Psychological Services

 Dr. Laura Anderson provides the following psychological services:

Do you have concerns about how your child is performing at school? Or about how they feel about themselves as a student/learner?

Dr. Anderson completes detailed assessments to identify learning and/or social/emotional strengths and challenges. She has decades of experience working with families and school teams to put practical strategies in place for helping children succeed in public, charter and private schools. Dr. Anderson completes assessments that help shed light on the child's learning potential, as well as identify learning disabilities that may be impacting a child's school performance. Additionally, she completes evaluations which can help identify ADHD, anxiety, depression and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Anderson takes a strength-based and holistic approach to assessing each child, and parents can be assured that assessment results will be thoughtful and helpful. She has worked closely with public, private and charter schools, and she understands the intricate web of decision-making for parents and school teams, and is happy to help parents navigate school processes. With twenty years of experience working with children, Dr. Anderson is also skilled at helping children and teens understand their assessment results in "kid language" in a way that helps them feel confident about their abilities as holistic learners.

Dr. Anderson has decades of experience working directly in schools and can help:

  • Parents understand their child’s learning, social, and emotional needs

  • Parents talk to school teams effectively

  • Teachers and school administration think creatively about classroom approaches and bringing out the best in students

  • Parents and school teams support students with high functioning autism, anxiety, ADHD and depression

Gender Support Services

Are you seeking support related to your gender identity or sexual orientation?

Do you have questions about your child’s gender identity or sexual orientation, or are you wondering how to support your child along these lines?

Are you concerned about how your family and community may react to your identity, or your child’s identity?

Does your child need a safe place to talk about these things?

Does your child’s school need help navigating these issues?

Services provided

  • Individual therapy to kids, adolescents, and adults with stressors related to gender identity and sexual orientation

  • Parent support and education to understand gender identity and sexual orientation identity development, and to help them process the range of emotions that are often part of this child and family journey

  • Family therapy to improve communication and family connectedness

  • Thorough assessments to help individuals and families clarify gender identity support needs

  • School consultation to help teachers and administration keep kids safe at school

Adoption Support Services

As an adoptive parent herself, and an active member of various adoptive parenting networks, Dr. Anderson understands the distinct joys and challenges of life in foster and adoptive families.

Do you worry that your child’s many strengths aren’t being seen at school or in the community?

Do you find that parenting ideas that friends and counselors have just don’t seem to work well with your child?

Would you like support having the many, varied, often hard conversations about adoption?

Dr. Anderson can:

  • Perform thorough trauma-informed and adoption- informed assessments of your child’s home, school, developmental, emotional and social functioning

  • Share strategies that build self-esteem in children

  • Offer strength-based ways to help children regulate and navigate daily routines

  • Help children understand complex concepts in adoption

  • Guide parents through difficult conversations their children need them to be skilled at having

  • Support parents and kids in transracially adoptive families

  • Connect with, and support adopted kids, teens and young adults

  • Help adoptive parents navigate important birth/first family relationships

  • Offer advice about home country tours and other issues specific to international adoption

  • Provide consultation to foster parents and foster care and adoption agencies

Hawaii Telehealth

Dr. Anderson is lucky to have called Hawaii home for fifteen years, and she knows it is a wonderful place with a quality of life that is hard to find on the mainland. Yet, at times, life in the islands has distinct stressors for children, teens and adults. Dr. Anderson understands the demands of outer-island life as well as Oahu living. Dr. Anderson maintains an active license in Hawaii and travels to the islands frequently.

Dr. Anderson is very happy to be able to provide video health services to people in Hawaii. She had mixed feelings about video health sessions when she first heard about them, but sees clearly how well they work for clients. The added flexibility in scheduling is nice, and the video element has not been a barrier to client comfort.

Dr. Anderson is on the panel of providers for HMSA, HMSA Quest and UHA. Video services are secure and confidential. As noted on other pages, Dr. Anderson can offer a range of general psychological support to adults, in addition to specialized support related to gender identity development, foster and adoptive family support and school related assessment and consultation.

International Living Support

Expatriate life comes with many perks and adventures. Yet, it also comes with parenting and family dilemmas distinct to third culture kids and their parents. In her practice, Dr. Anderson takes a strength-based approach to improving clients' well-being. She also brings an understanding of the particular demands of international working, living, and parenting to her practice.

Services provided

  • Support preparing your children for the next move

  • Coaching regarding explaining recent local, national and international events to your child

    Guidance parenting third culture teens

  • Consultation to improve your child's success in an international school setting

    Help preparing your third culture kid for the college transition

  • Coaching to prioritize the self-care parents need to be able to cope with all of the above

  • Trainings at international schools for counseling and teaching faculty

  • Trainings at international schools for parents


**Please note that Dr. Anderson also provides services for people originally from outside of the U.S. who now call California or Hawaii home. She offers consultation and support for individuals and families as they navigate life in the U.S.