Dr. Stephanie Samar

A smiling woman with shoulder-length hair wearing a purple top outdoors with greenery and rocks in the background.

Dr. Stephanie Samar, co-founder of Evoke, is dedicated to providing person-centered, strength-based support to her clients and their families. With experience across school and outpatient settings, she specializes in working with individuals facing complex clinical and learning challenges. Her expertise includes supporting those navigating depression—including symptoms of suicidality and self-harm—along with DMDD, PMDD, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and ADHD.

Dr. Samar empowers clients and their families by fostering awareness, motivation, and the skills needed for change. She utilizes evidence-based therapeutic interventions, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy for children and adolescents (DBT-A & DBT-C), parent management training (PMT), and exposure therapy. She works with individuals across the lifespan from preadolescents, teenagers, young adults, and parents.

Dr. Samar is the former Director of Child & Preadolescent DBT Program at the Child Mind Institute, where she developed and led innovative programming for children with emotional and behavioral dysregulation. She has contributed to the field by developing adapted DBT interventions—WaveRiders and Mood Masters—designed to help children and preadolescents with intense emotional and behavioral dysregulation.

Dr. Samar’s expertise has been featured in national media outlets, including Good Morning America, Yahoo News, Thrive Global, Newsweek, Fox News, and US News and World Report. She also trains, supervises, and provides consultation to psychological trainees, licensed psychologists, and social workers.

Experience

Director of Child and Adolescent DBT, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY

Clinical Psychologist, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY

Assistant Director of Assessment, Institute for Girls’ Development, Pasadena, CA

Post Doctoral Fellow, Institute for Girls’ Development, Pasadena, CA

Psychological Intern, Pleasantville Union Free School District, Pleasantville, NY

Psychological Extern, Learning and Development Center, Child Mind Institute

School Psychology Extern, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Union Free School District, New Hyde Park, NY

Education

PsyD, School Psychology, St. John’s University

MS, School Psychology, St. John’s University

MA, Psychology, New York University

BA, Psychology, Loyola University Maryland