About Dr. Whiten
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Dr. Samantha Rodman Whiten is originally from Brooklyn, New York and now lives in Potomac, Maryland with her husband and three children. This is her second marriage, which gives her personal as well as professional experience with issues related to divorce, blended family, and co-parenting.
Dr. Whiten attended Columbia University for her BA, and received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park. She has been in private practice since 2009, and her CV can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. Dr. Whiten is the author of How to Talk to Your Kids About Your Divorce and 52 Emails To Transform Your Marriage. Her blog, Dr. Psych Mom, has a wide following, and her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PsychCentral, Babble, Scary Mommy, and many others.
Dr. Whiten has been featured on the Today Show, Nightline, and on many radio shows, and she was awarded the Best Psychologist award in the Maryland Gazette in 2016. Her podcast, The Dr. Psych Mom Show, is in the top 1% most shared in 2022 on Spotify.
Dr. Whiten combines cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, acceptance-based, emotion-focused and insight-oriented techniques based upon the needs of the individual or couple. She is collaborative, engaged, enthusiastic, and motivated in session. Homework assignments are a regular occurrence, and these can range from thinking about an issue in a new way to engaging in an entirely new behavior during the week. Dr. Whiten loves her job and is very committed to her clients. She enjoys reading and often recommends books to clients, if they find reading to be a useful adjunct to therapy (see the recommended reading section of this website).
Dr. Whiten's strengths include her use of humor in session, her non-judgmental and open minded attitude, her direct and honest approach, and her ability to integrate techniques flexibly to meet the needs of the individual or couple. She is comfortable discussing a range of topics that her clients have found it difficult to discuss with others (even prior therapists), including sexual issues/preferences, abuse history, thoughts they feel are "crazy," and so forth. (Dr. Whiten's weaknesses include that she can run 5-10 minutes late, so be warned!)