We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. April Coleman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. April below.
Dr. April , appreciate you joining us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?
I knew that I wanted to be a child psychologist by the time I entered my Senior year of college at Georgia State University. In order to fulfill elective requirements during my last semester before graduation, I took a career course in which one of our assignments was to attend an upcoming career fair on campus. At that time, I thought it was going to be a waste of time, but I knew that I didn’t have a job lined up in my field post graduation and was going to remain at the counseling center in my student assistant position until I figured out my next move. I shared with my mom about the career fair and my reluctance to attend, but in true mama fashion, she turned it up a notch, told me I better put on my best suit, print out some resumes, and get myself over to the career fair and connect with the recruiters.
Well, the career fair was that October of 2006. I went, put a smile on my face, and passed out those resumes like my mom told me to do. Fast forward to late November, early December of that same year, I receive a phone call from a community service board in North Georgia inviting me for an interview. They remind me of receiving my resume at the Georgia State Fall career fair. I chuckle to myself because I’m thinking, “Mama was right.” I show up for the interview, put my best foot forward, and leave thinking I did the best I could. It was my first interview for such a position, so of course I’m thinking they aren’t going to hire a young 22 year old straight out of college. Well, I get a call for a second interview to meet with the head supervisor, which was great. Well, time passed, and I just figured someone else was picked for the position. I was interviewing for the child and adolescent unit where I would be going into the school setting to facilitate social skills groups with middle schoolers. Excited about even being considered for the opportunity was an understatement.
December 16, 2006 (the day I became a graduate of THE Georgia State University) came and went, and I packed up to make the drive to my hometown of Savannah for the holidays before returning to my student assistant position on campus. As I’m driving to Savanah in the pouring rain (the kind of rain when it looks like white fog), I receive a phone call from the human resources department of the community service board offering me the position within the child and adolescent unit with a start date of January 2, 2007. Look at God! I remember hanging up the phone, smiling from ear to ear, and praising God for blessing me with a position in my field of choice, child mental health, straight out of college at the young age of 22. Grateful was an understatement. If I had not signed up for the career course, listened to my mom’s gentle but firm push to attend the career fair, and actually put my best foot forward, who knows if I would have gotten such a great opportunity like the one I did.
I was afforded so many opportunities in this position. I got to work with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders during the school year focusing on building their self esteem and self confidence, teaching them how to deal with bullying and peer conflict, and showing them better ways to communicate and develop healthy friendships. I also was appointed by my colleagues and supervisor to create and lead a summer camp for elementary age children of parents battling addiction. It was my first time developing such a program, and the success of it was more than I could have ever imagined. I couldn’t have done it though without the support of my supervisor and also my colleagues. It was also in this role that I got my first exposure to suicide intervention, developmental differences, and intellectual differences within the adult population. All of my experiences in this position was a part of my foundation for more to come in my work in the mental health field. Little did I know where my journey would take me back in 2007, but it’s a journey that I will never forget and one that I’m excited to see where it continues to take me.
Dr. April , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a Georgia licensed psychologist and the clinical training site coordinator at the Georgia Autism Center (GAC). I have been working in the mental health field for 15 years and have been in private practice for the past 8 years. Prior to private practice, I worked in a variety of settings, including schools, community mental health clinics, community service boards, child advocacy centers, specialized treatment centers, and social service agencies. I have also collaborated with institutions to conduct assessments within residential treatment facilities, within juvenile detention centers, within foster homes and group homes, and for the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. Currently, I specialize in the comprehensive assessment of specific learning differences, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), neurocognitive deficits, and developmental delays. I work with individuals aged 12 months through young adulthood. With my years of experience, my clinical work extends beyond the assessment process and also involves providing support, guidance, and consultation to parents and caregivers post diagnosis to ensure that the families’ needs are met as best as possible.
Since we last spoke, I have also expanded my clinical work to include a free 30-minute Triple E parent consultation where my goal is to educate, encourage, and empower parents (that are not current patients) in their journey with their children who have unique and specific needs. I also am speaking more at parent events where I’m talking about the common signs of ADHD, ASD, and specific learning differences; when it’s time to seek support from a professional for an assessment; and what next steps should be once the assessment process is complete and diagnoses are shared. I’m sponsoring more events within the community related to developmental and learning differences, and I have become a board member and committee chair with SPECTRUM Autism Support, Education, and Resources.
At GAC, I (along with my associates) have worked very hard to build a practice in which our families know that when they come to see us, we are going to go above and beyond to make sure that we are providing them with quality care. As a clinician, I am most proud that GAC as a whole provides services to a diverse group of families, and that we are able to serve families all over the state of Georgia and surrounding states (e.g., Florida, Alabama, South Carolina). It is a great feeling to know that GAC has built a reputation in the community as a quality care private practice that families do not find it to be a problem to travel several hours and/or from out of state to our office in order to get their child the necessary supports he or she may need. Of even more importance to me is that my families have returned year after year to see me for updated evaluations, as they have felt comfortable with me and know that I view their children as one of my own.
In addition, to my work as a clinician, I (along with my associates) have worked extensively to build an assessment training program for graduate-level psychology students. This is a program that I hold very near and dear to my heart. I have had several psychologists mentor me, and who I continue to look to for guidance, so I made the decision that I too wanted to pay it forward. I am VERY proud to say that I have played a pivotal role in training graduate-level students in learning how to evaluate and diagnose children and adolescents over the past seven years, and I will continue to make this a priority as long as possible.
Beyond my work as a clinician, I am most proud to be able to work with a team of beautiful, kind, and caring women who work so hard day after day. From our administrative and billing staff, psychological assistants, student trainees, and us psychologists, we work together so well. On days where my energy may be low and I am tired, when I come into my office, I know that “my girls” as I call our administrative staff, and my students and trainees always do something to put a smile on my face. Having a solid team has truly made a difference, and I don’t take it for granted. I am truly proud of what we do together as a team every single day. We are women making a difference in the lives of so many families day after day.
What sets me apart as a psychologist performing assessments, is that I do not see families once or twice, and then let them leave my office without any guidance or support. I follow my families over time, often seeing my families for monthly check-ins when needed and also for 3 month, 6 month, and 1-year follow-ups. I correspond with my families throughout the school year, check in to make sure the necessary supports are being implemented, and I have even attended school meetings with my families to ensure that the results of my evaluations are understood within those meetings as I have written the information within my reports. All-in-all, I value wholeheartedly my children and families that I see, and it is important to me that as the family’s psychologist, I am able to do all I can to make sure my children are getting what they need as they live in and navigate this world.
I am excited about what the future holds in my work as a psychologist and how I will be able to continue to contribute to the lives of children and families. I’m working on becoming a published writer, and I’m working on expanding my reach even further by hosting more webinars, launching online parent education courses, and sharing my knowledge through social medica. So, you’ll be seeing even more of me, Dr. April. L. Coleman over the years.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I’ve received alot of feedback over the years from families, students and trainees, colleagues, and support staff. I would have to agree with them in regards to my dedication and committment to the field of psychology and the caring way in which I approach my patients and their families have really contributed to the reputation I have in the community. I am a naturally warm person who enjoys connecting with people, and such a demeanor has allowed for me to be recommended by others to come see me for a clinical assessment or parent consultation. I receive many referrals from famiies I’ve seen previously, and I also have many of my famiies return to me for future assessments and support. I meet my families where they are, make sure they know I’ve heard them, and set up an environment where they know they can always reach out to me outside of appointments to ask questions or to obtain my opinion.
My approach and my personality has also resulted in me connecting with so many different people in the field because I can meet one clinician, and then they connect me with someone else, and then that connection turns into me connecting with someone else, and these connections have helped me to build a great network of individuals I can refer families to and also consult with when needed. Pediatricians, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, school counselors, neurologists, and ABA therapists know about GAC and what we have to offer. In addition to family referrals and networking, students that I have trained or who have worked for me, share their experiences with their friends in the field, who then reach out to me about working with us at GAC.
The depth of my knolwedge and my level of experience has also helped me to build a name for myself because I make it my priority to constantly read about my clinical specialities and to attend professional conferences and workshops to learn more about the field. I may be licensed and have 15 years of experience, but I know that I can always learn and continue to learn from these trainings and educational materials and through the professionals I meet at the conferences and workshops I attend. I try to stay in the know regarding the newest ideas, concepts, and information related to ASD, ADHD, learning differences, and other common challenges of childhood. With doing that, it allows me to provide the best care I can to the famiies I serve and the best clinical training to the students who are under my direct supervision.
I also like to think I’ve made a name for myself in paying it forward. I taught graduate school for 5 years, developed a graduate level clinical training program at GAC that has continued to thrive with the support of all of the psychologists within the practice, and I have given high school and college students the opportunity to shadow me, interview me, and intern with us at GAC to learn more about what we do as clinical psychologists.
Over the past 15 years, I have learned to get out of my comfort zone, put myself out there, and make connections. With encouragement from my support system, I’ve persevered even on the days when I doubted myself. Taking that approach has taken me from graduate student, to licensed psychologist, adjunct professor, clinical practicum site coordinator, speaker, consultant, parent educator, and soon-to-be published author. I know there is so much more in store for me, and I plan to continue making the connections and building relationships as I do the work as a clinical psychologist.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
ABSOLUTELY! I wouldn’t change anything about my journey, including the obstacles, because all of my experiences since I’ve been in the field of psychology and mental health have molded me into the psychologist I am today. I’ve grown from the positive experiences, and I’ve grown from the not so great experiences that come along with my clinical work. I have met some amazing people along my journey to where I am today, including colleagues, supervisors, students and trainees, children, and parents/caregivers. I’ve learned so much about myself in my clinical work, incuding that being a psychologist is not only my passion but truly my gift. Working with children and familiies of neurodiverse backgrounds is what I believe to be why I was placed on this Earth. I have found so much meaning in the work that I do, and to know that parents/caregivers have found my knowledge and expertise to be helpful in learning more about their children and seeking out and accessing resources is one of the best parts of my life as a psychologist. I can say without a doubt and very proudly that I am a psychologist nerd. LOL. I just love learning about child development, the changing child and adolescent brain, and what can result from differences in brain structure. There’s nothing that makes me more happy than learning about new assessments, learning about new skills and tools to help families, and learning about new books and online resources for parents to easily access.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/psychdrapril
- Instagram: @dracknowsbest
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaAutismCenter
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/psychdrapril
Image Credits
Ames Studios, LLC Courtney Bullard Abigail Farmer