Dr. Samantha Carella is a Licensed and Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychologist (ABPP) who has practicing since 1993. Dr. Carella serves as Co-Director of Pediatric Psychology Associates, where she helps oversee clinical programming and overall coordination of services. Her work centers on supporting children, adolescents, and families through psychotherapy and family counseling for emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. This includes anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, social difficulties, and family transitions such as divorce.
Dr. Carella is trained in Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), a parent-based treatment model for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related concerns. She also offers diagnostic consultations and second opinions for complex or unclear cases, and provides parent coaching and support to help families navigate difficult dynamics or behavioral concerns.
In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Carella supervises and mentors early-career psychologists and clinicians in training. Dr. Carella consults on psychological assessments and has extensive experience with evaluations for ADHD, autism, learning disorders, giftedness, and emotional/psychological concerns.
Dr. Carella completed her doctoral internship at Miami (Nicklaus) Children’s Hospital, where she later supervised psychiatry interns and provided integrated care and consultation across Neurology and Behavioral Medicine, collaborating with departments such as Cardiology, Oncology, Endocrinology, and Pain Management. She also conducted early intervention evaluations for children from birth to age three at both Miami Children’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach. She previously served as adjunct faculty in the Division of Psychology at Florida Atlantic University and remains actively involved in professional organizations. Dr. Carella is a Fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and a member of the Dade, Florida, and American Psychological Associations. She has held multiple leadership roles within the Florida Psychological Association, including President of the Dade-Monroe Chapter (2008) and President of the Child, Adolescent, and Family Division (2013–2014). She has received several honors, including the Outstanding Child and Adolescent Psychologist Award and Kesher Chai Society Service Award in 2014 in honor of her dedication and clinical work in the South Florida community.
Dr. Carella works closely with both public and private schools and regularly presents at local and state conferences on topics such as autism, emotion regulation, learning and developmental challenges, pediatric psychology, and behavioral medicine. and provides services via telehealth.
Dr. Carella is a PSYPACT-authorized psychologist and holds an active Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT), allowing her to provide tele-psychological services across participating states. She is based in the Aventura and Miami Beach offices.
