info@brightstartconnect.org

Dr. Natalie Norlund

Dr. Natalie Nordlund is a licensed psychologist in New York and Wisconsin and nationally certified school psychologist who specializes working with children, teens, families, young adults, and systems that serve, support, and educate youth. Dr. Nordlund has a background working in schools, clinic-based settings, and non-profit organizations providing individual and group therapeutic services, wellness/mental health-focused programming, supervision, and consultation. Dr. Nordlund received her doctorate in School Psychology from The Chicago School in Chicago, IL and completed her predoctoral and postdoctoral training in Rochester, NY at Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI) and the Rochester Institute of Technology's Priority Behavioral Health Clinic. Prior to returning to graduate school to complete her doctoral degree, Dr. Nordlund worked as a school psychologist for four years in Milwaukee Public Schools in Wisconsin, primarily with young children in Head Start (ages 3-4) and grades K-5. While working as a school psychologist, Dr. Nordlund often consulted and collaborated with families, educators, mental health providers, and community members/organizations and led and supported systems-level initiatives focused on health and wellness and equity-focused, trauma-informed practices. Dr. Nordlund is passionate about prevention/systems-level initiatives and systems change work, aiming to help make conversations about mental health and wellness normalized early on with youth in an engaging, kid-friendly way, and to create and provide mental health resources for families, educators, and providers that are accessible, culturally relevant, and as beneficial as possible in meeting needs. When working with youth, Dr. Nordlund often incorporates play, storytelling, educational media/technology, and creative expression tools and activities including art for learning about and practicing social-emotional concepts/skills, to help with self-expression and self-exploration, and for cultivating connection, aiming to ensure youth can feel truly seen and heard in a way that works best for them. When working with families, providers, and systems that serve, support, and educate youth, she aims to help make talking about mental health topics, concepts, and skills as accessible, helpful, and meaningful as possible. Growing up, Dr. Nordlund's career aspirations varied and changed, including wanting to be an astronaut, interior designer, and art or music teacher.