“Joanna is extraordinary in the way that she blends professional scientific knowledge and empathic care for people as individuals. When I came to her, I felt like I was receiving the best of both worlds of both her head and heart. I came to her for help because my daughter, since the age of one, has had ‘sound sensitivity’ to where anytime someone laughed or clapped, she would burst into tears. We lived in silence, tiptoeing around her, and being afraid of causing her distress for many years. However, she was getting to the age of friends' birthday parties, magic shows, puppet shows, etc. and things felt like a ticking time bomb and the imminent distress was impacting her social-emotional growth. Joanna patiently listened to my heartache, then gave me some very practical, step by step guidance for our daughter, which we began to implement. With these tools under our belt, we were able to help our daughter manage and cope with her sound sensitivity and be able to grow resilience as she deepened friendships and enjoyed the same activities as her friends. We are so grateful for Joanna and the enduring impact she has made upon our family!"

- G.C. & M.C.*, parents of 2 children

“Joanna has been a lifesaver for our family. We reach out to her whenever we have a difficult behavioral challenge, hard situation with school, parenting style disagreement, or just need help understanding our children’s developmental stages and building positive habits in the home. Joanna is warm and kind. She helps reduce excessive parenting guilt, while giving us concrete tools, knowledge, and strategies to help our children. She helped us navigate homeschooling during COVID, set boundaries around tech time, teach our kid’s positive skills for emotional regulation and communication, and set up our kids for success and resilience. I recommend Joanna to every parent, aunt, grandparent or caregiver who wants concrete, practical, and research-based strategies and tools.”

- T.L.*, mother of 2 children

“If you're looking for a thorough assessment of your child Joanna is your specialist. Coming highly recommended by someone in the field of education, Joanna was able to give us a clear explanation of the assessments as well as the results. She has extensive knowledge in the psychological and educational aspects of how children learn, was encouraging, honest, and compassionate. In speaking with my son he never felt rushed or discouraged during the assessment. She set a calming environment for him. Joanna will continue to be a valuable resource to our family and I would recommend her to anyone whose child is having difficulty at school.”

- B.D. & J.D.*, parents of 4 children

“Joanna taught us how to best understand our children's development and she's given us easy, practical tips to empower them through the most challenging stages. She has made me a calmer, more confident mother and a more educated advocate for my children's needs. Her depth of knowledge, genuine empathy, and boundless energy make her one-of-a-kind in the field. Every parent deserves a guide into parenthood like Joanna.”

- M.T. & L.T.*, parents of 2 children

“As first-time parents, we often don’t know what is normal behavior for a four year old. This often makes us insecure in our parenting and simply not knowing the strategies for how to raise our son. Joanna not only shifted our perspective in how we see our son, but also gave us practical tips on how to navigate specific moments that have been challenging for us. Her insight and suggestions have lifted our parental anxieties and it’s a huge relief knowing that Joanna is available to coach our family as our kids grow up and we continue to evolve.”

- D.M. & R.M.*, parents of 2 children

“If I were searching for a professional to guide me, or a loved one, through struggles in this journey of life, I would seek to find someone like Joanna Cheng, with the extraordinary qualities of caring, compassion, and competence. Joanna has provided over twenty years of experience to adults, students, parents, and school staff. As an educational psychologist, she is exceptionally skilled to assess one’s strengths and weaknesses and to share those resources that lead to successful change. As a counselor, she transforms and empowers people to grow, by listening and letting them hear their own words in a different way. As a therapist, she sees in others the positive qualities of leadership that prevail over self-doubt, lack of confidence, previous traumas, anxiety or the darkness of depression. As a leader, she skillfully presents material in a cohesive, understandable way, effectively using technology tools and handouts. She is able to read the audience to assure that learning has occurred. I have confidence in Joanna and having worked closely with her in the school setting, I highly recommend her as a mental health professional. Her positive energy is contagious!”

- Nancy D. Ballantyne

Retired Licensed Educational Psychologist
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

“Mental and emotional health are critical for individual success, having a reliable person to process our thoughts and emotions is necessary during this stressful, fearful and isolated time with the pandemic. We are so grateful for Joanna to be there to help our family. Joanna is a caring professional individual who is able to connect with my girls quickly. They enjoyed the counseling sessions. Joanna helped them to be more confident and happier individuals. I highly recommend Joanna.” 

- L.W.*, mother of 2 children 

 Among the psychologists I worked with on a regular basis I would rank her skills and her conscientious commitment to her responsibilities as being at the highest levels. I would confidently recommend her to any parent seeking any of the above services, knowing that she has the intelligence, education, and skills necessary to fully support those in need.”

- James Himes

Retired School Psychologist

M.S. in Counseling

Credentialed School Psychologist

Retired Licensed Educational Psychologist

*Please note that initials have been used at parents’ request to maintain confidentiality.