Dr. Samantha Marks
Private Practice

Is your talk therapy all talk?

Samantha Marks, Psy.D., aka Dr. Sam, knows that merely talking about change doesn’t mean it automatically happens.

Making improvements in one’s life takes time and energy both inside the therapy room and in the daily life. Learning concrete skills to implement outside of therapy is necessary to make progress.

Dr. Sam uses a pragmatic, goal-oriented approach to help clients effect real change. Therapy includes learning specific skills from DBT, (Dialectic Behavior Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), Social Skills, or specific anxiety management/relaxation techniques that are applied to the clients’ daily lives with small, manageable goals. Practice makes Progress!

Dr. Sam is also uniquely qualified to work with the following:

• Adolescents and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
• weens and Teens experiencing anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation and/or problems with social skills/socialization
• Teens and young adults transitioning to high school or to college
• Young adults having difficulty transitioning from college into the working world
• Clients with ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder) inattentive or combined types
• Clients needing help with executive functioning (planning, organization, time management, study skills, managing procrastination and distractions)
• Tweens and Teens in competitive sports, music performance, or with academic performance concerns

Visit Dr. Sam in her HIPPA-compliant patient portal. Telehealth gives us the flexibility and safety to conduct therapy without the risks of COVID or hassles of traveling to an office. Dr. Sam is licensed in Maryland and Florida.

Does your child ever…

• Hit a mental  block?
• Suffer from stage fright?
• Have trouble beating your best score?
• Hit a plateau?
• Freeze up during tests?

Dr. Sam is here to help.

Help your child overcome their mental blocks…

• Use performance psychology for sports, music, & academics!
• Learn performance psychology skills!
• Improve your mental game!

Through a combination of clinical evaluation, interview with coaches or teachers, observation in the gym, on the field, or on stage, Dr. Sam creates a custom treatment plan designed around your performance goals.

Personal or small group sessions teach skills necessary to meet and exceed those goals.

So… what is performance psychology?

It’s a technique that addresses all this and more:

• Anxiety Management
• Arousal Regulation
• Assertiveness Training
• Burnout Prevention
• Concentration Control
• Communication
• Goal-setting
• Energy Management
• Mental Rehearsal
• Mental Toughness
• Motivation Imagery
• Personal Best
• Pre-performance routine
• Relaxation
• Self-talk
• Team Building
• Time Management
• Visualization

Samantha Marks, Psy D, has degrees in Clinical Psychology, Education, and Music Performance.

Not a stranger to competition, Dr. Sam participated in team sports and music competitions growing up and completed three degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Johns Hopkins University.

She worked as a professional musician and teacher before earning two more degrees in Clinical Psychology.

In her private practice, Dr. Sam works with tweens and teens on Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectic Behavior Therapy, and Performance Psychology.

She is also an author of young adult fiction, and her daughter is a competitive gymnast who recently took home an All Around State Championship!