Tara Leigh Brennan, PsyD

Director, Child Development Program

Psychologist

Tara Brennan, PsyD, is the Director of the Child Development Program at Children's National Hospital. She is a clinical psychologist licensed in Washington, D.C., and Virginia, and specializes in assessment of children with acute and chronic medical conditions, and neurodevelopmental delays and disabilities. She obtained her doctoral degree from the Georgia School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University/Atlanta, where her studies and research interests included assessment and treatment of behavioral and emotional issues related to a variety of pediatric illnesses including: sickle cell disease, cancer and cardiac conditions, and the early assessment and identification of learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.

Dr. Brennan completed her pre-doctoral internship at Miami Children’s Hospital and completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Brennan joined the Child Development Program in 2008, when she was responsible for a multi-site, longitudinal study examining the developmental outcome of infants and toddlers with sickle cell disease. She has testified as an expert in neurodevelopmental assessment and outcomes of young children with histories of prematurity, brain injury and complex medical or genetic conditions. She has served as the Training Director for the program since 2010 and has been the director since 2016. Dr. Brennan sees patients in Washington, D.C., and Fairfax, Va.

• Child Development Program
• Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine Center
• Psychology and Behavioral Health