Alara Ozpolat, PsyD

Dr. Alara Ozpolat is a post-doctoral fellow specializing in evidence-based treatments for children, adolescents, and young adults with a range of behavioral and emotional disorders. Her areas of expertise include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), tic disorders, anxiety disorders, selective mutism (SM), body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) such as hair-pulling and skin-picking, and behavior disorders utilizing evidence-based treatments, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Selective Mutism (PCIT-SM), and Family-Based Treatment (FBT). She also specializes in delivering evidence-based interventions to individuals with co-occurring psychological and medical presentations by providing support in coping with an acute or chronic illness, adhering to medical treatment, returning to daily activities, and improving quality of life.

Dr. Ozpolat earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology from Columbia University and her Doctor of Psychology degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where she specialized in pediatric psychology and worked as a part of multidisciplinary teams to support youth with pediatric health conditions, along with their families. She provided treatment to children, adolescents, and young adults experiencing a range of medical and psychological presentations, including eating disorders, anxiety, depression, acute and chronic illnesses, and somatic symptom disorders. She completed her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center, where she specialized in pediatric behavioral medicine and worked closely with children and adolescents with a variety of psychological presentations, including OCD, anxiety, ADHD, and behavior disorders. Additionally, she completed psychodiagnostic assessments for patients with ADHD, as well as neuropsychological assessments for individuals who experienced traumatic brain injuries. She received specialized training at UCLA’s OCD Intensive Outpatient Program, where she provided treatment for children and adolescents with severe OCD using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), as well as UCLA’s ABC Partial Hospitalization Program, where she facilitated parent support groups for families and cognitive-behavioral therapy groups for children with mood and anxiety disorders, behavior disorders, OCD, and developmental disorders.

Dr. Ozpolat speaks English and Turkish and conducts psychotherapy in both languages. In her spare time, Dr. Ozpolat enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying new restaurants and coffee shops, going to the beach, and playing pickleball with friends.

Dr. Ozpolat practices under Dr. Danielle Cornacchio’s supervision.