CLINICAL PRACTICE

Her clinical practice involves the psychological assessment and treatment of adults. Dr. Snyder's primary treatment orientation is psychodynamic, although she employs other approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapies, when appropriate.

It is important that treatment be tailored to individual needs and that there is a good fit between therapist and patient. The therapy "relationship" is central to healing and provides the support and insight often necessary for relieving painful anxious or depressive symptoms and work or relationship problems.

Dr. Snyder believes that a patient's personal history inevitably influences current functioning but does not have to determine his or her future. Furthermore, past history requires close examination only when it restricts or prevents the ability to love, work, and otherwise live fully in the present. For example, difficult early relationships or traumas can skew our understanding and experience of others and the world around us, adversely affecting how we think, feel and behave in personal and work settings. Gaining awareness of these mental processes can enormously benefit our emotional and physical health and lead to greater satisfaction and success.

FORENSIC PRACTICE

Dr. Snyder also practices in the legal arena, evaluating individuals involved in the criminal justice system. These court-related evaluations involve such matters as competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and violence risk assessments.

A long-standing participant and presenter at the Postdoctoral Program in Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, she has benefitted from the expertise of highly regarded pioneers in this field. Her own presentations at the professional seminar include: Psychopathy: The Ability of a Diagnosis to Predict and Warn, Current Controversies in the Diagnosis of Psychopathy and Improving Forensic Reports.

Additionally, she has received continuing education from the American Academy of Forensic Psychology and programs offered through the American Psychology-Law Division of the American Psychological Association, as well as the John Jay College of Criminal Science. Recently, Dr. Snyder completed extensive training programs for Assessing and Managing Risk for General Violence, Sexual Violence, Stalking and Intimate Partner Violence as well as Mental Illness and Violence Risk.

She earned a doctoral degree in counseling psychology at Temple University, passing the comprehensive examination "With Distinction." Her doctoral dissertation explored differences among individuals with antisocial personalities in substance abuse treatment. Her dissertation research is cited in The Clinical and Forensic Assessment of Psychopathy: A Practitioner's Guide, Edited by Carl B. Gacano (2000).

Dr. Snyder also served as the primary diagnostician at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit in the Department of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine) for studies investigating the neurobiology underlying aggression in individuals with mood and personality disorders.

She completed an APA-accredited internship (American Psychological Association) at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center in West Reading, PA, which included forensic training in juvenile and adult correctional settings, hospital rotations in adolescent, adult and geriatric units as well as supervised outpatient psychotherapy in a community mental health center.

Prior to entering private practice, Dr. Snyder served as a forensic psychologist in the New Jersey State Prison System (Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, Clinton, NJ) where she provided psychological treatment to female inmates in maximum-security environments, assessed risk for suicide and harming others, and performed evaluations of inmates charged with disciplinary infractions in the prison as well as those potentially requiring psychiatric commitment upon release.

She also served as a consultative examiner for the Social Security Administration evaluating individuals seeking disability benefits for mental illness.

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