Hannah Poole

About

Hannah Poole, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist at Expand Psychology in Falls Church and Alexandria, Virginia. She is passionate about providing high-quality, evidence-based care to children, adolescents, transition-aged youth, and the people who support them.

At the heart of Dr. Poole's work is a collaborative, neuroaffirming, and strengths-based philosophy. She views caregivers as experts on their children and believes the best outcomes emerge through genuine partnership. Dr. Poole strives to create a therapeutic environment where individuals and families feel seen, heard, understood, and accepted. Together, they work toward meaningful, values-aligned goals that foster growth, resilience, and lasting change.

Specialization

Dr. Poole specializes in neuroaffirming intervention for children, adolescents, and transition-aged youth (12 months–25 years) with neurodevelopmental differences, including autism and ADHD. She provides evidence-based therapy to support emotional and behavioral regulation, executive functioning, social-emotional development, and mood-related concerns such as anxiety and depression. Dr. Poole tailors treatment to each individual's unique strengths, needs, and interests, often integrating playful, creative, and experiential interventions that foster engagement and meaningful growth.

Her therapeutic approach draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and other evidence-based modalities within a strengths-based, developmentally responsive framework. Dr. Poole has completed advanced training in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and integrates these principles into her work when supporting children and adolescents with trauma histories. She is also well-versed in the Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile and adapts treatment to support autonomy, reduce demand-related distress, and promote flexibility through collaborative, relationship-centered care.

In addition to individual therapy, Dr. Poole provides parent coaching and consultation to help caregivers better understand their child's neurodevelopmental profile and implement practical, evidence-based strategies at home. Certified in Parent-Child Care (PC-CARE), she works collaboratively with families to strengthen parent-child relationships, increase confidence in navigating challenging behaviors, and promote consistency across home, school, and community settings. She also partners closely with parents, schools, and other providers to ensure that supports are coordinated across environments.

Dr. Poole has extensive experience supporting LGBTQIA+ youth and is deeply committed to providing affirming, developmentally informed care to gender-diverse adolescents and their families. She has a particular interest in working with neurodivergent youth who are exploring their gender identity, recognizing the unique ways that autism, ADHD, and gender diversity can intersect. She enjoys helping adolescents better understand themselves while creating a therapeutic space grounded in safety, authenticity, and trust. Dr. Poole also partners closely with parents as they navigate their own questions, emotions, and understanding of their child's experience. Through parent consultation and family sessions, she helps families strengthen communication, deepen understanding, and cultivate affirming, connected relationships throughout the gender exploration journey.

In addition to intervention services, Dr. Poole is passionate about providing comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations, with particular expertise in the assessment of autism, ADHD, giftedness, and learning differences. She believes that evaluations should do more than identify diagnoses—they should provide a meaningful understanding of each child's unique strengths, challenges, and learning profile. Her goal is to help families, schools, and other providers better understand how a child learns and experiences the world while developing practical, individualized recommendations that promote success across home, school, and community settings.

Education, Training, and Professional Experience

Dr. Poole received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium, located in Palo Alto, CA. Her training spans diverse settings, including community mental health clinics, public schools, primary care, and children's hospitals. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at UC Davis Health's Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology program in Sacramento and her post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Developmental Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Colorado in Denver.