DBT40 Honoree: Katherine Elder
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Title: CEO
Workplace: Delaware Psychological Services
Age: 38
Katherine Elder | DBT PHOTO BY LUIGI CIUFFETELLI
As an entrepreneur overseeing 40 providers and staff, Delaware Psychological Services CEO Katherine Elder has created a new option for trauma-informed treatment in Delaware.
The clinical psychologist also works hands-on in the behavioral health clinic she founded when she was just 30 years old, directing treatment, conducting evaluations, training staff and completing forensic evaluations. Since launching the Lewes-based practice, Elder has grown the business into a multi-million-dollar organization that partners with school districts, pediatricians, hospitals and primary care centers.
Certification she secured through the National Health Service Corps provides student loan repayment for licensed mental health providers working in underserved areas through Delaware Psychological Services. Elder has also received certifications and training as a parent-child interaction therapist and in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and paved the way for staff to receive training in those areas as well. She is also an organization consultant and has trained national organizations to teach topics related to trauma, self-care and mental health with more than a decade of experience in counseling and mental health services.
She also works closely with courts and governments, providing psychological evaluations for family court matters, pardons and risk assessments for the government of Bermuda, and is often called upon as an expert witness in courts or the media.
Elder serves as president of the Board of Regulation for Psychologists, as appointed by Gov. John Carney, and volunteers her free time as a youth soccer coach. The mother of four also participates in marathons, ironman events and triathlons, some of which raise funds for charitable organizations.
