Nicholas Gala

Dr. Nicholas Michael Gala earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Gallaudet University in Washington District of Columbia and completed his APA approved clinical internship at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Child Guidance Clinic. Dr. Gala holds licenses in the states of Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and through the Interjurisdictional PSYPACT. He also holds a certification as a Sex Offender Treatment Provider in the state of Virginia.

His doctoral training included the acquisition of American Sign Language (ASL), use of ASL in clinical practice, and cultural understanding of mental illness within Deaf culture. During this time, he worked with the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center conducting pivotal research that focused on language acquisition, academic performance, psychological development, and parent advocacy. Results established federal and state standards for the best educational practice for children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. Dr. Gala also trained at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center: Rehabilitative and Neuropsychology providing assessment and therapy to individuals recovering from a range of neurological illnesses, and at both St. Elizabeths Psychiatric Hospital in Washington D.C. and Springfield Psychiatric Hospital Center in Sykesville, Maryland providing forensic neuropsychological evaluations to individuals with severe mental illness.

Dr. Gala's clinical work centers on forensic and neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy with adolescents and adults. Evaluations include juvenile competency, neuropsychological, psychoeducational, psychological injury, disability, violence risk, and psychosexual evaluations. He has also provided individual therapy, competency restoration, and sex offender treatment. Prior to earning his Doctoral Degree, Dr. Gala completed his Masters of Science in Applied Behavioral Analysis. During this time, he worked as a behavioral therapist providing school and home-based interventions, and established school-based programs and trainings addressing behavioral challenges.

Dr. Gala's academic research interests include emotional processes and theory, Deaf culture, use and development of neuropsychological and forensic evaluations, and the biological foundations for mental illness.