Dr. Susan Diane Rich, MD, MPH, DFAPA

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Get to know Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist Dr. Susan D. Rich, who serves patients in Potomac, Maryland.

Dr. Rich is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. Through innovative and traditional approaches, she identifies strengths and recommends supports to improve adaptive and executive functions, emotional regulation, social interactions, and sensory systems to achieve optimal health and well-being at home, at school, and in the community.

At her private practice, Therapeutic & Learning Centers, P-LLC, in Potomac, Maryland, Dr. Rich specializes in a comprehensive neurodevelopmental approach to the diagnosis and treatment of complex neuropsychiatric conditions from prenatal exposures to complex trauma histories. She also provides job coaching, mentoring, and success coaching for adults trying to move beyond their current work situation, manage their weight, or improve their relationship. 

As the founder of the nonprofit, 7th Generation Foundation, Inc. which is situated at her private practice, she aims to develop vocational, social, and housing opportunities for individuals with ND-PAE.

On the subject of her educational background, Dr. Rich holds a Doctorate of Medicine degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from North Carolina State University. After 4 and a half years in pharmaceutical research in Research Triangle Park, she refocused her career to prevent and treat fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.  

Developing women’s health programs in preconception care, family planning, and alcohol/other drug treatment in rural Native American communities, she moved to the Greater Washington, D.C. area in 2001 to complete a residency in psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical Center. This was followed by a fellowship in child psychiatry at Children’s National Medical Center. 

From 2008 until 2018, she served on the Executive Council of the Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Society of Greater Washington, including the President of the organization. Prior to that, she served as a physician member of the Montgomery County Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Advisory Council, a member of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Board of Directors, as well as a member-in-training trustee of the American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees. 

A Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Rich is board-certified in child & adolescent psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting high-quality patient care for the public through the initial and continuing certification of psychiatrists and neurologists.

Throughout her fruitful career, she has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Potomac Citizen of the Year in 2015 and the Patients’ Choice Award from 2008 to 2015. She has also been named one of the Top Doctors of North America by the Consumer Research Council, Most Compassionate Physician in Maryland in 2012, and one of the Top Doctors by Washingtonian Magazine in 2010 and 2015. 

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behavior, cognition, and perceptions. Psychiatrists evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. They conduct thorough psychiatric evaluations, develop treatment plans, prescribe medication, and evaluate treatment results.

In addition to being an international speaker at professional psychiatric conferences and medical center grand rounds, Dr. Rich is the author of several articles, book chapters, and a book on prenatal alcohol exposure called The Silent Epidemic: A Child Psychiatrist’s Journey beyond Death Row: Understanding, Treating, and Preventing Neurodevelopmental Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure.

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