him CBT. Each week our son had to journal his thoughts and learn fight back strategies. Within months our son was returning to life. Of course the (medication) had eased his anxieties but without Tara’s training and teaching he could not have got better. He spent one year on the (medication) and then we slowly weaned him off. Tara was with us through all of this. She made us as parents realize we can’t control situations and that you have to relax and be patient. She made our son feel happy again – she gave him tools to fight back. He wrote a book for her about his 'Little Red.' She changed us and made us all better people. Tara is kind, generous and utterly professional. Our son opened up to her and still to this day says, “What would Tara say?,” if he is feeling stuck.
Her patience and knowledge is worth so much. A great child psychologist is worth their weight in gold and Tara is this and more. Tara removes the stigma and treats you and your child as worthy, bright, and interesting people. She helped us and we as a family are forever grateful to her and her incredible expertise. Whenever we feel 'Little Red' getting a bit strong, Tara is always there for us." Ingrid K., Parent
"I went to see Tara when I was 10 years old because I was having trouble doing things that I liked. I was unable to eat, write certain things, finish things, talk to people, do sports, walk, wear certain clothes and have fun. In my head I believed in silly and negative thoughts that my OCD had created. Tara helped me realize I was doing this and I shouldn’t hide it. We named my OCD ‘Little Red’ so I could learn to fight back. I felt embarrassed confessing these thoughts and doings to Tara and my parents. But I learned that the best way to help fight was to talk and explain the feelings and thoughts bubbling around in my head. Tara taught me tools to use against ‘Little Red’. She was very respectful, positive and helpful. I was frightened at first why I was doing all these things but Tara told me it is normal to have these thoughts and feelings and I shouldn’t be ashamed. I couldn’t have got through this without the help of Tara.
I am now 12 years old and I am doing very well in school again. I am getting A’s in my grades and I am social and have a lot of friends again. I am able to do many things, which I couldn’t have done without Tara’s support. When ‘Little Red’ ever pops up, as Tara told me he will, I know I have the tools to push him back." Ingrid K.'s Son
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