SCORE Helps Child Psychologist Launch, Expand Private Practice

As a school psychologist, Dr. Amber Mason saw firsthand the toll students’ mental health played on their academic performance. This experience prompted her to become a licensed clinical psychologist to expand her therapeutic reach.

“I saw how much they’re intertwined,” said Mason, of Alexandria. “Because I saw how important one is to the other, why not provide services under one roof? The child would be taken care of on the psychological and educational side.”

In November 2022, she launched Aptivate Educational & Psychological Solutions to help youth ages 3 to 18 address their educational and mental health challenges. More recently she has extended the patients’ age to 22 in response to an influx of college students requesting services.

“I had always had this passion to work with and help children especially because I had an amazing childhood,” she said. “I wanted to be that person who would help other children experience great childhoods.”

Mason’s team includes a speech-language pathologist, a director of operations and an educational consultant that helps with tutoring, test preparation, academic skills training and college and career counseling. As part of her growth plan, Mason hopes to expand group offerings, including social skills training groups, art therapy groups, and a social skills boot camp this summer.

Prior to launching her business, she sought guidance from SCORE, a nationwide nonprofit supporting small businesses. SCORE mentor Dr. David Rothfeld, who has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare, particularly private medical practice management, helped her create a business plan and discussed her therapy practice.

“He gave me some good advice as to how to navigate the business world,” Mason said. “He himself was in private practice.”

Mason put the advice into practice, more recently gaining entry for SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition. More than 2,200 small businesses applied to compete in five pitch events. Contestants were pared down to 60 contenders who presented their pitch live before panels of judges. She was one of 45 finalists.

SCORE mentor Gregory Papaz of the Lehigh Valley Chapter was “phenomenal” at guiding herthrough the entire pitch process.

“He was available as much as I needed him to be,” Mason said. “It was very, very helpful to have that mentor.”

Discussing her business on a large stage showed Mason the importance of conveying information about her practice to a broader audience. For the future she plans to expand her services to individuals whose limited finances could prevent them from accessing therapy.

“I would like to ideally form a foundation where I would be able to collect enough funds to have ongoing scholarships for children to access our services without any kind of barrier and making sure we can help as many kids in need as possible,” Mason said.

Adding to her “small, but mighty team,” would enable the practice to see more patients.

For people who prefer teletherapy services, the good news is Mason can see patients from virtually any state. As part of PSYPACT, her licensure as a clinical psychologist in Virginia allows her to practice in 41 states across the U.S. and Washington D.C.

“It helps expand my reach,” she said, adding that she was able to continue therapy for an out-of-state college student without an interruption in service.

To learn more about SCORE, request a mentor or volunteer to be one, visit score.org.

About SCORE

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow, or successfully exit a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources, and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories. Visit SCORE at score.org.