Bio
Dr. Rachel E. Hodas is the founding School Psychologist at Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, located in the Tioga section of North Philadelphia. Rachel’s clinical work focuses on supporting students’ needs through one-on-one counseling services, small group executive function coaching, and teacher consultation. Rachel uses a trauma-informed lens in her work with students, drawing on key features of cognitive behavioral therapy, solution-focused therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and client-centered approaches.
At Cristo Rey, Rachel developed a school-wide academic support program for grades 9-11. The program focuses on addressing students’ needs through executive function coaching, direct instruction on specific student success skills, and weekly progress monitoring. Rachel’s research at Cristo Rey examines what factors predict academic difficulty in order to develop preventative interventions for students. She also conducts program evaluation to determine the effectiveness of interventions.
Outside of Cristo Rey, Rachel teaches at Temple University’s graduate programs in School Psychology and Counseling Psychology, Arizona State University’s online graduate program in Applied Behavioral Analysis and Autism, and Southern New Hampshire University’s online undergraduate program in Psychology. With nearly a decade of undergraduate and graduate level teaching experience, Rachel has taught courses on cognitive assessment, trauma-informed interventions, legal & ethical considerations, adolescent development, consultation frameworks, reading and communication strategies for children with Autism, the psychology of individual differences and special needs, and practicum supervision.
Rachel is committed to combating racism by working to actively support and lift up the voices of minority students, fight against racist structures and practices, and mitigate the blind spots in her own practice caused by biases and privilege.
Rachel holds a Ph.D. and M.Ed. in School Psychology from Temple University and a B.A. in Psychology and Elementary Urban Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a nationally-certified School Psychologist and a licensed Psychologist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.