Rate Dr. Todd Finnerty

Thanks for visiting my profile. I’ve been a psychologist in Ohio since 2003. I grew up in upstate New York but have lived in Ohio since 2001. I completed my BA in Psychology at Niagara University in 1998. I earned my doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in the Fall of 2002.

One thing you should know about me upfront is that I tend to smile a lot. If smiling bothers you it would be best to not work with me. I will also try to get you to step outside of your comfort zone sometimes. I use evidence-based techniques which often come from a cognitive behavioral perspective. I will try to get you more active and I will ask you to do things outside of our conversations (and I’ll follow up to see if you did them). I am a good listener and want to listen to you; when applicable I also want to help you change some of the patterns that may be leading to difficulties.

Another thing you may learn about me is that I’ve spent a large part of my career evaluating disability claims. One of my interests is in working with people who are having trouble at work, trouble returning to work or trouble adjusting to a disability. I work with people who are having other types of difficulties as well, though; I’d like to help.

When you’re ready, if you think I might be a good fit for you we can schedule a call over the phone or via a videoconference session (whichever you are more comfortable with). I can get to know you and what is going on in your life a little better that way and you can help me understand your goals clearly. We can use the time on the phone or videoconferencing to talk about some of the concerns you’ve been having. We can also exchange messages online. One thing I like about the BetterHelp platform compared to traditional psychotherapy is that it allows me to stay in touch with you throughout the week instead of simply having a 30-45 minute session once-per-week. We will take some time together to come up with goals and things for you to try during the week, then you can regularly communicate with me through the messaging system about how it is going. That way you can keep me up to date about your progress and we can brainstorm other things to try together as well. I want you to reach out to me regularly-- it is not a bother-- it is part of what makes BetterHelp great. I also completely understand and am open to it if you prefer to keep our interactions message-based for a while and not schedule a video conference- whatever you are comfortable with. This is a very flexible platform and your needs and preferences may change over time.