Meet Our Team - Gabrielle Anderson
Gabrielle Anderson, Ph.D.
Position at the Hallowell Todaro ADHD Center:
Clinical Director
How long have you been working at Hallowell Todaro ADHD?
Since 2021 at Hallowell Todaro and since 2010 for the larger Hallowell group (I worked for the New York/San Francisco offices from 2010-2021).
Where did you grow up?
San Diego (mostly) and Los Angeles.
What are your favorite books / TV shows / movies?
I love historical fiction themed shows and novels. Lately I have been reading a lot of World War II novels. The book that changed my life was The Choice by Dr. Edith Eger. I also love stand-up comedy & comedy shows (Larry David, Sacha Baron Cohen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Coming to America).
What’s your favorite sport and/or sports team?
My family is full of soccer fans and UC Berkeley (Cal) sports fans. My husband is from Argentina, and we are big on teams from Latin America.
Complete the following sentences:
When I’m not at work, you can find me...
spending time with family and friends, doing yoga/Pilates/hiking, having culinary adventures, watching one of my kid’s soccer games or traveling.
When I want to de-stress, I...
exercise, go out with friends and family, and plan trips.
My favorite time of year is...
Thanksgiving to celebrate with people of all backgrounds, summer when my kids are around more, and annual reunion trips with friends and family.
My favorite thing to cook is...
I am a big foodie but my husband and daughters are the household chefs (my skills lie elsewhere). I do enjoy baking my mother’s pie recipes for Thanksgiving and traditional desserts for the Jewish holidays.
If I could travel anywhere in the world, I’d go to...
that is a hard one to answer because I am passionate about traveling all over the world! I am currently working on plans to travel more through Latin America, Southern & Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
The best gift I ever received was…
a friend of mine recently made a treasure box for my birthday full of memorabilia and pictures from our 30+ year friendship.
What led you to pursue a career in helping others?
Therapy changed the course of my life when I was a pre-teen. I decided that I wanted to be a psychologist when I was 12 years old so that I could give the same gift to others. When I went to camp one summer, the other teens would meet me by the big tree to talk about their problems.
What education, skills and expertise do you bring to your role?
I first became interested in a strength-based approach to treating ADHD while working as an inner-city schoolteacher before I became a psychologist. This eventually led to me working with Dr. Hallowell nearly 13 years ago.
My other passion is Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). I did my postdoctoral work at Columbia University Medical Center working on different adaptations of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), which is one of the most well-researched and effective psychotherapies in the world for depression and other conditions. I have helped train therapists all around the globe in IPT over the past 2 decades in collaboration with colleagues at Columbia University, the Veterans Administration, NYU, Reichman University in Tel Aviv, and the University of California amongst others.
Who/what inspires you?
I learn the most from my clients; they inspire me every day and have taught me more than decades of training with the top minds in the field ever could. Psychologist Dr. Edith Eger is one of my biggest inspirations; she is a survivor of Auschwitz and is still practicing and writing books in her 90s. She taught me that you can’t change the past, but you always have a choice in how you respond now. Focus on what is possible now? We are constantly evolving.
What’s your personal philosophy/approach toward the work you do?
I believe people’s strengths and challenges are usually two sides of the same coin. My role is to be useful in helping people to choose how to address their challenges in a way that works for their brain so they can leverage their strengths to thrive.
What is one small thing people can do to improve their lives / increase their happiness?
Most things in life come down to our relationships. Invest in strengthening your relationships, one small step at a time. There is probably nothing more important that you can do to improve your mental health, physical well-being, longevity, career, and life satisfaction than to gradually build communities of support. Take initiative today, don’t just wait for others to do it for you.
We provide a range of support for people with ADHD.