Clinical Philosophy and Approach

Dr. Surowiec is a licensed psychologist in both New York and New Jersey who brings warmth, attentiveness, and compassion to every evaluation. Known for her calm demeanor and deeply personal approach, Dr. Surowiec ensures each individual feels heard and supported. She takes the time to listen carefully and patiently to the concerns of children, adolescents, adults, and families, creating a safe and respectful space to explore challenges and begin the path to clarity.

Dr. Surowiec believes that understanding someone’s unique history is essential to making accurate diagnoses and creating targeted recommendations. Her process begins with an extensive intake that includes a detailed developmental history, current functioning, and relevant environmental or emotional stressors. This depth of information allows her to uncover complex patterns and make sense of symptoms that may have previously gone undiagnosed or misunderstood. Her goal is to deliver thoughtful, individualized assessments that help clients understand themselves more clearly and confidently.

Dr. Surowiec places strong emphasis on cultural sensitivity throughout every evaluation. Her approach extends beyond race and ethnicity to include an understanding of how disability, neurodivergence, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other often-invisible minority experiences shape how individuals move through the world. She is experienced in working with LGBTQ+ individuals and families, and brings a trauma-informed, affirming stance to each evaluation. Her goal is to ensure that all clients feel seen, heard, and represented accurately in their reports.

With a compassionate, theory-driven, and culturally responsive foundation, Dr. Surowiec’s evaluations aim not only to answer diagnostic questions, but to uncover meaningful insight that can support growth, healing, and advocacy. Each report is carefully tailored to reflect the full complexity of the individual’s developmental history, environment, strengths, and support needs—so that real-world solutions can follow.

Training and Professional Background

Dr. Surowiec joined Manhattan Psychology Group (MPG) in 2021 and played a central role in establishing and growing the organization’s neuropsychological testing department. What began as a small operation has evolved into a comprehensive team of psychologists, trainees, and support staff serving families across New York and beyond.

Before joining MPG, Dr. Surowiec served as the supervising psychologist at multiple New Jersey locations of Children’s Specialized Hospital, where she led interdisciplinary teams in evaluating children with complex developmental, neurological, and medical needs. Her clinical work included assessments for children with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, ADHD, autism, learning disorders, intellectual disabilities, and genetic conditions such as fragile X syndrome, spina bifida, and Down syndrome.

Dr. Surowiec also serves as a staff neuropsychologist at Rutgers NJ Medical School, where she provides grant-funded developmental evaluations for children and families affected by HIV. Her contributions to this work have supported hundreds of peer-reviewed studies on the impact of antiretroviral treatment in infants, children, and pregnant women.

Her training includes placements at NJ public schools, Einstein College of Medicine’s Infant-Parent Court Project, St. Barnabas Emergency Psychiatric Department, and internship at Montefiore Medical Center focusing on attachment and reunification therapy for families referred by child protective services. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Mt. Sinai-Icahn School of Medicine, where she worked in both outpatient and therapeutic school settings. She received formal training in autism assessment using the ADOS from both the Seaver Autism Center at Mt. Sinai and Rutgers GSAPP.

Dr. Surowiec regularly provides evaluations for the New York and New Jersey court systems, including special education cases, OPWDD eligibility, immigration hardship and trauma documentation, and law enforcement assessments. She also provides consultation and evaluations related to gender identity and has extensive experience supporting LGBTQ+ individuals and families.

She is a certified grief counselor, a PSYPACT provider licensed to practice telepsychology across multiple states, and a respected consultant in professional and community settings.

The evaluations were thorough and insightful, providing clarity on my mental health needs.

Jordan S.

★★★★★