About Dr. O’Shea
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Dr. Sarah O’Shea is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 15 years of experience providing psychological evaluation, therapy, and consultation to children, adolescents, young adults, families, and professionals. Her work is grounded in the belief that understanding how a person thinks, learns, and processes the world is a powerful foundation for growth, self-acceptance, and meaningful change.
Dr. O’Shea’s clinical style is collaborative, thoughtful, and strengths-based. She works with individuals to clarify patterns across cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and environmental domains, helping them use insight not only to understand themselves more fully, but to navigate school, work, relationships, and life with greater confidence and agency.
Outside of work, you will find Dr. O’Shea enjoying traveling, trying new restaurants, watching and volunteer-managing her sons’ soccer teams, cheering on the Duke Blue Devils (and watching college basketball in general), attending concerts, trying a new creative venture, and spending time with her husband, two sons, and dog.
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Dr. O’Shea earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University, majoring in Psychology with minors in Spanish and Chemistry. Following undergraduate training, she worked as a research assistant in the Duke ADHD Clinic and completed a brief internship with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Auburn University (child-focused track), where her research examined executive functioning in ADHD and self-esteem development among justice-involved youth.
Dr. O’Shea completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), a Level-1 trauma and academic medical center. Her training included comprehensive assessment and intervention with children, adolescents, and adults; work in the psychiatric emergency department; and participation on the pediatric brain injury team. She remained on staff at HCMC for five years, providing therapy and comprehensive psychological evaluation services within the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic and serving as a clinical supervisor for trainees. During this time, she also conducted and supervised consultation-liaison services on the pediatric inpatient unit, supporting patients and families coping with traumatic injuries, acute medical events, and significant psychological distress. Dr. O’Shea has also maintained an active private practice since obtaining licensure in 2011.
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Seeing the Whole Person
Dr. O’Shea approaches each individual as more than a diagnosis or set of symptoms. Her work emphasizes understanding patterns across contexts—how cognition, emotion, behavior, and environment interact over time.Strengths-Based and Neurodiversity-Affirming
Differences in learning, attention, and processing are understood as meaningful variations rather than deficits. Dr. O’Shea helps individuals identify strengths alongside challenges, particularly in complex or nontraditional profiles.Insight That Leads to Action
Assessment and therapy are most effective when insight translates into practical next steps. Dr. O’Shea prioritizes clear feedback, real-world application, and collaborative problem-solving that supports self-advocacy and sustainable change.Context and Systems Matter
Growth does not occur in isolation. Dr. O’Shea values collaboration with families, schools, workplaces, and organizations to ensure that recommendations are realistic, supportive, and effective across environments. -
Dr. O’Shea provides comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations, therapy, and consultation for a wide range of concerns, including:
ADHD and executive functioning differences
Autism spectrum profiles across development, including girls/women (AFAB) and later-identified individuals
Learning disabilities and academic challenges
Anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation difficulties
Trauma and complex psychiatric presentations
Giftedness and twice-exceptional (2e) profiles
She holds an Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist certification and has extensive experience working with individuals whose presentations do not fit neatly into a single diagnostic category.
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Dr. O’Shea’s therapeutic work is grounded in evidence-based practice and tailored to individual needs. Her approach integrates cognitive-behavioral strategies with developmentally informed and relational frameworks, including family systems, parent–child interventions, motivational interviewing, and acceptance- and values-based approaches.
She works primarily with children, adolescents, and young adults, with a particular passion for adolescents and individuals navigating identity development, transitions, and self-advocacy. Therapy often includes collaboration with parents, schools, and other providers to support consistency and meaningful progress across settings.
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Dr. O’Shea is licensed in North Carolina and is a member of PSYPACT, allowing her to provide telehealth services to clients in over 40 participating states. Find your state on the PSYPACT list of participating states HERE.
Dr. O’Shea is open to providing supervision to postdoctoral fellows and early-career psychologists.
