I am a licensed psychologist at Kuehnel Psychological Services. Over the last 9 years, I’ve worked with children and their families across various settings to support diagnostic clarity, gain access to school and community-based supports, and develop skills for social and emotional wellness. I am delighted to have the opportunity to support your family as well!
I earned my Masters and Educational Specialist degrees from Tufts University and served as a School Psychologist and special education team chair on the south shore providing assessment, therapy, and advocacy services for families across many districts. From there I went on to obtain my Doctorate in School Psychology from The Chicago School to pursue my passion for neuropsychology. My drive is to empower families through insight into the biological bases of their child’s strengths and challenges.
Prior to joining KPS, I trained and worked in various settings, including public schools across the south shore, child development centers, charter schools for neurodivergent populations, medical hospitals, and outpatient clinics. I completed a pre-doctoral residency at SSM Health in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and my advanced practicum training at Rush AARTS in Chicago, Illinois. These medical centers provided me with specialized training in neuropsychological and educational assessments. During my pre-doctoral training, I provided services to a range of populations (ages 3-22) with complex medical and developmental histories including epilepsy, genetic disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD. Additionally, through my work and training in schools along with my research interests, I have established a specialty in assessing individuals for learning disabilities including dyslexia and nonverbal learning disability.
In addition to neuropsychological evaluations, my previous training and work experience have included providing individual and group therapy to children and adolescents for concerns such as grief, family changes, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, school avoidance, OCD, anger, depression, panic disorder, and social/behavioral challenges. My treatment plans often include exposure therapy, CBT, and acceptance-based approaches to support self-esteem, which is frequently connected to these difficulties. I am especially passionate about family work, as a child does not exist in a vacuum; collaboration with schools and parent coaching typically leads to the most meaningful outcomes. I firmly believe that behavior is a form of communication, and my goal is to help repair breakdowns in communication to strengthen the parent–child relationship.
Outside of KPS, I enjoy tennis, kayaking, calligraphy, and camping. I also enjoy spending time outside in the sun listening to music and playing with my two dogs.
Dr. Kuehnel translates best practices into meaningful strategies for parents and students. Her expertise and deep understanding of complex learning profiles drive the day-to-day interventions that improve overall functioning for families. With the big picture in mind, Dr. Kuehnel can break down the skills your child needs into manageable steps to support lasting change.
Educational Advocate
Dr. Kuehnel attended my daughter’s special education eligibility meeting and everyone at the IEP table remarked how helpful Dr. Kuehnel’s report was in understanding our daughter and how to support her. When I shared the report with our pediatrician, she said it was the best and most thorough one she had ever seen!
Neuropsych Client
The testing is very thorough, and the comprehensive reports Dr. Ballou provided to our family were very detailed and easy to follow. Our behavioral health team at our pediatrician’s office and our IEP teams at school have also commented many times about how professional and helpful the comprehensive reports have been. It has assisted our family in developing appropriate action plans to help our children become the best version of themselves.
Neuropsych Client
Carolyn conducted a school observation as part of my daughter’s assessment, which was so impactful! My child’s presentation is particularly nuanced and Dr. Kuehnel was able to detect and highlight her struggles that were going under the radar. Her carefully synthesized observation report, combined with her very thorough and thoughtful formal report of my child’s presentation, proved critical in helping the public school system see our daughter’s needs.
School Observation Client
The report is a work of art! So beautifully captures our son and I think will be really helpful, most importantly for our understanding of him as a learner, but also over the next year as he prepares for high school. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Neuropsych Client
I cannot thank you enough for your presentation last evening. It was informative, engaging, and useful for the targeted audience. We had SEPAC members from three different towns represented in our small group last night, so I would definitely call it a success.
SEPAC Board Member
Thank you so much for sharing her neuropsychological report. We are beyond grateful for the time, care, and expertise that went into this evaluation. The report is incredibly comprehensive and provides a deep and thoughtful understanding of her unique learning profile. Your report not only affirms many of the strengths and challenges we have observed, but also offers new insights that will be instrumental as we move forward in planning the most effective supports for her.
Neuropsych Client
I thought you did a great job conveying the testing results combined with direct observations to help us understand what we are dealing with. We sincerely appreciate your diligence and efforts!
Neuropsych Client
I just wanted to tell you that we had the meeting to determine eligibility and the Team agreed that he should get services! We will be putting together the IEP in the next couple of days. We can’t tell you how relieved we are! Your excellent, thorough report had a lot to do with it. Thank you so much!!!
Neuropsych Client