LaTrice L. Dowtin, PhD, LCPC, NCSP, RPT

LaTrice L. Dowtin, PhD, LCPC, NCSP, RPT, (she/her/Dr.) is Executive Director of PlayfulLeigh Psyched, a playful center for social and emotional wellness. 

Dr. Dowtin is a black cisgender woman who believes in the ongoing pursuit of humility and social justice. As a clinician, she holds dual certifications in mental health fields including counseling and psychology. Dr. Dowtin is a licensed counselor, board approved supervisor, research psychologist and registered play therapist who specializes in perinatal, NICU, and trauma populations with a special focus on culturally, racially, and linguistically marginalized people.

Regarding education and training, Children’s National, which is usually in the top 10 for US NICUs, trained her in conducting NICU consultations and neonatal follow-up assessments. She then completed a clinical psychology doctoral internship at Tulane University School of Medicine with a focus on families and infant mental health. Following internship, Dr. Dowtin completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) focusing on parental and infant mental health. Since 2019, she has been an active member of the National Perinatal Association in conjunction with the National Network of NICU Psychologists. Through NNNP, she served as a Co-Chair of the Training and Education Committee for a three-year term.

Dr. Dowtin has the honor of serving as the Co-Chair of NNNP, along with Dr. Elizabeth Fischer. Clinically, Dr. Dowtin is trained as an identity affirming trauma interventionist with focus on NICU follow-up, infant and early childhood mental health, perinatal mental health across genders, and transgenerational trauma with hearing and deaf populations. She is natively fluent in AAVE and English, and proficient in American Sign Language (ASL). She is a published researcher, invited keynote presenter, and author with several book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on topics related to NICU, parental mental health, and social justice for preschool aged children. Dr. Dowtin’s research interests include the NICU follow-up care, social justice for racially and linguistically marginalized young children and their families, and equitable social justice training for developing providers.