Dr. Elizabeth Cook
she/her
LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST Serving Maryland & PSYPACT® Clients
I am a licensed psychologist clients at Playful Therapy Connections through in person comprehensive testing services. I am passionate about helping individuals of all ages explore and understand their brains!
Through testing, we’ll uncover your strengths and vulnerabilities, focusing on you or your child as a whole person. I want you to feel empowered by your testing results so that you can lean into your strengths, better understand your support needs, and have a roadmap for moving forward following testing, regardless of diagnosis. I’ll work one on one with you or your child, while collaborating with your family and team based on your desires and needs. I’ll also collaborate with our wonderful testing team as I finalize each report to further ensure testing is affirming, evidence based, and non-biased.
I am one of those people who has always wanted to be a psychologist and I have never not been in the mental health field. Even as a person who went straight through from undergrad through graduate schools, all of my jobs have been mental health related.
I practice from a person-centered, feminist, multicultural and neurodiversity-affirming framework.
What does my experience mean for you as my client? My experience means that I have a deep commitment to mental health and well-being and am comfortable thinking creatively to help meet clients where they are.
I am focused on the idea of unconditional positive regard, which essentially means how do we create a nonjudgmental, safe testing space where we look at the gaps in between your values, where you and/or you child are and where you all wanna be.
I believe in considering people’s phenomenological world aka how their experiences and identities shape the ways in which they walk through the world and the lens through which they see the world.
Moreover, my consideration of the “dialectic" - two things that are opposite can both be true at the same time - means that we will hold multiple things that may seem like they are in conflict with each other, as true all at the same time.
Portrait by Nathan McConnell
Outside of the therapy room, you can find me reading and trying new recipes! I’m a big foodie and there’s rarely a dish I see and don’t think, “I can do that.” I also have a deep love for music and come from the kind of musical family that sings “Happy Birthday” in 3-part harmony. You’ll probably hear me humming or whistling in the hallway if I walk past!
I have the ability to come up with a metaphor/pop culture reference for any situation!
Frequently Asked Questions…
What is your favorite color?
Red/Burgundy/Maroon
What is your TV show?
Bones
What is your favorite video game?
Animal Crossing
Do you have any plants?
A succulent named Jershika (named after a singer on The Voice)
Why did you decide to become a psychologist?
My father has worked in psychiatry rehabilitation my entire life and so I've always been exposed to the mental health friend.
I noticed that people often came to me for advice/saw me as a safe space and becoming a psychologist seemed like a natural outgrowth of that.
The Nitty-Gritty Details
Education
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, MA
Ph.D., Counseling Psychology (2020)
UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE, MD
M.S., Applied Psychology - Counseling Track (2015)
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, NJ
A.B., Psychology, Certificates in African American Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies (2013)
Credentials
Licensed Psychologist, Maryland, 06573 (2021), Maryland Board of Examiners of Psychologists
Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) under the PSYPACT®* Commission E. Passport issued 8/21/23 Mobility #15723
Selected Presentations & Publications
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Lowy, A.S., Cook, E., Franko, D.L. & Rodgers, R.F. (March 2019). Cultural beauty ideals and positive ethnic self-regard in Black women: Towards culturally-informed models of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Paper presented at the annual International Conference on Eating Disorders. New York, NY.
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Lowy, A.S., Cook, E., Osei-Kuffour, E., White, M., Zhang, K., Yamada, M., Mandelkern, R., Franko, D.L. & Rodgers, R.F. (March 2019). “Pretty for a Black girl”: Messages Black women receive about their bodies and health. Paper presented at the annual International Conference on Eating Disorders. New York, NY.
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Fischer, L., Cook, E., Matsumoto, A., Weber, A., Boadi, N., Balogun-Mwangi, O., & Robinson-Wood, T. (August 2018). Broaching Racial Microaggressions: A Guide for Enhancing Clinical Competence among White Providers. Presenting at the annual American Psychological Association Conference. San Francisco, CA.
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Rodgers, R.F., Donovan, E., Cousineau, T., Yates, K., McGowan, K., Cook, E., Lowy, A.S. & Franko, D.L. (2018). BodiMojo: Efficacy of a mobile-based intervention in improving body image and self-compassion among adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(7), 1363-1372.
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Robinson-Wood, T., Balogun-Mwangi, O., Weber, A., Zeko Underwood, E., Collins Rawle, S., Popat-Jain, A., Matsumoto, A. & Cook, E. (2018). “What is it Going to be Like?”: A Phenomenological Investigation of Racial, Gendered and Sexual Microaggressions among Highly Educated Individuals. Qualitative Psychology, 18, 2326-3601.
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Donovan, E., Martin, S.R., Lung, K., Evans, S., Seidman, L.C., Cousineau, T.M., Cook, E., & Keltzer, L.K. (2018). Pediatric Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Perspectives on Pain and Adolescent Social Functioning. Pain Medicine, 0, 1-10.
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*PSYPACT® is an interstate compact which offers a voluntary expedited pathway for practice to qualified psychologists who wish to practice in multiple states. PSYPACT® is designed to facilitate the practice of telepsychology and the temporary in-person, face-to-face practice of psychology across state boundaries. In order to practice telepsychology in PSYPACT® states, psychologists licensed in PSYPACT® states only, can apply to the PSYPACT® Commission for an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT). In order to conduct temporary practice in PSYPACT® states, psychologists licensed in PSYPACT® states only can apply to the PSYPACT® Commission for a Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP). The PSYPACT® Commission is the governing body of PSYPACT® and is comprised of one representative from each PSYPACT® state. More information regarding PSYPACT® and its requirements can be found at www.psypact.org