She is extremely adept at framing the relevant issues to be explored, completing a comprehensive evaluation and presenting a detailed, compelling narrative that humanizes your client for the court and other decision makers. Her training and experience as a child and adolescent psychologist enables her to provide the requisite framework to understand the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma on brain development and psychological development which may be relevant to mental state defenses and for mitigation purposes.  

Dr. Sapia’s doctorate in Counseling/School Psychology with a Child/Adolescent Specialization is from the State University of New York at Buffalo, as are her M.A. in Psychology and B.A. degrees in Psychology and Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary, Law Concentration. Please see her CV for more details regarding her presentations, publications and Professional Association Memberships.​

Prior to relocating to the Wilmington area to open a full-time clinical and forensic practice, she was the former Director of Parrish St. Clinic, a private, community-based mental health, developmental disabilities, and forensic clinic serving children, adolescents and adults in Durham. She began her clinical career in the triangle area, as a Clinical Psychologist at the Center for Child and Family Health, a trauma evaluation and treatment center, and a Clinical Associate at Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Sapia has held various academic and clinical positions including: Clinical Instructor of Pediatrics at East Carolina University and Pediatric Health Psychologist at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in the ICU and Oncology units where she provided inpatient and outpatient individual and family psychotherapy, psycho-diagnostic assessment, consultation, and resident supervision and training. Her primary focus was assessment and adjustment following traumatic events. She was an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at ECU where she was responsible for teaching and supervision of graduate courses, research, and clinical practicum in the school and clinical psychology programs. Prior to that, she worked at James Madison University’s Child Development and Neuropsychological Services Clinics, providing comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluations, interventions, and outpatient therapy. She also taught undergraduate courses in the Psychology Department.

While working in university and community settings, Dr. Sapia managed a part-time practice and lectured across the country in the areas of child development and clinical psychology. She has been published in the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, Psychology in the Schools, and the Journal of School Health, among others. Dr. Sapia has co-authored a book chapter entitled “Early Trauma Exposure and the Brain,” in “Neuropsychology of PTSD: Biological, Clinical, and Cognitive Perspectives.” Her clinical and forensic interests include trauma, abuse and PTSD. 

Dr. Sapia specializes in conducting objective, relevant, and thorough evaluations for attorneys and for use in State, Federal and Military Courts