About Dr. Ahern

Education and Training

Lisa Ahern holds a Ph.D. in school psychology from North Carolina State University and has advanced training in the assessment of Learning Disabilities and the assessment and treatment of ADD/ADHD. She completed a two-year Post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Psychology at Duke University Medical Center in the ADHD program where she remained after her training as a faculty member and the Director of the Learning Disorders clinic. Dr. Ahern’s experiences at Duke included clinical work with children, adults, and families with ADHD, participation in nationally funded research studies, supervision and training of clinical and school psychology interns, and guest lecturing on campus and in the community. At Duke, Dr. Ahern became an expert in organizational skills training for children with ADHD as part of a multi-site nationally funded research study (OTMP). She also created a group treatment program for adolescents with executive functioning difficulties called TOPS (Teen Organization, Planning, and Study Skills) which has been successfully run with middle and high school students at Duke, in schools, and in private practice.

Clinical Experience

Dr. Ahern was also a psychologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), serving the Center for Management of ADHD and the Anxiety Behaviors Clinic (ABC) as an evaluator and therapist. At CHOP, Dr. Ahern refined her clinical expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents with anxiety,  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and related disorders and provided parent management training (PMT) for families with children who were experiencing difficulties with ADHD and other behavioral difficulties. She was also able to participate in research efforts as part of a nationally recognized team of experts.

Dr. Ahern served as a certified NJ school psychologist and was part of the Child Study Team in the Mount Laurel Public Schools in New Jersey for 3 years. In this role, she provided group and individual counseling to address anger management and social skills, contributed to CST multi-disciplinary evaluations and re-evaluations, collaborated with teachers and related services providers to write Individual Education Programs (IEPs), provided case management, conducted functional behavioral assessments (FBAs), created and monitored behavioral intervention plans, participated on the Section 504 Committee and Intervention and Referral Services (I&RS) Committee, provided teacher in-service training, and consulted with parents and teachers regarding children with attention and learning difficulties, as well as children on the autism spectrum.

Professional Development, Presentations, and Teaching

With over 20 years of experience with ADHD and learning disabilities, Dr. Ahern has given many presentations for parent groups, teacher in-services, universities, research conferences, private schools, and community organizations. She worked with Dr. Michael Gotlib at the Center for Emotional Health in Cherry Hill, NJ to develop ACT and Mindfulness-based Emotional Wellness professional development trainings for teachers and school personnel. She has also taught courses as an adjunct faculty member in the school psychology doctoral program at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), as an instructor in the NC State Psychology Department, and as a guest lecture in the Duke University Psychology department.