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Al Ossorio

Massachusetts
Psychologist
Manage Medications:
Practice at a Glance
SPECIALTIES
Autism +
STYLE
Warm
Straight-Forward
Flexible
Expressive

About

Greetings,I’m Dr. Al Ossorio, a clinical psychologist licensed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology and computer science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and my doctoral degree from William James College, where I specialized in neuropsychology and assessment. I trained in the Harvard Hospital System, The Veteran’s Administration (Bedford), Wheaton College, and at the Brenner Assessment Center, where I completed a 2 year extended neuropsych and assessment fellowship and developed protocols for adult autism assessment. I have also taught graduate level psychology at William James College.

Education & Licensure
PsyD in Psychology from William James College; Bachelors in Psychology with minor in Computer Science from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Treatment Approach
What motivated you to specialize in working with autistic adults?

Autism runs in my family; I have long been comfortable working with, building relationships with, guiding/helping, and learning from autistic people. While I have certainly seen the difficulties that autism can create for people, I have also seen first-hand how neurodivergent people can find their place in the world and truly thrive. The fact is, I have lived with and worked with neurodivergent people for the entirety of my career, whether as a young computer scientist working in Silicon Valley, or more recently as a psychologist providing autism assessments or psychotherapy to autistic clients.

How do you bring a strengths-based, affirming approach to your client work?

Years ago while reading through the AANE website, I saw the line (paraphrased), “Once you’ve met one person with autism… you’ve met one person with autism!” I wholeheartedly agree with this -- I don’t presume to know what autism has meant for you -- I don’t make assumptions or jump to conclusions; rather, I work to understand the world through your experience and your unique history.  Beyond this, I practice what is called “Positive Neuropsychology”  -- a more recent approach to neuropsychological assessment that focuses less exclusively on people’s deficits and disorders, but on their strengths as well, and on how a person’s strengths can counterbalance or mitigate their difficulties.

Practice at a Glance
SPECIALTIES
Autism +
STYLE
Warm
Straight-Forward
Flexible
Expressive
Al Ossorio
Massachusetts
Psychologist